During May, Be Well is celebrating Employee Health & Fitness week to promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. This initiative is promoted by employers across the globe every May. Now more than ever, it is important to prioritize some form of self-care. As many of us are constantly giving and serving others, it is important to take that same time and attention to give to ourselves.
Virtual events will be hosted from Thursday, May 14th through Wedensday, May 20th. All events are free for UTK employees!
May 14th - HR Financial Wellness Series: Zoom Event
Money Management For Young Professionals Part II. RSVP here.
May 15th - National Bike Day
Get outside and take a ride! Snap a photo of you and your bike and send it to bewell@utk.edu to win an awesome prize! Extra points are given if you post your photo on social media and tag @bewellutk with the hashtag #BeWell. Don't forget your helmet!
May 18th - Mindful Monday: Zoom Event
Enjoy a virtual introduction to mindful meditation lead by Casey Sams, a UT professor and member of the UT Mindfulness Community of Scholars. Participants willl receive a one month HeadSpace membership to help develop some relaxation practices. RSVP required.
May 19th - Virtual Cooking Class
The UT Culinary Institute will be hosting a lunch time zoom cooking class demonstrating how to make vegetarian lasagna with zucchini noodles. Register here.
May 19th - Employee Fitness Class (Zumba): Zoom
TRECS instructor, Alex Raston, will lead a high-energy Zumba class for UTK employees. Join the party, by signing up, here.
May 20th - Employee Wellness Luncheon: Zoom Event
Join Be Well in a virtual session as we celebrate our accomplishments over the 19'-20' academic year and discuss UTK specific results from the 2019 National Faculty & Staff Health Assessment. Participants will receive a $10 Grubhub gift card. Register here.
Stay connected with Be Well on social media for event updates!
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Be Well Punch Cards
If you have completed a Be Well punch card, we want to hear from you! As we will no longer be holding Employee Field Day in person this summer and need to continue practicing social distancing guidelines, we want your input on prizes! Please fill out the google form located here, to let us know your thoughts.
More details will be announced in the coming weeks on how to redeem your prize.
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Strategies for Coping with COVID-19 Anxiety As the University of Tennessee has transitioned online, a new resource is available to help students, faculty, and staff cope with stress and/or anxiety that has developed as a result of COVID-19. "Remember that while this is a very difficult and uncertain time it is not permanent. We must take good care of ourselves and look to each other to help us get through this tumultuous time."
For fact sheets, tips for for managing stress and anxiety, mindfulness practices, and to view the canvas site, click the button below.
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Office of Ombuds Services Providing Services Remotely
The Ombudsperson continues to meet with UT Graduate Students, Faculty, and Staff through Zoom and on the phone. The Ombudsperson can work with you while identifying solutions about your employment at UT, professional development, and academic work? The Ombudsperson can help you make empowered decisions about questions that you may have. You will also find more information at: https://ombuds.utk.edu/. There is never a bad time to contact the Ombudsperson so start a conversation by making an appointment by emailing LisaYL@utk.edu or by calling 865-974-6273 to leave a message.
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Move MoreThe loss of "routine" may have your days looking a little bit different right now; no trips to the gym, no walks from your car to the office every morning, no walks across campus to various meetings and events. Now, more than ever it is very important to be intentional about how much movement is included in your day, as much of our built-in daily physical activity has been lost due to working from home.
Are you able to swap your commute for a morning walk? Maybe you're enjoying the extra time to catch up on sleep, can you spend your hour lunch break up and moving out of your work chair? While many are itching to get back in the gym or are losing motivation with at home workouts, it is important to remember to have fun with whatever physical activity you choose.
The American Heart Association has launched free at home workouts that are bound to get your heart rate up and a smile on your face. Tune in during the live workout or hit play whenever you're free! Find the schedule of classes, here.
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Eat WellHave you found yourself spending more time in the kitchen preparing wholesome meals or trying out new recipes these past few weeks? As dine-in eating was shut down for restuarants across the country, many American's returned to their kitchens for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
So how long will those leftovers last? Is the milk really expired? What does "sell by" actually mean? Food labels can be very confusing and contribute to a significant amount of food waste every year. To help you save some money and limit the amount of food that goes to waste, we are clearing up all of the misconceptions.
- Best if used by/before: indicates when a product will be of best quality or flavor. This label is unrelated to safety.
- Sell-by: indicates how long the store should display the product for sale for inventory management. This label is not a safety date.
- Use-by: indicates the last date for the use of the product at peak quality. This label is not a safety date, except when used on infant formula.
- Freeze-by: indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. This label is not a safety date.
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Be MindfulFor UTK employees on the university's benefits package, Blue365 members have free access to eM Life until June 30th. "eM Life delivers live, interactive mindfulness programs multiple times throughout the day, led by expert, certified teachers. These mindfulness programs offer an oasis of social connection as you navigate the recent challenges of the “new normal” including social distancing, financial stress, mindful parenting, working remotely, and address a variety of chronic conditions.
