Meet the Speaker with Lauri Smith

Welcome to our ‘Meet the Speaker’ newsletter series, where we’ll be interviewing members of our speaker line-up for Care Show Birmingham 2025. It’s a chance to get to know the experts behind all the real insights, experience, and guidance presented at the show.  

In this month’s edition, we’ll be learning more about Lauri Smith, CEO of Josh’s Care… 

 

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in the care sector?

When I was younger, I sort of did a bit of anything and everything. I even worked as a pub landlady for a short period of time, during that time I decided to go back to university (I didn’t quite finish the first time). After starting my degree in Psychology and Mental Health Studies I started working as a support worker in a small complex mental health service locally. Long story short, I fell in love with the sector and just how rewarding it is. I worked my way through positions throughout my career working my way through the ranks from a support worker to registered manager, peripatetic manager, regional director to now CEO; something I’m incredibly proud of.

What’s the focus of your presentation at this year’s conference, and why is this topic important right now?

The focus of my presentation is workplace incivility. I first heard this term during my studies for my MSc in Global Leadership and Management. I became fascinated that something I have experienced and witnessed during my entire career within the sector now had a name and a meaning. Workplace incivility refers to low-intensity, rude or disrespectful behaviour in a professional setting. These are often subtle behaviours with examples such as talking over someone, intentionally excluding someone, eyerolling and dismissive body language and gossiping. These are every day behaviours experienced at work that, over time, can reduce job satisfaction, increase turnover and impact colleagues want and ability to collaborate. In the health and social care sector this is even more impactful as it doesn’t just affect staff, it directly impacts patient care outcomes, often in serious ways. For example, staff may avoid speaking up or sharing information that is critical to patient care after they have been dismissed or disrespected. This isn’t intentional, experiencing incivility at work can drain a person’s bandwidth, impact their ability to do their job and do it well. For me, talking about workplace incivility is important to shine a light on the silent culture killer that often goes unaddressed but has deep, lasting consequences. By talking about it we can raise awareness, encourage accountability, and improve team culture and patient care outcomes.

What’s one thing you hope attendees will take away from your session?

I hope that the biggest takeaway for attendees is it have a better understanding of their own behaviours and how these may be perceived by others. Accountability is key – we are all human and life happens; we might be short; we might talk about someone when they’re not in the room, and so on – it’s how we identify these behaviours when they have happened, take accountability for them and take positive steps towards a more civil workplace that really matters. I hope this will empower attendees to talk about these behaviours, call them out with compassion and advocate for a psychologically safe workplace for all.  

Have there been any recent developments or research in workplace safety that you find particularly exciting?

One interesting outcome in the workplace incivility field is how it can manifest in a generationally diverse workforce. In the sector there are people from up to 5 generations working together at any one time, all with unique experiences and skills. This diversity could strengthen the workforce, however, misunderstandings amongst this workforce are creating incivility and toxic cultures. For me this is an exciting piece of evidence as we can work with our diverse teams to improve communication, empower people to challenge situations to reduce misunderstandings and work towards a much stronger workforce. Imagine the positive impact that could have!

What’s one misconception about workplace wellbeing/safety you often encounter — and how do you address it?

A very common misconception about workplace incivility is that it’s just ‘not a big deal’ and just a part of everyday work life; people having personality clashes or people having a bad day. One misconception that I personally dislike is that ‘it’s going to happen anyway’, and therefore ‘people just need to be more resilient’. This mindset minimises real harm and allows toxic behaviour to continue, unchecked. The truth is, and anyone who has experienced workplace incivility will know, even small acts of disrespect, when repeated or ignored, create a culture of fear, silence, and disengagement. Overtime incivility chips away at trust, performance, and mental wellbeing. You can address this by acting on feedback about workplace incivility, no matter how small, protect your teams by creating a civil workplace.

How do you continue learning and evolving in your practice? Are there any books, courses, or mentors that have influenced you recently?

I love reading and there are some great books out there on workplace incivility. Two that have heavily influenced my work are Radical Candor by Kim Scott and The Fearless Organisation by Amy Edmondson. I am what I like to call a ‘forever student’. I’m now working towards my Doctorate in Professional Practice focusing on Workplace Incivility. I will be carrying out a study looking at care workers’ experiences of workplace incivility in care homes in the UK and what impact the role of candour could have. A lot of the research on workplace incivility has been carried out in clinical settings, looking at the experiences of nurses and clinicians but I am exploring how this is experienced within care homes, amongst care workers, to be able to offer tangible guidance for managers and providers helping them on their way to creating more civil workplaces.

What do you enjoy most about working in this field?

I love talking to people, offering advice, understanding their experiences, and helping them to find meaning in these. I run an Instagram page @thecivilitygap solely aimed at raising awareness. I also offer workshops and talks to teams to help raise awareness and help teams to develop. The health and social care sector is so diverse, with some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met and for me, if I can help one person understand workplace incivility and be aware of how their behaviours are perceived, then we are already on our way to a more civil sector.

Outside of work, how do you like to unwind or recharge?

I have lots of pets, including 5 dogs and I love to go hiking with them in the peak district. I also love live music; you can always find me at a gig or a festival in the summer.

 

Don’t miss Lauri’s session at Care Show Birmingham, 8-9 October 2025 at NEC, Birmingham. Register for your free pass now