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Professional Staff Organization

Category: Health and Wellness

Join the Movement: Dementia Friends Information Session 

Let’s change the way we think about dementia! Did you know there are over 125,000 people living with dementia in Washington? Now’s your chance to be part of a movement that’s making a difference—right here at UW! 

Join our 90-minute Dementia Friends Information Session, where we’ll dive into what dementia really is, how it affects people, and most importantly, how YOU can make a difference in your community. We’ll chat about ways to better communicate with those living with dementia, clear up what’s normal vs. abnormal in aging, and share loads of resources to support you and others. 

This is a super interactive session, designed to give you time for questions and discussion, so you’ll walk away feeling confident and ready to take action. It’s not a formal training—it’s a fun, informative way to get involved in building a more inclusive, dementia-friendly campus and community. 

Curious? Excited? Ready to make a change? Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of something truly meaningful.

When: November 20, 11:30 AM-1 PM

Where: Zoom

Who: UW Faculty, Staff, Students

Registration Link Forthcoming

2024 DEI Forum Achieving Equity Together: April 30-May 1, 2024

The Professional Staff Organization DEI Committee is thrilled to announce the upcoming 2024 Annual DEI Forum will be held on April 30 and May 1. This year’s forum will focus on overcoming the challenges associated with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in higher education. 

The event will center around the UW’s commitment to social justice and will feature workshops and small group discussions among campus leadership, esteemed faculty, and dedicated professional staff. The sessions are designed to foster open discussions to develop strategies for creating diversity initiatives to ensure the success of marginalized communities across the tri-campus community. 

Mark your calendars, and join us as we work together to create a university community that embraces diversity, champions equity, and values inclusion. 

Registration is now open: https://wholeu.admin.washington.edu/uwnetid/twuext/EventDetail.aspx?regid=&eventid=1655&eventsessionid= 

For more information, please email the PSO DEI Committee. 

Intergenerational Wisdom: Healing Forward with Dr. Wilson Edward Reed

In honor of Black History Month, the Burke Museum has partnered with the PSO DEI committee to host a candid conversation that centers on the elders of the African diaspora, cultural healing modalities, and a shared reflection from Dr. Wilson Edward Reed. He will share how his healing journey from anxiety and depression has evolved since living through the era of Jim Crow in the racially divisive state of Mississippi.

The presentation will include a grounding exercise inspired by the book:

‘The Inner Work of Racial Justice by Rhonda V. Magee

Drawing: Attendees will be entered into a raffle for a chance to receive a free copy of the author’s book ‘June Bug’. Up to 10 winners will be chosen.

Learn more about the background of the author and the book details below.

About the Author: https://mississippijunebug.net/about-author/

 

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

12-1 PM

Registration Link: https://wholeu.admin.washington.edu/uwnetid/twuext/EventDetail.aspx?regid=&eventid=1631&eventsessionid=1593&mkt_tok=NTI3LUFIUi0yNjUAAAGRjvzge4GIvHMoZor8nmT_9bHezae3y7E3vLB27Vs7h02XHHQQup8Ej1T36MuZ8ObrIaz0QhoKb4O0Ri-MvBSmWuNvK39f6cBc-zG3DHqT_nk

For questions, please reach out to psoboard@uw.edu

Join us for the Winter Wellness Fair – January 26

The Professional Staff Organization Events Committee is excited to invite staff to our Winter Wellness Fair, in collaboration with UW Recreation. Stop by the Intramural Activities Building (IMA) on January 26, 11am-1pm to meet colleagues and start your year off right. We’ll have…

  • Micro massages
    Climbing at the Crags Climbing Center
    Intramural games
    Access to the pool, activity areas, and tours
    Group fitness classes
    And more!!!

You’ll have the chance to win amazing raffle prizes, including class passes and climbing center passes. This event is free for UW staff!

Please fill out the interest form here!

UWHR policy updates for vacation accrual, PFML and more

UWHR has shared updates to a few policies.

