Wellness Trends and Hot Topics for 2017

Submitted by by Janet Nodorft, CWC, CWWS, MS, Wellness Consultant with Blue Jewel Coaching
Janet is a presenter at out September PDS

Cultivating Cultures that Flourish was the theme of the 2017 National Wellness Institute’s conference recently held in St. Paul, MN.  I felt like a kid on Christmas morning for the three days while I was there hearing phenomenal speakers that spoke on numerous wellness topics. My enthusiasm has been rekindled and I am excited to share with you my experiences. People attended from across the U.S. and from several countries which enriched the conversations, strengthened trust and respect, and enhanced friendships.

There was an obvious commitment to make a real difference in wellness whether it was for the public or private workplace, within the community, for big or small companies, or for profit or nonprofit agencies or businesses.  Several themes emerged from the three-day conference including culture, using a holistic approach and mindfulness. 
 
The first theme centered around having a wellness culture with organizations. Healthy, thriving cultures are critical in today’s highly competitive market of which there are many reasons. Two reasons that organizations embellish wellness is to remain in business, and to recruit and retain talent.  Now many people want and expect to work somewhere that embraces a wellness culture and they specifically look for one when job searching. Approaches about how to design, develop, and implement a wellness culture are custom tailored according to the organization’s needs.  Unique strategies will meet employees’ needs and vary according to the industry, size, location, and many other factors.  Employees, partners, vendors, suppliers and others all impact the culture. A healthy culture must have the commitment from leadership including managers, and supervisors but it is also necessary to have engaged employees. Since up to 90% of ongoing costs are related to the employees, having a wellness culture will enhance happiness, life satisfaction, meaningful work, and serving a purpose.
 
Another theme that emerged is using a holistic wellness model and moving from one that is more traditional to including even more aspects of wellbeing. Holistic wellness initiatives are primarily directed at improving overall wellbeing of employees but are also aimed at controlling health care related costs as a secondary outcome. Traditional models include physical, emotional, social, spiritual, occupational, financial, intellectual and/or mental.  Many models include different variations. New and innovative approaches are added to expand wellness and may include habits such as forgiveness, quieting your mind, gratitude and laughing.  By expanding the model, it provides a sense of direction about how to have a culture of wellness that focuses on the whole person, improves the community, and serves society. Multicultural aspects are becoming more popular and include value based cultures and worksite diversity.
 
Finally, mindfulness is another very common practice being done in organizations.  This is an easy way to improve employee satisfaction, and it enhance productivity and morale.  Mindfulness can be as simple as slow, deep breathing while closing your eyes and can be done at a desk, workstation, or at other locations throughout the day.  Sometimes organizations are providing spaces that are often enclosed to provide privacy, comfort and a quiet space to practice mindfulness to get away from the rat race.  By offering a space, people get away from job stress, pressures and the high demands of work and can better focus and feel refreshed after practicing mindfulness for only a few minutes.  When using these simple breathing techniques, employees are likely to experience less stress such as before, during or after a meeting, when colleagues are disagreeing, or when there is stress from other life events.  
 
In conclusion, wellness is not going away and we simply cannot ignore it. Organizations that embrace wellness do better than those that don’t and research proves this.  Whether an organization is just getting started, improving upon what they currently have, or has a robust wellness culture, only positive, good things can happen. 

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Don’t Ignore Mental Health issues in the Workplace

Submitted by Jane Maule, VP Programming GMA SHRM
Mental Health in the Workplace is a topic featured at out September PDS

Amy, by any standard, was a model employee.  She worked hard and was a perfectionist in completing her job assignments.  She was a great team worker and was loved by others in her department.  Her supervisor thought she had great potential for advancement within the organization.  Amy had one problem, however.  She was living with severe depression and anxiety that resulted in an increasing abuse of alcohol.  This caused her to miss work for several days at a time.  After each occurrence Amy would have a plausible excuse for missing work.   Amy’s supervisor was reluctant to talk with her about how much work she was missing.  She thought if she was kind and patient with Amy she would eventually work through her issues.  The last thing she wanted was a reprimand on Amy’s record.  Unfortunately Amy’s condition spiraled out of control and after a weekend of binge drinking she was found unresponsive and taken to the hospital with a lethal level of alcohol in her system.
 
