WorkLife Connections Newsletter |
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Care.com/MSU
Join Free with Your MSU NetID
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Need a sitter while school is on winter break or just so you can go shopping? Need a tutor for one of the kids? Want a dog walker now that the snow has arrived? Wouldn’t it be great to have someone else clean the house? Do you need someone to care for your elderly parent? Or maybe your cat needs someone else to stare at while you visit family out of town. Whatever kind of help you need, you can search for it on Care.com/msu for free using your MSU NetID email when you create an account. Care.com/msu also offers information, resources, and even webinars. |
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MSU COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS |
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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. |
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An association for faculty wives and faculty women. Membership promotes fellowship, encourages volunteers for University-related organizations, and now includes alumni and the broader MSU community. Membership is open to all MSU faculty, staff, friends of MSU, alumni, and their spouses. Newcomers are welcome as guests. |
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Flexible Work Is the Future of Sleep Solutions: Understanding What is Keeping You Awake |
It is no secret that the recent COVID-19 pandemic has influenced lives around the world in countless ways that have yet to be discovered. One of these new concerns that doctors have begun to document is a heavy increase in insomnia, a chronic difficulty with sleeping, and restless sleep, a seemingly universal problem. Although the research on this phenomenon is not fully established, there are many things that individuals can do now to combat these sleep issues without medical intervention. In an unpredictable and constantly changing world, it is more important than ever that health and wellness should come first. |
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Flexible Work Is the Future of Work — Seizing the “New Normal” for Increased Engagement and Productivity |
Bryan Garey discusses how many of us are blind to the drastic changes in the way we work, and how companies who seize this opportunity will be rewarded in higher productivity and engagement. Garey brings up studies that show remote workers are more hard-working than on-site workers. The concept of the "Whole Person Paradigm" is introduced, stating that work is a part of life, just like caregiving and other family responsibilities, and should be recognized as such. Garey goes on to explain how adopting a remote-work model can increase a company's engagement, productivity, retention, and recruitment. This source can be used as an example of why MSU should continue to incorporate remote work arrangements for their employees when possible, as many advantages have been identified from this article. |
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Leading Strategic Planning |
Written by Sharri Margraves, HR Associate Director for Organization and Professional Development
Strategic planning is a critical aspect for leaders in all organizations, and now that MSU has recently introduced its first strategic plan in decades, you have an opportunity to help drive the results that will continue the upward trajectory of the university. Strategic planning is about change, and as with any change effort, communication and clarity of purpose are essential throughout the process. It can be helpful to recognize the process of strategic planning as four typical phases: pre-planning, assessment, implementation, and measuring and monitoring.
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It is easy to focus on what is lost - time, people, opportunity, warm weather. The close of the year brings twenty-something different holidays, depending on your religion, culture, and family birthday schedule. While these holidays are a reason to pause and celebrate, they can also be a reflection of happier moments. |
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HERC BLOG:
Do's and Don'ts for Following Up on Your Job Application
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It's been two weeks since you submitted your application, and you still haven't heard anything from a real person. What can you do? HERC shares some actions you can take to keep moving forward with this opportunity. What follow-up tactics have worked for you? |
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Bella Berns has been an intern with the Michigan State University WorkLife Office since August 2021. This upcoming December, Bella will be graduating from MSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Youth and Society, as well as a minor in Educational Studies. Following her graduation, Bella will be pursuing a Master’s in Social Work in the Fall of 2022.
During her time at the WorkLife Office, Bella has connected community members with resources within MSU’s campus and beyond. Bella’s biggest ongoing project with the WorkLife Office has been the lactation spaces audit project. This project consisted of contacting 70+ MSU representatives around the campus to accurately adjust the MSU WLO lactation map, answer questions MSU staff/faculty may have about the map and make these spaces more accommodating and accessible for all Spartans to use. Bella also communicated with several other universities to adjust the language around the lactation spaces to be more inclusive for all users. This project coincided with Bella’s passion and interests in creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment.
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December 7: Women's Networking Association: Holiday Fun/Trivia on Famous and Historical Women |
The December WNA session is a time to gather, build community, play trivia, and have the chance to win prizes! Please join us for some trivia fun. |
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No Sleep, No Social Life, No Self-Care = The Cost of Caregiving. How You Can Lighten the Load |
That constant pressure you feel but can’t quite name? For almost half of us, it’s the intensity of caring for a loved one. Join us as Alexandra Drane, CEO and Co-founder of ARCHANGELS, dives into the data on how caregiving is the job many of us don’t even realize we have, its impact on our work, relationships, and physical and mental health, and the surprising solutions that actually help. You’ll be shocked by the weight and intensity of the load we’re actually carrying and in awe of the steps you can take to make things a little easier. Whether you’re actively employed and caregiving is your “other” job, it’s your full-time role, or you’re trying to re-enter the paid workforce after time away as a caregiver, this session should not be missed. |
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December 9: Family Affinity Group: Depression, Anxiety, and Other Common Mental Health Challenges in Youth |
Help us to continue our conversations around mental health and well-being. Many of our youth struggle with mental health challenges, and as concerned parents, teachers, and community members we know that you want to support them. Come learn about the most commonly diagnosed mental health challenges in young people as well as ways to help them be successful in managing them. |
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MSU WorkLife Office | worklife.msu.edu
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