Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Coping with rapid change

When things at work change unexpectedly, it can help to gather information and ask your managers and colleagues questions to better understand how the changes will affect you. We recommend the following articles to help you communicate with your coworkers and manage change:

• Communication dos and don'ts at work (5 min read)
• Communicating under pressure (5 min read)
• 6 Ways to Manage Stressful Transitions at Work (5 min read)

You can read our first article about change in the workplace on the N&N blog.

DEI Coffee Hour

We want to give a special thank you to those who joined us at the DEI Coffee Hour on March 16. As mentioned at the end of the coffee hour, we have a Mental Wellness in the Workplace Q&A form devoted to answering general questions related to workplace mental wellness. We encourage you to continue submitting questions to the form, as this helps inform our discussion topics.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Free Naloxone and overdose response training

Boynton Health provides free access to naloxone nasal spray across the Twin Cities campus. Naloxone is a life-saving, easy-to-use medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. If you want to learn how to administer it or how to respond during an overdose emergency, you can register to attend Boynton Health and UMNPrepared’s free on-campus and in-person overdose response training on March 25 or April 29.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Mindfulness programs information session

The Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing is offering a free well-being seminar, Mindfulness Programs Information Session, on December 16 at 12 p.m. via Zoom. It is also worth 200 well-being points. The 1 hour session includes an introduction to mindfulness meditation, a short mindfulness meditation, time to ask questions, examples for practicing mindfulness at work and at home, and an overview of the Bakken Center's mindfulness resources and programming. The Mental Wellness in the Workplace group encourages you to take a break during your day and practice mindfulness with a Bakken Center instructor.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace: Benefits of routines

Most of us have heard the suggestion to step out of our box and to learn and experience new things. This is important to our professional and personal growth. However, routines are important to our mental and physical wellbeing as well. Doing something routine can be calming after doing something new, challenging, and stressful. Take our Mental Wellness in the Workplace Survey to share tips regarding your routines.

Routine resources:

• Routines: Comforting or Confining? (2 minute read)
• The Importance of Creating Habits and Routine (6 minute read)

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Supporting you in supporting others

When you are prepared to help others in your daily work and personal life, you support your own mental health. The following resources will help you support others:

• Take a free online Narcan training and learn how to administer naloxone (Narcan) as it is the one factor attributed to lowering death rates from drug overdoses.
• Naloxone locations on campus
• Naloxone in ASR is in 311 Bruinicks and 130 Williamson
• Watch UMN Supporting Student Mental Health, a six-video series on how to support student mental health.
• Why You Should Be Involved in Supporting Student Mental Health and Wellness (3 mins)
• What Your Role is and isn't in Supporting Student Mental Health (9 mins)
• Listening Intentionally to Support Student Mental Health & Wellness (9 mins)
• Making Effective Referrals (5 mins)
• Responding to a mental health crisis (8 mins)
• The Police Response to Mental Health Calls (6 mins)

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time to highlight the importance of mental health, while offering resources for those in need. It’s also a great time to examine how mental health intersects with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the workplace.

A lack of representation, microaggressions, implicit bias, and other stressors can impact an employee’s mental health and psychological safety at work. As Dan Gillian, the CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), states, “The effect of racism and racial trauma on mental health is real and cannot be ignored.” Challenges related to racial discrimination, institutional prejudice, social isolation, political repression, and economic marginalization can all affect a person’s mental, emotional, and physical health.

But by prioritizing mental health in DEI initiatives and understanding how the two are greatly intertwined, we can work towards fostering a safe and supportive workplace where employees feel valued, respected, and accepted. We can prioritize mental health in our DEI initiatives by:

• Starting the conversation and creating a culture of open communication
• Taking implicit bias training to help build diverse teams and celebrating cultural differences
• Offering flexible work arrangements to accommodate different needs and encourage employees to take time-off
• Promoting mental health resources and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Managing burnout: Conversation starters

Based on your feedback, we are offering resources to help you identify when your workload is too much and how to have conversations about stress, burnout, and workload with your supervisor.