Don’t make the same mistake as Amy’s Supervisor.  She was in a perfect position to see that Amy receive the help she needed, but failed to do so.  An estimated 43.8 million Americans age 18 and older suffer from some form of mental health issue, according to the nonprofit Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC). Mental illness and substance abuse cost employers an estimated $80 billion to $100 billion in indirect costs per year, and stress is ranked as the top workforce risk factor by 78 percent of U.S. employers.  “Behavioral health conditions are among the most widespread, costly and yet preventable illnesses from which people suffer,” said Terri L. Rhodes, executive director of DMEC. (SHRM contributor, Stephen Miller, CEBS Mar 2, 2015)

Please join GMA SHRM on September 19, 2017 at the Alliant Energy Center for an educational program that will explore how to identify and respond to mental health issues in the workplace.   For more details please go to www.gmashrm.org/2017-09PDS

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2017 WISHRM State Conference - HR's got Talent

Mark your calendars!  The premier Human Resources conference in Wisconsin is happening October 11 – 13, 2017.  This year’s conference will take place at the family-friendly Kalahari resort in Wisconsin Dells. 
In the past, conference attendees had the opportunity to:

• Hear high caliber, nationally-renowned keynote speakers deliver thought-provoking, inspirational and entertaining keynote speeches
• Network with fellow HR peers from across the state
• Meet with vendors ready to support their HR efforts with all kinds of services including solutions to meet your talent, software, legal needs and more
• Pick and choose from numerous learning sessions to tailor their learning
• Earn both general and business credit towards SHRM and HRCI recertification

You can plan to attend for the same amazing benefits.  Register early for the best rate!  Registration is open now!

Visit the WI SHRM Conference page for more information.
 
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SHRM Foundation Certification Scholarships

Getting your HRCI or SHRM certification?    Both organizations now have MOBILE APPS that you can download to help in your certification prep!    Check out the App Store in your smart phone (iPhone or Android) for these helpful tools!

Sheree Yates, WISHRM Certification Director

In 2017, the SHRM Foundation will award almost $500,000 in support of students seeking undergraduate, graduate, certification and professional development opportunities. It would be great to see Wisconsin SHRM members be recognized as scholarship recipients!
 
Scholarship funds may be used for any combination of test preparation expenses, such as SHRM Certification Preparation tools and/or exam fees.
 
In addition to the SHRM Foundation Certification Scholarships, your WISHRM state council sponsors a Certification Scholarship in the amount of $750 for a SHRM national member who lives or works in Wisconsin and is preparing to sit for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP certification exam.
 
When applying for a SHRM certification scholarship, eligible applicants will be considered for both the Foundation and WI State Council sponsored scholarship. To apply go to the SHRM Foundation Scholarship page.

The deadline for the Spring offering is coming up soon so make sure to get your application in.

The WISHRM Certification Scholarship will be awarded in fall 2017. 

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GMA SHRM Idea Exchange

Sometimes you just have that question…..you would really just like to ask an HR colleague quickly.  Perhaps it is limited to your field of work, or a specific situation.  Let GMA SHRM help! 
 
In response to a specific need, we are excited to launch the “Idea Exchange” as part of your membership in GMA SHRM!  The goal of the Idea Exchange is to provide a secure area for all GMA SHRM members to be able to start a dialogue and find someone to network with on a particular issue, and to share files in a more secure format - or at least share contact details so files could be shared.
 
This great new tool is available to all members of GMA SHRM.  You simply sign in on the GMA SHRM Home Page (click on Member Log In at the top) to access questions or to provide your response!”



Once you are logged in, click on ‘File Library’ at the top right, and Idea Exchange will appear on the drop down menu. 



Interested in joining the Social Media & Technology Committee? 
 
Simply want to learn more about what we do? 
 
Join our next committee meeting via telephone conference!   Contact Contact Tia Gibson (tia.gibson@covance.com)  for details – all interested GMA SHRM members are welcome!

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Dane County Regional Job Fair

The Dane County Regional Job Fair is fast approaching!  Workforce Readiness is a perfect committee to partner with this event.  As in the past we are looking for volunteers to join us in an assistance capacity before the job fair starts. 
 
As HR professionals this is a fun and engaging way to demonstrate your skills in resume revisions for those less experienced.  How rewarding to have an opportunity to affect a resume for a jobseeker before it is submitted!
 
We are looking for up to 18 volunteers across a two hour time slot (10a-12p), prior to the start of the fair on Wednesday August 16th at the Alliant Energy Center.
 
If you have time and are willing to spend an hour or two helping out, please reach out via email to mary.kauffman@dwd.wisconsin.gov
 
Click here to join us for the Dane County Job Fair.

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