Effective July 1, 2022, more than 10 days unpaid time off no longer impacts two provisions of employment:

  • Unpaid time off will no longer affect the rate at which contract covered, classified, and professional staff earn a month of service towards a higher vacation accrual rate. While vacation time off is not accrued during a calendar month in which staff take more than 10 days of unpaid time off, staff will earn a month of service for each month in which they are active in the payroll system.
  • Unpaid time off will no longer affect the timing of step progressions for classified staff. Progression start dates will no longer be extended due to the use of more than 10 days of unpaid time off in a calendar month.

These changes are required for classified non-union staff due to revisions in the state civil rules that go into effect July 1, 2022 and are being extended to professional staff and other contract covered staff following UW’s determination to follow civil service law unless explicitly stated otherwise. Associated webpages that refer to the impact of unpaid time off on these two provisions of employment will be updated for July 1. Workday updates have been completed in anticipation of these changes.

 

PFML bereavement supplemental benefit: Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) has been expanded to allow up to 7 calendar days of paid leave following the death of a child when an individual expected to use leave for the child’s birth or to bond with their child after birth or placement. Effective June 9, 2022, UW will allow use of bereavement time off as a PFML supplemental benefit in these same circumstances. All contract covered, classified, and professional staff in non-temporary positions receive up to three days of paid bereavement time off for the death of a family member. Please contact your leave specialist should you have questions.

Survey of Professional Staff on Return to In-Person Work

Over the course of spring and summer 2021 quarters, the PSO Board received emails and questions from professional staff who expressed concerns about returning to onsite/in-person work. It became clear that professional staff wanted more transparency and information about the university’s plans to return to in-person work.

In order to better understand the concerns of our professional staff colleagues, the PSO board ran a survey soliciting feedback about the return to onsite work. We sent the survey to our PSO membership listserv of 10,838 people and received around 1974 responses.

The survey was conducted anonymously in order to encourage respondents to share their opinions and experiences freely. The survey included 11 questions – 6 single or multiple choice and 5 optional, open-ended questions.

The responses that we received were wide-ranging and thorough. We first want to thank you, our members, for taking the time to share your experiences with us through this survey. You’ve shared thoughtful, specific, and very personal feedback with us, and we are committed to using this information to do what we can to help professional staff during this transition and in our work going forward.

Our first step after analyzing this data was to prepare a summary to share with UW Leadership. We were moved by your responses and felt it was of utmost importance to share our findings with UW leaders. You can read our initial letter to leadership here.

From there, we continued a deeper analysis of the survey results, and are committed to sharing these findings with you, our members, and taking your feedback and experiences to shape our work as the PSO Board of Directors.

In our initial review of the open-ended survey responses, we identified a few categories that represent the primary themes that emerged. These themes included equality vs. equity oriented policies, concerns regarding scheduling, transportation and safety, questions about masking and vaccination, and more. We explore these themes in greater detail in our report, which is published on our website.

It’s important to note that these themes are not exhaustive, and are not independent of each other – we observed a high degree of overlap and intersection amidst your responses. For example, scheduling concerns were largely related to issues around transportation. As we describe in the report, we used these categories to sort your responses so that we could provide as comprehensive a review as possible.

Our next step was to take our initial findings and dive deeper into the interconnections of your responses in order to provide a more nuanced report with clear action items to our community of members as well as UW Leadership. As the PSO Board, our mission is to deliver the issues and concerns of professional staff to the university administration and to our greater campus and local communities. These are your experiences, and we are grateful to you for sharing them with us.

As a near-term action, we’ve compiled a list of resources published by the University to address some of the primary concerns surfaced via the survey:

General guidance and policies:
Return to on-site work – UW HR
Autumn quarter health and safety
Autumn quarter health and safety measures (Message to UW personnel)
COVID-19 Safety Training: Back to the Workplace
How contact tracing works at the UW
COVID-19 vaccination requirement
Eating Space Guidelines for COVID-19 Prevention (updated 8/31/21)
Scheduling:
Flexible work arrangements
Managing the hybrid workplace
Caregiving:
Caring for self and family during transition
Child and family care during COVID-19
Transportation:
U-PASS update for autumn quarter
Healthy and safe commuting
A healthier Metro is here – King County Metro
Indoor spaces:
How ventilation in UW buildings works
COVID-19 VENTILATION FAQS
Implementing special out-of-cycle checks on central supply air MERV-13 filters
Sick-leave:
Temporary PEBB benefit eligibility for hires related to COVID-19
Time off resource summary

Long-term, we will use this information to drive our work and continue to advocate for the needs of professional staff at the University of Washington. We’ve also prepared a more detailed report for you to read more about our process, findings, and recommendations for UW leadership. On September 16, we sent a letter to UW leadership about the survey results and resulting recommendations. 