From staff to supervisor 

• What am I doing that is working well and why? What am I doing that needs to change? 
•  What do you see as the highest priorities for me right now? What are lower priorities? 
• Could we discuss re-evaluating/postponing/removing X from my workload? 
•  What parts of my work are most important for you to be up to date on and how can we check-in? Where can I be more autonomous? 
• What projects or tasks do you think are coming around the corner? 
• What would you like to know about my work? 
• What causes you to feel stressed related to my work? What gives you confidence? 
•  What skills do you think are most important for me to work on to support my career progression? What steps should I be taking? 
•  If I need help with something, what's the best way to get your input or support? 
• Is there anything I need to know about you or the team to support you right now? I feel it’s important for you to know… 

See our additional resources on having meaningful conversations.

Join the Mental Wellness in the Workplace Committee

Are you interested in shaping and supporting mental wellness in ASR? The Mental Wellness in the Workplace Committee is looking for new members, and welcome anyone interested to join us! Depending on our workload and capacity, we meet about every two weeks. If you are interested in joining or have any questions, you can reach out to a committee member.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Managing burnout - Conversation starters

Based on your feedback, we are offering resources to help you identify when your workload is too much and how to have conversations with your direct reports about stress, burnout, and workload. Here are some questions that may be helpful to get you started.

From supervisor to staff

Workload management

• What tasks/responsibilities have taken longer than expected? 
• What are your top priorities for today/this week/etc.? 
• Are there any barriers in your job? What can I do to help remove those barriers? 
• What tasks are most stressful? What part of the workday do you find most stressful?

Performance management

• What do you consider your personal successes today/this week/etc.?
• How can I help you be successful at work? 
• What is the best way to give you meaningful feedback about your performance (positive or negative)? 
• What suggestions do you have for improvements in the work? The office?

Wellbeing

• Is there anything new going on that you’d like to talk about?
• What can I do to support you? 
• What are the top one or two things concerning you right now?

You can review our other resources on having meaningful conversations as well.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

What does burnout look like within your staff?

Based on your feedback, we’re offering resources to help you identify when your workload is too much and how to have conversations about stress, burnout, and workload. Supervisors who want to identify burnout in their direct reports may find these resources helpful:

• Employee burnout (10min read)
• Employee burnout questionnaire

Can you identify one step you can take to help reduce burnout in your staff? Is there an element from these resources that could be brought to your next check-in with your supervisor to spark conversation about your workload and how to reduce burnout?

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

In our last survey, we asked about your favorite workload management tips for new staff members. “You can only do so much in a day. Tomorrow is another day,” and “Talk to your supervisor about expectations and prioritization” were mentioned the most.

From that feedback, we’ve put together the following resources to help you identify when your workload is too much and how to have conversations about stress, burnout, and workload:

• Burnout: Symptoms & Strategies (5 min watch)
• Beating Burnout (5 min read)

After reviewing the resources, can you identify one issue that you could try to address to help reduce burnout in yourself? We plan to write about the following topics over the next several issues of News and Notes:

• What does burnout look like in your direct reports?
• How do you talk to your supervisor about your stress, burnout, or workload?
• How do you talk to your direct reports about stress, burnout, or workload?

In our last survey, we also asked who you would want to meet, the Paris Olympic mascot Phrygian cap or the therapy dog Beacon. With 100% of the vote, the “Goodest Boy” won by a landslide! 

 

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

This week, we continue to share the results from our May 2024 staff engagement surveys. If you haven’t already, please take our three-question survey.

What do you do when you realize you are burned out or approaching burnout?

It is encouraging to see that a large percentage recognize they need to take a break and act on it. We received some great suggestions for other topics they'd like resources on:

• Resources for working with colleagues with mental illnesses such as PTSD or depression.
• Resources for working with colleagues who are exhibiting signs of stress and burnout.

