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/

Resources to Get Out The Vote

From our friends at UW Impact:

Get Out The Vote Resources

Huskies Vote

Find a collection of resources and events to help voters get registered, get informed, and get to the polls. Your voice matters — make sure you use it!
More on Huskies Vote

Candidate Survey

Prior to every Washington State legislative election, UW Impact conducts a short, non-partisan candidate survey to see how candidates would prioritize public higher education issues. Have your candidates responded? Find out!
Find Candidate Survey Here

Presidential Debate Previews

Hosted along with KUOW and the UW Alumni Association, join UW Impact for virtual conversations with local experts and journalists ahead of each presidential debate. RSVP today!
Sign Up for Debate Previews

Husky Caucus Directory

More than 30 UW alumni serve in the Washington State Legislature, and they help enact key legislation that affects the University community and beyond. Check out the Husky Caucus Directory to learn who they are, what they studied, where they serve, and more!
Husky Caucus Directory

Voting for American UW alums abroad

Voting abroad or know someone who is? Access non-partisan resources to help navigate voter registration, ballot requests, and the task of mailing ballots from abroad from UW alum, Elyse Hope ’16.
Voting Resources for Expats
What else can you do?

Ensure you and your friends and loved ones are registered to vote with updated information.
Look for updates from UW Impact on social media (find them on Facebook and Twitter).
Join UW Impact!

Annual Letter to Professional Staff from the PSO Board

Hello, UW community of professional staff! On behalf of the PSO Board of Directors, we are excited to reach out to you as we begin our year together. In this moment it’s more important than ever to stay connected and be there for each other. The PSO is working to understand, amplify, and address the needs of professional staff–that’s *you*, and over 10,000 others on our Seattle, Tacoma, Bothell, and Harborview campuses.

The all-volunteer PSO Board works to highlight the essential role of, enriches the experience of, and serves as a resource for professional staff at the University of Washington–the mission of this 30-year-old 501c(5). Through our values of Advocacy, Communication, Education, Professional Development, and Representation, we develop events, programs, scholarships, partnerships, and other resources to ensure that professional staff are seen, heard and appreciated for the immense value you all bring to our campuses.

Last year, some of the ways in which we served this community included:

3rd annual Diversity Forum, featuring speakers on allyship and accomplice-ment
Spring Celebration, with speaker President Ana Mari Cauce
Professional Staff Awards, where peers nominate each other for their outstanding contributions to the UW
Over $3,000 in scholarships to pro-staff for professional development
Successful advocacy to avoid increases in the cost of U-PASSes
Advocacy for professional staff of color and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Regular welcoming of new UW professional staff, in partnership with UW-HR, at orientation events

This wouldn’t be possible without the support of PSO members. Each year the majority of the contributions you give are funneled back into the professional staff community. Thank you for making our work possible!

PSO-Board-2020-2021 — The 2020-1 PSO Board held its retreat in August 2020.

During our annual board retreat, we discussed the primary ways we plan to support professional staff in the coming year, under the themes of Equity, Advocacy, and Engagement. We plan to reach out to adjacent communities and UW leaders to listen and share resources and ideas; we plan to increase the number of conversations we host about how to support BIPOC professional staff; and we plan to stabilize and grow our scholarships program so that the efforts of pro-staff to improve their professional skills are celebrated and rewarded. Importantly, the upcoming legislative session looks to be a difficult one for UW and higher education. The PSO Legislative Committee is working to make sure your voices are heard in Olympia. Legislators need to hear from UW staff that funding UW and higher education is vital for the economy and future of this State.

We want to hear from you! How can we advocate for your needs, to UW leadership, state legislature and beyond? We hope to hear more about your experiences during the pandemic and the uprisings due in response to continued injustices toward Black and brown bodies, and intend to reach out specifically later in the quarter.

Finally, if you’d like to get more involved with the PSO, we welcome you to volunteer at our events or join any of our committees. Or just reach out–we would be happy to hear from you.

Best wishes for a meaningful and productive start to our academic year,

Leyla Salmassi, President, and Jen Davison, Vice President, on behalf of the PSO Board

Upcoming Discussion – Disarming & defunding UW police: what does that look like?

DISARMING & DEFUNDING UW POLICE: WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? A Conversation for the University of Washington Community

AUGUST 7, 2020, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (PST)

Hosted by the Faculty Council on Multicultural Affairs

Please use the following link to join the webinar on Zoom: https://washington.zoom.us/j/95247426190.

Panelists: Gautham Reddy, Professor, Radiology; Brenda Williams, Senior Lecturer, School of Law; Thomas Locke, Graduate Student, Political Science; Angelica Chazaro, Assistant Professor, School of Law; Alexes Harris, Professor, Sociology; Leyla Salmassi, Professional Staff Organization; Edwin Lindo, Lecturer, School of Medicine

To contextualize the discussion, consider viewing the 2018 UW forum “COMMUNITY AND LEGAL STRATEGIES TO STOP POLICE VIOLENCE” hosted by the UW Department of Global Health, an event marking the one-year anniversary of the police killing of Charleena Lyles in her Sand Point apartment.

Learn more