Thank you again for all the professional staff that submitted survey responses and have reached out to us personally about your concerns and needs. We deeply appreciate you trusting us with your stories, and we will continue to advocate on your behalf during this transition and after.

WA Cares Fund: details and resources

Washington State’s new mandatory long-term care (LTC) insurance under the WA Cares Fund will pay for long-term care expenses (up to $36,500 in total) for those who reside in Washington State when they require long-term care. The WA Cares Fund will be funded by a new payroll tax, starting January 2, 2022, of 0.58% of gross wages. The tax will affect all employees in  the state unless they take action to opt out.

Washington State allows individuals that have purchased qualifying private LTC insurance before November 1, 2021, to opt out of the WA Cares Fund. Private LTC insurance ranges with respect to coverage and premiums, as compared to the WA Cares Fund and attendant payroll tax. Two typical differences:

  1. Private LTC insurance typically provides coverage in all U.S. states rather than just Washington State, and in some cases outside the U.S. as well.
  2. Private LTC premiums typically must be paid beyond retirement, until claim or death.

As a state institution, UW is not authorized by the Health Care Authority (HCA) to offer group-based long term care insurance programs. The PSO encourages all professional staff to learn about the WA Cares Fund and to decide what option is best for their individual circumstances.

For more information:

Election stress: UWHR resources

No matter where you stand on candidates and issues, it is important to acknowledge how many may feel due to the election. Stress and anxiety can affect our health, our work, and our relationships and interactions with others. Please review and share UWHR’s resources to help employees and managers over the next few weeks:
FOR MANAGERS
  *   Office Hours with POD: Election stress is real, and at this moment in time leaders are managing unprecedented levels of anxiety and distress among their teams. Join POD’s experienced consultants to ask questions, discuss organizational and interpersonal challenges, and get help with managing during this difficult time. The Nov. 2 session will focus on addressing anxiety and sharing best practices for preparing your team, and the Nov. 9 session will focus on moving your team forward and helping people become “unstuck.” Register for the Monday, Nov. 2 and/or the Monday, Nov. 9 session from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
FOR ALL EMPLOYEES
  *   2020 Election Support Series – Daily Reminders to Practice Resilience: Participants will receive an e-mail from The Whole U every work day between Monday, October 26 and Friday, November 13 that includes concrete, 5–15 minute action steps to support resilience, compassion for others and self-care.
  *   14 Day Election Stress Mediation: Find relaxation and build resilience this election season through practicing mindfulness. Join Catherine Bachy and Jeff Leinaweaver for a 10-minute guided meditation session at noon starting October 26 and continuing daily through November 6. This meditation session will have you calm, focused, and empowered for the rest of the day.
  *    Healthy Media Consumption as Election Day Approaches: Watch UW CareLink’s on-demand webinar to learn about healthy media consumption habits that don’t damage your mental and physical wellbeing.
  *   Helpful tips are also available in Work-Life Director Kathleen Farrell’s article on resilience strategies and in UW CareLink’s election stress guide.
  *    Dealing with Harassment: In the upcoming season we may see an increase in online harassment. SafeCampus continues to be available if you or someone you know is targeted. There are many kinds of online harassment, from the annoying (rude comments made by online trolls), to the invasive (doxing), to the potentially dangerous and traumatic (cyberstalking, threats of violence, hate speech and beyond). UW staff, faculty and students may be targeted because of a belief they share in a classroom, a political position they hold or because of their area of research. You do not have to deal with the situation alone, reach out to SafeCampus for caring consultation and resources at 206-685-7233 or visit their online harassment resources at: uw.edu/safecampus/harassment-and-sexual-harassment/