Programs included with this offer are:
- The Mindful Daily – Experience daily new topics in live 14-minute sessions offered seven days a week, multiple times a day to fit your schedule
- Stress Less, Live More – Reduce stress while improving physical health, emotional well-being and more
- Living Well With Chronic Pain – Help reverse the disabling effects of chronic pain while reducing anxiety and depression
- Weight Balance For Life – Create healthy habits for sustainable weight loss
- Mindfully Overcoming Addictive Behaviors – Build self-awareness skills to navigate triggers, impulses and limiting mindset associate with addiction
- QuitSmart Mindfully – Develop the skills to support tobacco cessation within six months
- Better Living With Diabetes – Learn ways to cope with the emotional and physical limitations of the condition
- Plus, access hundreds of hours of on-demand with content covering Financial Stress, Mindful Parenting, Sleep Meditations, Working With Remote Teams, Relationships and more."
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Wellness Warrior
This month we are awarding the Division of Enrollement Management with the Be Well Wellness Warrior Award. Jacob Deluca, who is a regional recruiter for the division, is a part of a group that has been diligently working on ways to bring fun activities to employees during Covid-19. As someone who always works remotely, Jacob knows just how important it is to stay active and take breaks. He thought a team-based walking challenge would be a fun way to bring everyone together to get moving. From this idea, the "One Million Steps to May" challenge came to life. Within the division, employees created teams of five where they would work throughout the month of April to reach one million steps.
"This challenge has been so much fun! I think it has brought people together, and shined some light during this difficult time. The power of fitness and staying active is good for your mind, body and soul. I am thankful to work at a place that recognizes the importance of fitness, and I am thankful for our CFO (Cheif Fun Officers) team for working hard to provide FUN to our division.” -Jacob Deluca
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We asked employees to share their experience with us and we couldn't be more enthused by the incredible dedication of the division. Check out the photos and comments below from staff members who participated in the challenge!
Congratulations Enrollment Management, and thank you for being a model of health and wellness on UT's Campus.
Do you know someone who you feel is deserving of the Wellness Warrior award? Please fill out a nomination form to have their story told.
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"As a mom of two, three and under, this time at home without childcare due to school closings and safer at home orders this has been very challenging time. I know I’m not alone as there are many mothers that can relate how this time has been mentally, physically and socially challenging to be at home all day while trying to maintain working and watching our children. The University of Tennessee and more specifically The Transfer Center team has been very supportive during this time of uncertainty. Im so grateful to work at a place that truly checks in and cares for their employees from and I have seen displayed from the top down during this time. Our daily walks are something we now look forward to and sometime that will continue after this challenge. I’d like to challenge our division to do this again next year! Being able to connect with colleagues in different way, has been a lot of fun." -Kerry Hines
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"I have been so motivated and inspired by my team each day. Throughout the competition, we’ve been in a text chat everyday talking about our step goals, challenging each other, and just catching up. It has been so refreshing to talk to colleagues each day about something other than work and the coronavirus. [The challenge] taught me that by prioritizing physical wellness – getting those steps in – it has an impact on other parts of life. I’ve started taking walks each morning with my dog; it’s cleared my head and allowed me to be more productive in the mornings. I’ve also felt happier during the workday because I’ve been more active and moving throughout the day." -Michael Smith-Porter
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"I was definitely in a quarantine slump before this. Normally I go to the gym and weight train at least 3 days a week, but once quarantine started I wasn’t doing any physical activity. This challenge genuinely helped me to get my inspiration and motivation back and has gotten me out walking/running/moving again! My team is so great! We are in a group text and we talk every day. (Shout out to Ashley A, Kylie R, Sammy S, and Kevin B!) Each person on the team is so encouraging and uplifting of one another and every person stepped it up (pun intended) for this challenge! I am so proud to be on a team with them! Additionally, one member of my team I didn’t know as well and now I adore them! This has been so unifying!" -Jordan Burner
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"This experience gave us accountability factor and staying connected and encouraging with our team!"
-Julian Wright
"This challenge has created a great team bond with my team (Smokey and the Bandits!). It has also created friendly rivalries with other teams and in the end we all just want each other to succeed!"
-Kylie Rigdon
"My team uses the step challenge during our staff meeting! We get outside, get fresh air, connect several times a week, and get caught up on all the updates from the office. It’s a great way to ‘force’ ourselves to be active while still staying connected with each other and our office! "
-Laura Stansell
"This challenge has impacted my physical health greatly. There have been many days where I have been tempted to be a couch potato and sit around most of the day. But, the challenge has really motivated me to do the best I can not only for myself but for my team. I have been much more active than I would have otherwise been if it weren’t for this challenge! "
-Ashley Anderson
"My favorite part about this challenge has been that it allows me to spend some quality time with my niece during our evening walks. We get to unplug and I know I’ll treasure this time when she gets older and is too cool to hang out with me."
-Nabila Siwji
"I’m a new employee. By participating in this challenge, I find it has expedited my relationship building with co-workers! You can learn a lot about people when you add a friendly competition. I must say, I love my teammates and find that working together on a non-work-related project will only improve the collaboration in work-based projects to come!"
-Courtney Klinedinst
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