August 2022 Employee Wellness Newsletter — Albuquerque Public Schools – Albuquerque Public Schools

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Wellness wire – Let’s listen. New in-person classes at City Center, new monthly webinars, Monday mindsets, cooking classes, pet therapy & so much more wellness trends in the news.

 Wellness Wire – Let’s Listen
I know many of us are motivated to start the school year. After a relaxing break, I hope you’re ready to begin!
Last week I mentioned in the wellness wire the Gallup poll information that employees who felt their manager listened were 62% less likely to feel burnout. Communication may not be the first thing that pops into our heads when we think of ‘wellness’. But work and life satisfaction through our spiritual, social, and intellectual well-being is directly tied to our psychological need to feel supported, validated, and to be heard.  This happens through communication.
In the absence of communication, people make assumptions. Right or wrong, we’ll fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, this can lead to a lot of unrealistic expectations, unmet needs, hurt feelings, and low morale.  When people feel that their voice, concerns, great ideas – or whatever contribution – isn’t considered or even asked for, they start to feel de-valued, disgruntled and begin the long slow spiral of disengagement. Whether we realize it or not, we will pull away from people and processes that frustrate us. We experience work dissatisfaction, stress, and burnout, which easily leads to lifestyle behaviors that cause depression, weight gain, and other chronic illnesses.
When we feel like we are successful at what we do, recognized, validated through collaboration and conversation, and engaged with others in a supported mission and purpose, it feeds our souls and makes us happy. We’re more productive, motivated individuals overall. Simple as that. 
That’s the synchronous connection between our spiritual, social, emotional, physical, and intellectual well-being.  
Steven Covey is quoted as saying, “Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” I will admit that I have been guilty of this more times than I can count. I’ve also been guilty of distracted listening. This means pretending to listen but not really because we’re thinking of a gazillion other things while someone is talking. We all have a tendency to do this. Busy brains wander and sometimes it’s hard to stay focused. When we actively listen with empathy, we’re communicating in a non-verbal way that what the other person is saying has merit, we care, and we’re opening the door to understanding and connection building. 
I’ve mentioned above how the soft skill of listening relates to our personal well-being. Now I want to steal a few sentences of your time to connect how this relates to the culture of an organization. Most of us easily work 8-10+ hours a day. During the week we spend more waking hours at work than at home. If our time is spent in an environment where we don’t feel like we are connecting, growing, supported, and heard, then the organization suffers through low morale, loss of productivity, increased absenteeism, and resignations. People will work for less money where they can thrive emotionally, socially, and intellectually. They will stay in work cultures that have embedded well-being into everything they do. Where wellness is not a check the box – it is the box.
The beauty of this lead-by listening with empathy piece of communication is that it doesn’t take much effort to work on being a better listener. Sometimes it’s a simple awareness point and a little practice. The return has tremendous value to the person (or group) you lead or engage with as well as a return on investment for all of us. When we take the time to listen we also learn. 
In my human connection habit loop, I encourage people to quiet the noise so we can hear what our body needs to feel well. This week let’s endeavor to quiet the noise so we can hear what others need to feel supported, validated,  and heard – to be well. 
 
APS Employee Wellness offers many free programs to help all employees (regardless of benefits coverage or full/part-time status) lower their risk for disease, attain lifestyle and weight loss goals as well as manage stress and mental health issues.  
Every month APS employees now have access to a variety of well-being webinars. Register and receive the recording for on-demand viewing at a time that is convenient for you. All the information is in the Employee Wellness event calendar. The cadence is set every month and the topics change. 
Livongo provides integrated diabetes, blood pressure, and weight management solution with free 1-1 coaching, linked monitors, a free scale, unlimited glucose strips, and more. Every month Livongo offers 20-minute informative webinars on a variety of topics.  These videos are open to all APS employees. Learning events vary by day and time. All events are scheduled in your Employee Wellness Calendar. The videos are available for on-demand viewing and do not expire. 
Short wellness presentations for school staff and APS departments. We can tailor to your needs and fit time ranges from 15-60 minutes. Some topics include:
Schedule Pet Therapy!   This is for APS employees. If you would like to offer your staff or department a couple of hours of furry-cuddle-stress-relieving therapy time, fill out this request form. Please note that accommodations must be made for any colleagues who have allergies to dogs. 
If you have any questions contact Becky MacGregor at [email protected]. 
Is there a link between diet and productivity? Unhealthy late-night snacking may make people less productive at work the next day, according to a study.
This effective exercise progression uses a weighted bar or dowel and focuses on the entire lower body, particularly the inner and outer thighs.
Physical Address:
6400 Uptown Blvd. NE
Albuquerque NM 87110
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 25704
Albuquerque NM 87125-0704
APS Administration
(505) 880-3700
Student Service Center
(505) 855-9040
[email protected]

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