The transition from remote to on-site working environments may be causing stress, anxiety, and a number of overwhelming (whether positive or negative) emotions for CALS employees. Recently, an information session at the Research Administrator Symposium shared some tips and resources for managing your health and resiliency during your transition period.

The CALS Wellness Committee is happy to share these resources with our employees and encourage you to utilize these and other techniques to stay mindful of your own wellbeing.

Tips:

• Decompress between your work and home time.
• Respect everyone’s concerns and decisions about returning to on-site work.
• Be honest with yourself about how you feel about returning to the office.
• It’s OK to feel out of balance for a while. It’s a process and it’s OK to struggle.
• Share your favorite pandemic stories with each other.
• Remember that after spending so much time working from home, people change.
• It’s been a long time since you’ve been in the office. Your routine has changed. It’s ok to take time to build new routines in the office. They will be new, as your routine changed under work from home. New is OK. Remember to slow down.
• Begin making changes to your routine at home, so that you are more comfortable with changes that could be coming.
• Don’t worry about balancing all aspects of your life right away. It’s all still interconnected.
• Take things one thing at a time; think ahead but don’t try to multi-task.
• Whether working in the office or from home, challenge yourself in all aspects of your life.

Resources:

• Employee Assistance Office – https://hr.wisc.edu/employee-assistance-office/
• Personal Counseling – https://hr.wisc.edu/employee-assistance-office/#personal-counseling
  • Lifematters (Counselors available 24/7 via telephone to support employees’ personal and work-related concerns) – https://hr.wisc.edu/employee-assistance-office/lifematters/
  • SilverCloud (online, self-guided, interactive self-assessment for mental health) – https://hr.wisc.edu/well-being/silvercloud/
• Well-being coaches (EAO consultants to provide coaching and training to work units and other groups) – https://hr.wisc.edu/employee-assistance-office/#well-being-coaching-and-training
• LinkedIn Learning Collection of Videos regarding work-life balance and returning to the office – https://www.linkedin.com/learning-login/share?account=56745513&forceAccount=true&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Flearning%2Fcollections%2F6830581988676648960%3Ftrk%3Dshare_collection_url%26shareId%3DcfCkVdj9Qq6aAPFtjvw7Qw%253D%253D