WorkLife Connections Newsletter
July 2021
Upcoming Events
See what's happening this month.
Service Spotlight

The Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) program strives to inspire and motivate our front-line employees and volunteers to turn every visitor encounter into a positive experience. MSU now has many CTAs with skills to make each and every visitor feel like they belong and help make the Greater Lansing area a home away from home!
Join the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center (formerly LBGT Resource Center) as we discuss how to get involved, our new LGBTQA+ competency building curriculum (Quest), and things to consider as we continue to learn more effective ways to intentionally engage with each other. LGBTQA+ inclusion is work that belongs to all of us.
Well-being at Work: Taking Time off is Critical
Breaks throughout employees’ days have many benefits that the Well-Being at Work Guide outlines.

Take a look at “Breaks During the Workday.” Taking time away from work, in the forms of breaks, vacation time, or strengthening boundaries around employees’ workdays, is important.

Employees should also remember to take a break for lunch. The section “Paying Attention During Meals” walks employees through how to maximize lunch breaks, as well as the benefits from doing so.

Taking vacation time, whether vacationing away or staying at home, helps employees increase their productivity and improve their health. “Vacation Time” goes into detail about these benefits and the steps employees can take to get the most out of their vacation time.
The WorkLife Office Student Team 
Please welcome our new student team to the WorkLife Office! Olivia Walters, Martin Lee, Ian McDonald, and Reed Howell. will assist with the implementation of various efforts to help support our staff and faculty across multiple contexts. We look forward to their input as we collectively strengthen our MSU community through work-life balance.
TOP of MIND: Frequently viewed or discussed topic
Flexible Work Arrangements
Can be a Win-Win Situation
They can be a useful method to maintain unit service while supporting the personal needs of employees. Studies show that work schedule flexibility can yield many benefits, including increased productivity, improved morale, decreased absences and turnover, and improved work quality. Find easy-to-use resources for employees and supervisors when considering flexible work arrangements.
FAMILY
Caregiving: Skills that Benefit the Workplace
Did you know, that in the US, 17% of the workforce are caregivers for adults over the age of 18 and 33% of the workforce are parents of children under 18 who live at home? One third to one half of the entire workforce have a caregiving role. Many employees report that the most time outside of work is spent on caregiving and other issues related to aging parents/others, or raising children. At the MSU WorkLife Office, we consult, provide education for, and train thousands of faculty, staff, specialists, and postdocs per year on issues related to caregiving.
Dependent Care Support Programs
We understand that professional care is important for your loved ones, children, or elders, and want you to choose the right services for your family. Whether you are faculty, staff, student, or administrator, you can choose a service that works best for you and your specific needs. Short-term subsidy options are available as well as free access to search Care.com/MSU by using your MSU NetID email.
MSU COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Michigan State University is a large campus with many different opportunities. Sometimes, connecting with colleagues who share research interests or values can help make an enormous campus feel more like a community. Below are just a few suggestions about where you might get started. See what groups are available in the MSU community.
Safety Tips from MSU Bike Store
MSU Bikes has been a staple on campus for many years. Staff in the bike shop are clearly bicycle enthusiast and experts in the field. They’ve pulled together a series of articles and videos to help you stay safe on your riding adventures.
Gardening Tips with MSU Horticulture ANR
Sarah Geurkink, manager at MSU Student Organic Farms talks about community supported agriculture and answers gardening questions. This video is full of gardening tips and practical advice from sunlight, to types of plants, to planting bed styles and layouts. 
Explore the Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center
This local 400-acre center for scientific research in natural resource restoration and management is located in Laingsburg, MI. Research will be the foundation for outreach and education programs to help build awareness of better land stewardship practices and the relevance of science to society. 
People can visit CMERC for walking, hiking, bird, and wildlife watching, photography, stargazing, and skiing/snowshoeing (trails are groomed in the winter). They have 3.5 miles of trails and the first part of a wheelchair-accessible trail.
MSU Dairy Store – Opening in the Fall!
We are excited that restrictions are beginning to lift and the safety of our employees and patrons can be addressed. Plans to reopen the MSU Dairy Store are underway, with a target of opening this fall, when students arrive back on campus.
RESEARCH
Well-being at Work: Taking Breaks Matters 
Taking breaks throughout the workday has benefits for both the employee and the organization, but many employees often neglect to take them. Skipping breaks can lead to faster burnout and higher stress levels. Employees stepping away from work for a few minutes increases their productivity, job satisfaction, mental health, and well-being, in addition to restoring their motivation (Kohll, 2018; Selig, 2017).  
WORK
Mess makes Stress:
Declutter and the Mind 
Learn what clutter is and how it affects our mental health and behaviors, how to shift your mindset away from overwhelmed, and simple solutions to tackle clutter and get organized, along with the mental health benefits of being organized.
HEALTH & WELL-BEING
The Importance of Taking Time Off and the Benefits of Staycations
Taking time away from work is important, both for your work life and your personal life. But you don’t need to travel at all to take advantage of a vacation. Jaimie Hutchison will discuss the value of taking vacation time for both work wellness and personal wellness. Lori Lanspeary will discuss the importance of visitors to a region and the role the Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau plays. She will also give tips and tricks on how to make the most of your own staycation. Special guests Nick Little, Director of Railway Education in the MSU Broad College of Business, and Ed Phillips, an MSU University Travel Manager, will also discuss Rail and Ale tours in Michigan and staying local, but not at home, respectively.
Health and Well-being - Financial Focus
TIAA offers a wealth of information and resources for your financial planning both now and into the future. Check out the video library. Use your MSU NetID email to create an account.
CAREER
Tracking your Professional Success 
Learn why updating your professional documents regularly is important. Get tips to help you prepare for your annual review or have conversations that impact your team. Get resources on CV, resume and cover writing tips and the link to HERC career resources.
HERC Webinar: LinkedIn Rock Your Profile 
Do you know the difference between your resume and your LinkedIn Profile (and why both matter)? Interested in learning how to leverage LinkedIn for networking and finding opportunities in higher education?
EVENTS
Photo with 16 drawn faces showing different emotions
Parenting Series: Building Early Emotional Skills – Thursdays in July
Building Early Emotional Skills (BEES) is a research-based parenting curriculum for parents and caregivers of children 0-3. The BEES curriculum is an active, hands-on tool to teach parents about how young children develop social-emotional skills and helps give parents skills to deal with parenting stress.

Topics covered in the curriculum include: 

  1. Parent’s temperament and stress 
  2. Child’s temperament and “fit” between parent and child temperament 
  3. “Family movies” and managing feelings 
  4. Being reflective about my child’s feelings and my feelings 
  5. Emotion coaching — responding to my child’s feelings 
  6. Reducing biting, conflict, and frustrations 
  7. Handling tantrums 
  8. Building a solid foundation for tomorrow
image of a world globe with different flags in orbit around it
July 26 - Working in an International Context: Challenges and Opportunities
The goal of this workshop is (a) to provide an opportunity to discuss challenges, opportunities, and dilemmas related to international communication, (b) reflect on learning from mistakes by analyzing cultural communication failures with Hofstede’s national culture model, (c) share five rules which can be applied in every international communication context, and (d) provide a networking opportunity for those working abroad. Administrators, faculty, staff, residents, and students who have worked, are working, or planning to work in an international context are welcome to attend.
MSU WorkLife Office | worklife.msu.edu