Each survey had several comments from colleagues that we want to acknowledge, including stress and burnout related to work and compensation issues and family-related stress. We would like to express our support for all of our colleagues who have too much to do, pay that is not adequate, and/or family or other non-work-related stress. We hear you, and while some of the topics brought up are out of scope for our workgroup, they are not out of concern for us. We will keep these things in mind as we look at University resources to share, and as we talk with supervisors in September.

What's next?

Over the next few months, the Mental Wellness workgroup is going to be talking to supervisors about survey results, sharing University resources we think will be helpful, and asking you questions to help keep us on track.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Thank you to everyone who took our May 2024 staff engagement survey! We received great feedback, which has provided direction for our work. We’ve created another Mental Wellness in the Workplace survey, and we’d love your input. You can view the results from the staff engagement survey below.

What resources can the Mental Wellness workgroup provide regarding balancing workload, stress, and burnout?

What advice would you give a new hire regarding workload management?

• Work one thing at a time to maintain balance
• Set, manage, and communicate expectations with yourself, your team, and your supervisor/staff
• Be strategic with your calendar and use of “focus time”
• Communicate with your team/supervisor/staff/etc when you need help with workload or resetting priorities

Additional tips from the survey are available below. You can also find past tips using the #mentalwellness tag.

Great tips!

• Don't take on more work until you fully understand the work in front of you.
• You can only do so much in a day. Tomorrow is another day.
• Know what to expect. Be prepared.
• Use "focus time" on the calendar to do "deep thought" work.
• Boundaries are wonderful things!
• Work within your work hours and not past them.
• Nothing is life or death, so don't stress yourself out!

One thing at a time

• Take one thing at a time and lean on others if you need any help.
• Do one thing at a time. It will always be there tomorrow. Work/Life balance!!!
• Understand that not all of your work needs to be addressed at once! Keep your head down and work on one thing at a time.

Open up and ask for help

• Ask for help when you need it. Everyone is willing to help!
• When you feel overwhelmed, ask for help.
• Ask questions!!! Stand up for yourself!
• Communicate! If you're feeling overwhelmed or need assistance with prioritization, etc. There are resources available to help you manage your workload.
• If it's too much, say so!

Talk to your supervisor:

• To prioritize your work and discuss your workload.
• If your plate is full, ask, "I have too much, what should I prioritize?" Protect yourself.
• For help with prioritizing work and/or getting help from others.
• Openly talk about workload. Be frank and honest.
• So expectations are clear, communicate regularly with your supervisor about workload and when you're approaching a place of feeling overwhelmed.
• Keep an open and ongoing dialogue going.

Talk to your team:

• If you are a part of a team or working with others who are performing similar functions, establish a regular cadence of checking in or having "stand ups" to discuss workload across the team to balance the load where possible.

Turn to your supervisor AND your team!

• Develop a close relationship with your manager and team and keep lines of communication wide open. Be transparent with how you are feeling and what you like and what you don't enjoy about your work.
• Confirm priorities with your direct supervisor first. Then lean on other members of your unit/other ASR staff for tips and tricks.

Employee Assistance Program

Curious about the free resources available through the University’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP)?

• Visit the University EAP page
• Read more about the University EAP partner - Lyra
• Listen to a 18-minute video presentation about the EAP from Lyra. (9 ½ minutes of presentation + 9 minutes Q&A)

Make sure to take our survey in the ASR Staff Engagement section of today’s News and Notes. The ASR Mental Wellness group uses your survey answers in their work. Thank you for participating.

ASR Staff Engagement May 16 Survey

This week’s ASR Staff Engagement Survey continues our collaboration with the ASR Mental Wellness group focusing on stress and burnout. Thank you for continuing to share your stories and experiences!

According to the last survey, most respondents take a break when they realize they are burned out or are approaching burnout, followed by those that continue on and address the stress at the same time. In addition, a majority say highlighting University-related resources and bringing an associated speaker to an ASR all-staff would be beneficial regarding stress and burnout. Thanks all for your continued participation! It is very much appreciated.

