UTA Wellness Resources Reinvented
UTA Wellness Resources Reinvented
By Heather Earnhardt
Upcoming Important Dates:
Annual Enrollment: July 15 – 31, 2022
Annual Benefits Fair: July 19, 2022 9 am-1 pm in the Maverick Activity Center front Gym.
This month, we interviewed Latoya Oduniyi, the University Wellness Coordinator in Human Resources. We asked her a few questions about the current wellness programs and plans for the future of opportunities in wellness for faculty and staff.
When you think about Wellness at UTA, what would you consider to be the most important tenets of health and wellness for UTA employees?
“The most important tenets of health and wellness for UTA employees would include a holistic mindset. Also, it is important to ask questions such as: What does their work-life balance look like? Are they content in their professional development? What do they want to achieve in their careers? So, in wellness, we typically work from the Eight Dimensions of Wellness." The eight different areas include:
- Occupational (Professional) – Work/life balance, professional motivation for advancement, and tools to help collaborate with others in the workplace.
- Financial – Money management, personal finance, budgeting, and savings for family goals to help improve their financial health.
- Physical – Physical fitness practices that impact our personal and work life. (healthy eating, routines, and exercise)
- Emotional – Self-care practices to help with mindfulness and healthy emotional processes.
- Spiritual – Understanding one’s purpose and how they impact the world around them. Knowing how you play into the bigger scheme of life.
- Social – Connecting and building networks with others for personal or professional reasons.
- Intellectual – Striving for knowledge, creativity, or expanding their thought process or understanding of an interest.
- Environmental – Understanding of the environment around them (home, nature, office) and what works best for them to flourish in.
The wellness coordinator has demonstrated the urgency of providing employees with the knowledge, information, and tools to have a more fulfilling life.
Are there resources available from HR to help address employee health and wellness?
Currently, the Wellness page is undergoing a review of content and there will be many updates coming soon. The Living Well platform through UT System has a wealth of knowledge and content for those seeking to improve their lives. Access is a priority to make sure that employees are aware of the benefits they are entitled to here.
If so, how do employees become qualified to get these services?
Communication regarding these new initiatives will be going out through e-mail of an HR Newsletter, through the MAVWire Newsletter, and promotion through the HR Wellness website. Currently, all of the services mentioned in this article are available only to employees of UT Arlington.
Are there any upcoming initiatives that HR is doing to help promote Health and Wellness?
The creation of the University Wellness Coordinator position is a big step in focusing in on employee health and wellness with a holistic lens based in public health. Currently, HR Wellness provides information to employees about different offerings that can help them expand their health and wellness. Specifically, access to the Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) that is provided through a company called ComPsych. It covers items from mental health, counseling, house hunting, legal questions, financial planning, and much more.
Is there anything you’d like to add? Did we miss covering something important?
One of the biggest opportunities recently launched is called Limeade. It is a comprehensive platform from Living Well. It’s a mobile app to help employees with different topics related to health and wellness. It gives you tips to help engage in the 8 dimensions of wellness, track fitness goals, and connections with others. It will be publicized much more as the changes to the Wellness website go forward. It is currently active and ready for people to sign up. Click here: Limeade
We want to thank Latoya Oduniyi for speaking with us and getting this important information out to our employees on campus. Please contact HR if you have any questions. Go to HR Wellness
Stay tuned for more exciting information to be added.