Wellbeing & Leaves

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[Michelle] Welcome back to the Managers Take 5 series,
I'm Michelle Artibee, Director of Workforce  

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Wellbeing in the Division of Human Resources at Cornell. During this segment we'll take five  

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minutes to talk about the importance of a supportive workplace climate, where employees  

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can thrive. We know that some employees are struggling with things such as the personal  

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and professional ripple effects of the pandemic, world and national events, feelings of burnout  

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and fatigue from work-related situations, and pressures and personal life stressors, such  

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as changes to relationships, finances, elder care, and parenting. Joining me is Matt Braun.

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Matt is the Assistant Dean for alumni Affairs and Development in the College of Veterinary  

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Medicine. Matt welcome and thanks so 
much for being here with us.

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[Matt] It's a pleasure Michelle, thanks for having me.

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[Michelle] Why don't we just get started with what does wellbeing mean to you personally Matt?

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[Matt] A center point for me personally 
would be, you know, being in a frame of mind where  

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I'm feeling as present as possible, wherever I am, and being tuned to acknowledge when those  

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symptoms of wellbeing imbalance creep up in my daily life. So for me, you know, they show up  

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in the form of a lack of focus or inability 
to reflect, impatience, stress, a low morale or  

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low motivation, maybe feeling bored or burned out.

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[Michelle] What does well-being mean to you as a manager Matt?

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[Matt] Well at the heart of it, I do my best to support a team climate where everybody feels like they have  

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the space to take care of themselves and their families. You know, without being able to take  

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the time to focus on their personal needs, I think the work will suffer. As a manager, I need to be the  

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cheerleader and I need to be the advocate for a kind social climate promoting group communication  

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and cohesion. You know, if maintaining a trusting and positive team climate is the glue to workplace  

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wellbeing then that's what I'm after. 
[Michelle] Matt, could you please share two to three things managers can  

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do right away to prioritize wellbeing in their area? 
[Matt] So I think number one we need to demonstrate  

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and promote a compassionate attitude and, you know, more often than not when you do that you'll be  

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rewarded with a caring team. Team members, I think, who experience perhaps a hardship in their lives  

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will find it easier to bounce back into a caring team if that trust exists consistently. Number two  

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I think, you know, as managers we should be always looking for the pinch points and help people get  

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unstuck. If we exhibit the grace necessary to put people first, again, will be rewarded by helping, 

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by seeing them kind of, come out of moments of... of challenge or difficulty. And then I think equally  

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important is, as managers you know, take care of yourself. If managers aren't feeling centered,  

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they can't be present for their team. Let the team know when you're not feeling centered  

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so they know what it looks like when you're off and can reciprocate and provide the feedback you  

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need to get yourself back on track. For all of us life happens, we need to ask for help.

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[Michelle] Do you have any advice for managers who are seeing some 
concerning things with individuals on their team  

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and feel compelled to offer to help but aren't really sure where to start? 
[Matt] I think as a manager  

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I... I do believe we are in a position to acknowledge with our employees individually that we might be  

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sensing that they're off, for any particular reason, and give them an opportunity to share. Some may  

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choose to take that opportunity and some may not. But I think the first step to deeper understanding  

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is to be compassionately inquisitive. We want to make sure that the employee has what they  

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need to feel good about approaching work on any given day, at any given time. And if you live that,  

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you know, walk that walk every day, you show up as a manager, it becomes embedded in the culture of your  

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team, and there's a higher likelihood that people will reach out for help when they need it.

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[Michelle] Matt, I really enjoyed talking with you. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas, and most  

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importantly for really striving to create both an effective and a healthy work environment for your team.

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[Matt] Thank you Michelle, thanks for having me and initiating this conversation.

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[Michelle] Thank you managers for taking five minutes out of your day 
to focus on employee well-being. It is critical  

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to individual and organizational success and we hope the past few minutes have provided  

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you with some actionable tips that you can start implementing today. Visit hr.cornell.edu/well-being  

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for information about Cornell services, programs, and policies that support employees.

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[Michelle] Remember that when we're fatigued and overwhelmed, our productivity  

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is hindered. It takes us longer to accomplish the things that we want to accomplish. So this  

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becomes a self-perpetuating cycle, where we're working more hours but they're less effective hours.

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[Julie] I find that it is most impactful for me in supporting my wellbeing if what I'm doing  

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not only fills my cup but also is meaningful to me, and perhaps even meaningful to other people.  

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[Lisa] Be generous to yourself, and be generous to others. Don't beat yourself up... right um... it's so easy to do  

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but we have a choice in how we respond to things that happen. And when we have that choice to focus  

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on the positive uh... and be optimistic I think that makes a really big difference. [Aaron] I mentioned I run.  

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sometimes I will just sign up for a race, it's not about I... I expect to win and something but  

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it's just I'm going to work toward some goal, for myself. [Ten] It's important to me to be able to like,  

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live in my space. I have a cubical, you know, it's not an office but it's... it's me. Which is a little  

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thing but it's so important. [Travis] Stay active. I think it's a really good thing, you know, whether it's  

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walking or just doing different activities [Ten] Try to, especially on Cornell, make sure to be getting out  

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and getting a walk, and seeing all of the beautiful landscaping. [Travis] Not just just physical wellbeing but  

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mental wellbeing, you know, talking to others. Just having general conversations outside of work.  

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I think just makes it more natural and, you know, less stressful when you can talk about  

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other things rather than just work all the time. [Christine] I definitely want to encourage everyone to take care  

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of themselves and don't be afraid to ask for some help if you need it. If you're struggling reach out  

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to someone, we have a lot of resources here at the university that are available to you. So my advice  

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is to seek out what's available tap into those resources. Check in, talk to someone if you need  

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to. Take a pause if you need to, do that. Do whatever it takes but prioritize your own sense of wellbeing.