Reminder about January 2 payday

The first pay date in January will be Thursday, January 2 instead of Wednesday, January 1. This is due to the fact that New Year’s Day is a bank holiday on which pay cannot be delivered. In order for you to receive your pay in the same tax year that it normally would have been paid, the University has moved the pay date to the following business day, Thursday, January 2.

Upcoming schedule for performance appraisals

This year we’re starting performance appraisals a bit early and we wanted to let you know the schedule ahead of time. The form will be due to your supervisor by Friday, February 28. This year’s performance appraisal form will be released mid-January.

Self-evaluations will cover the time period of April 2019 through December 2019. We expect some goals may still be in progress because of the altered time frame. If you have specific questions about the time frame or your goals from last year, talk with your supervisor.

2020 performance appraisal schedule

• Friday, February 28: All employees complete self-evaluation and submit their performance appraisal form to their supervisor
• Friday, March 13: Supervisors review and submit completed forms to unit directors
• Friday, March 27: Directors review all appraisals for their unit
• Friday, April 3: Directors review for consistency across ASR
• April 6 - May 1: Supervisors and employees meet to review appraisals one-on-one

For additional background: each year, ASR employees complete performance appraisals—a self-evaluation of their work over the last year—and submit it to their supervisor. Supervisors and directors review the forms and then supervisors and employees each meet to go over them. If you have questions about performance appraisals, talk to your supervisor.

Suggestion Box: Supervisor performance review

A recent suggestion asked about how to give feedback about their supervisor, similar to the employee performance appraisal. Each director will formalize a process for their unit to receive employee feedback regarding their supervisor’s performance, which will be incorporated into the supervisor’s annual performance appraisals. Also note: staff are encouraged to share feedback anytime throughout the year directly to the unit director or to Human Resources.

December staff events

Staff appreciation event December 19

This year’s annual ASR staff appreciation event will be held at Loring Pasta Bar on Thursday, December 19 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. We’ll have door prizes given throughout the event. If you’d like to contribute prize items, you can bring it along with you to Loring Pasta Bar. Student workers are welcome to attend - email asrcentral@umn.edu to add them.

ASR third annual Ugly Sweater Potluck
Please join us for the third annual Ugly Sweater Potluck on Thursday, December 12 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Fraser B-20. If you don't own an ugly sweater, or you work in a sweltering part of one of our buildings and can't imagine wearing a sweater, that is fine too! All are welcome. This is not just for folks in Fraser, so please, stop by if you're able and show off those sweaters!

One Stop office closures

The One Stop St. Paul and West Bank locations will have special hours a few days in December:

• Thursday, December 19: St. Paul and West Bank offices close early at 1:30 pm for the staff appreciation event
• Thursday-Friday, December 26-27: St. Paul and West Bank locations closed

Service will be available as usual at the East Bank location in 333 Bruininks Hall, including Graduate Student Services and Progress and University Veterans Services.

University closures and Safe-U notifications

Two unplanned Twin Cities campus closures in one year? That’s quite a record! To clarify, no ASR staff are deemed “essential” to limited University operations. If you have any questions about the most recent closure on November 27, please connect with your director or email asrcentral@umn.edu.

In case we have more extreme weather events, or there are other campus emergencies, we recommend reviewing your contact information for Safe-U notifications by going to MyU > MyInfo > Safe-U Alerts.

Newsletter paused until January

We will not be sending News and Notes on December 19 or January 2. We will start up again on January 16 and continue with the normal schedule, every other Thursday. If you have something urgent between now and January 16, please contact ASRCentral@umn.edu and they can send an email to all staff.

Managing stress during the holidays

Many of us are in full swing when it comes to the holidays! While this is the season of giving and thanks, for some, there is also stress and worry. The mental health in the workplace working group has pulled together a few resources highlighting this particular topic. We will also be visiting ASR unit meetings during the months of January and February to discuss the role of this group and gather feedback.

Listen to it: The University’s Center for Spirituality and Healing is hosting a free webinar on December 18 from 12:30-1:00pm to discuss strategies to prevent and cope with holiday stress.

Read about it: The Mayo Clinic and Canadian Mental Health Association provide some tips and tricks for stress management and mental wellness during the holidays.

Practice it: Intention and reflection are key components to set the tone for the day and practice gratitude. The Five Minute Journal is a great way to focus energy to the positive. Don’t want to buy a journal? You don’t have to. The main tenets are to set the day with intention and gratitude and at the end of the day to reflect on the positive.

FMLA and mental health

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted in 1993 requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. The Office of Human Resources provides this detailed information about FMLA and associated processes.

What you may not know is that FMLA also covers mental health as a serious health condition. FMLA leave can be taken intermittently or in a single instance. To request FMLA for a mental health condition all that is required is to complete the form: Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition, which details when/how you need work accommodations. Medical details are not needed and should not be provided per HIPAA.

The primary benefits of receiving FMLA leave are that you get approved and protected time excused from work that can not be held against your work performance, and the University continues to contribute to medical benefits regardless of pay status. If you are experiencing mental health issues that you think may be covered by FMLA, please talk to your supervisor or our HR partner, Mary Stein (stein094@umn.edu).