Update from Stacey

Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? Be sure to check out the article below brought to you by ASR’s Mental Wellness in the Workplace committee, which helps connect us with important mental wellness topics and resources. I also encourage you to take this issue’s engagement survey, which will provide helpful feedback to the committee.

Mental health and wellness can be taboo subjects, but we can change that by engaging with these conversations. Our students are often great examples of this with their increased willingness to discuss these topics. Our University has some excellent resources. I’ve personally benefited from both the Employee Assistance Program and opportunities through the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing. Resources like this are such a great part of working at the University of Minnesota, and I recommend you take advantage of them if you are interested!

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness month. ASR’s Mental Wellness in the Workplace Committee works to share resources with staff and to create an environment that promotes positive mental health.

• Visit Mental Wellness at Work on the ASR staff site which includes a link to the University’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Search for the tag “mental wellness” in the News & Notes blog to reference previous articles shared via the newsletter.
• Take our survey in the ASR Staff Engagement section of today’s News and Notes. The ASR Mental Wellness group uses your survey answers in their work. Thank you for participating.

We are looking to expand our committee. If you are interested and want to learn more, please reach out to Amanda Grimm (grim0079@umn.edu).

ASR Staff Engagement May 2 Survey

This week’s ASR Staff Engagement Survey is a collaboration with the ASR Mental Wellness group and focuses on stress and burnout. Please consider completing the survey as it will be used in their work going forward. Thank you for continuing to share your stories and experiences!

According to the last survey, 51.9% of respondents have used the Regents Tuition Benefit program. In addition, most have a general understanding of how the tuition benefit program works (85.2%). Finally, we asked about your favorite breakfast food. Eggs benedict, pancakes, and breakfast sandwiches were mentioned most frequently. Thanks all for your continued participation! It is very much appreciated. Results from the last survey are available below.

April 18 survey results

Have you ever used the Regents Tuition Benefit program (formerly known as the Regents Scholarship Program)?

• Yes (51.9%)
• No, I am not considering that at this time (22.2%)
• No, but I know someone that has used the program (11.1%)
• No, but I am considering applying for the program in the future (14.8%)

In general, do you know how the Regents Tuition Benefit program works?

• Yes, I believe so (85.2%)
• No, I don’t think so (14.8%)

What's your favorite breakfast food?

• An egg and sausage (or bacon) sandwich on an English muffin!
• No food. Coffee!!
• Cold pizza
• Pancakes
• Chilaquiles with sunny side up eggs on the side and a piece of cecina!

Mental Health Advocates

Congratulations to Meghan Czarniecki (OSF) for recently completing the training to become a Mental Health Advocate. Mental Health Advocates are staff and faculty volunteers who serve as resources for their colleagues and take active steps each month making positive changes regarding student mental health within their sphere of influence. Mental Health Advocates do the following:

• Advocate for the implementation of public health strategies to promote student mental health in your unit;
• Serve as a point of contact for students, staff, and faculty in your unit who have questions about campus mental health resources and services; 
• and Disseminate resources to members of your unit.

Mike Arieta (OSF) and Katie Johnson (One Stop) are also on the list of Mental Health Advocates. Thank you to Katie, Meghan, and Mike for taking on this role!

ASR Wellness day

 On Thursday, December 15, all ASR staff are encouraged to use the second half of your work day to do a wellness-related activity of your choice. Whether it’s spending some time outside or getting cozy on your couch, you can do whatever sounds good to you! You should expect your normal pay for this day. This is considered a work day, and your work will be to pursue wellness activities. You do not need to submit this time as a vacation day or personal day. Directors will provide more information to their respective units.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so we wanted to share the resources that the Mental Wellness in the Workplace working group has compiled, which includes mental health resources from the University and State of Minnesota as well.