Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19 features conversations with CUPA-HR members who are wrestling with the the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial equity issues, and the 2020 election on the mental well-being of staff and faculty. How can HR professionals in higher education stay mentally strong and also provide much-needed support to employees? It isn't easy! But this series of conversations offers personal perspectives and practical ideas for doing both.
Episode 3: Staying Connected
Lakyn Whaley talks with Barbara Abercrombie at the University of Tulsa about the challenges of meeting and working remotely, and the ways she stays connected with her family and HR team. Barbara also discusses the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on people of color, and how her campus is working to understand these challenges and support employees.
Episode 2: The Mindfulness Factor
CUPA-HR’s Lakyn Whaley talks with Jennifer Addleman at Rollins College about her college’s efforts to support mental well-being on campus — from virtual activities intended to ease stress and isolation for remote employees, to webinars created to help faculty and staff develop healthy habits and cope with loss. Even before the pandemic, mental health for students and employees was being intentionally baked into the campus culture through a number of initiatives.
Mentioned in the podcast: Mindfulness Matters: Strategies for Centering, Reflecting and Meditating in the Workplace
Episode 1: Highs, Lows and In-Betweens
CUPA-HR’s Jill Thompson talks with Maureen De Armond at Oregon Institute of Technology about how she has found her way forward on a path that has no defined end, and how HR has supported employees through the many highs, lows and in-betweens brought on by COVID-19. Maureen had been at Oregon Tech only a few months when the pandemic hit, which added another layer of complexity to the many quick pivots that had to occur.
Mentioned in the podcast: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint — One HR Professional’s Reflections on COVID-19 Burnout, Financial Anxiety and the Need for a Really Long Nap
