With plans for positive change made by many this new year, Brock University employees are invited to participate in several wellness initiatives beginning this month. 

Staff, faculty and librarians are encouraged to make kindness the norm at work by participating in kindness challenges and following a workplace kindness calendar created by the Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Foundation.  

This is the second year the University is promoting the year-long journey of kindness, compassion and self-care, which focuses on daily actions employees can take to help create a considerate working environment. Each month of the workplace kindness calendar centres on a theme, such as “let there be laughter” in January, “savour each moment” in March and “celebrate each other” in June. Some acts of kindness focus on personal growth, while others may brighten a colleague’s day. 

Kathryn Walker, Manager, Health Management and Wellness, suggests University departments include the kindness calendar as part of their regular internal communications, such as team meetings, manager updates and newsletters.  

“We can all benefit from a little bit of kindness, whether it’s to ourselves or others,” said Walker. “Brock employees are already known for their caring and community spirit, so the calendar can help us nurture a workplace culture where people feel connected with each other and appreciated for their contributions.” 

In addition to following suggestions from the RAK Foundation, employees can kick start their kindness journey by sending notes of support to colleagues in recognition of Bell Let’s Talk Day on Wednesday, Jan. 25 — a day dedicated to raising awareness and funds for mental health.  

To participate, employees are asked to reflect on how their colleagues have positively impacted them and to share messages of positivity, encouragement, acknowledgement, appreciation or gratitude through the Be Mindful platform any time this month. 

Employees interested in learning more about mental health in a workplace setting are invited to register for one of two free training sessions on offer this month. Developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, The Working Mind training for employees will take place Thursday, Jan. 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., while The Working Mind training for managers is scheduled over two days, Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesday, Feb. 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., for those who manage or lead people. Both take place synchronously online. 

Also on offer this month is a wellness workshop on Setting Goals vs. Resolutions Wednesday, Jan. 25 from noon to 12:45 p.m. via MS Teams. 

Additional employee wellness resources are available on the Health, Safety and Wellness Toolbox on SharePoint, which includes the January 2023 wellness calendar, recordings of wellness workshops and resources from LifeWorks wellness newsletters, which are updated monthly.    

Employees interested in wellness events being offered throughout the year are invited to join the Employee Wellness Yammer community and the Health, Safety and Wellness organization on ExperienceBU to connect with colleagues and stay up to date on new event postings. (Employees may need to log in to ExperienceBU before being able to click on the blue ‘join’ button.)    

Questions about employee wellness resources and ideas for future wellness workshops can be emailed to employeehealth@brocku.ca