Coping with Fall Events | Faculty & Staff Wellness | Case Western Reserve University

Centering Well-being in Challenging Times: University Wellness Program Solutions

Our goal with these offerings is to provide faculty and staff with the tools they will need, and can immediately implement, to handle challenges present in the world this Fall of 2024.

Healthy Conversations in Polarizing Times: A Special Edition Reflection Point Experience

As we enter the final months of the 2024 election, we find ourselves face to face with polarizing issues and challenging topics. We have decided to devote one of two Reflection Point group this fall to discussing themes and topics pertinent to issues related to the election. For this group, the books will be chosen ahead of time and will feature a mix of fiction and non-fiction designed to facilitate generative discussion on the multiplicity of viewpoints in our contemporary political climate.

Thursdays, August 29 - November 14, 12-1 pm via Zoom

Please email erc10@case.edu if you are interested in participating.

*Eligible for a Wellness Program Incentive in the Community Well-being category

Coping with Current Events: Cultivating Attentional Agency

Join Daron Larson, BA, originator of the term "Attentional Fitness", for a mindful approach to coping with events this fall. Topics of this 4-week mini-series include:

More Than Calm: Mindful Habits for Thriving in an Attention Economy
Your attention is a scarce resource. The most valuable companies in the world are competing for it. Reflect on your current attention budget, use your values to help you revise it, and learn how mindful habits equip you to pull it off.

Inside Out for Grown-Ups: How Becoming a Connoisseur of Feelings Prepares You to Respond More Effectively
Regulating emotions is one of the most empowering skills a person can develop. Instead of instructions on how to do this, we get a steady stream of stories about conflict and escalation. Learning how to relate to our real-time emotional reactions helps us get better at feeling them without making them worse or blaming them on other people.

Setting Limits: Navigating News, Technology, and Social Media-Related Stress
The problem isn’t information overload. It’s social and emotional overwhelm. Profitable companies design their content and marketing to grab and hold onto your attention. Explore ways you can start to decide what to pay attention to instead of defaulting to what demands it.

Less Dramatic Holidays and a More Mindful New Year
Learn ways to sneak a mindful awareness into the holiday season to savor the pleasant moments more and avoid making the unpleasant moments worse. Discover how small, doable mindful habits help equip you to navigate work pressures, family dramas, and the challenges of ordinary life—throughout the year.

Mondays, October 14 - November 4, from 12:30-1:30 pm via Zoom

*Participants can earn a Wellness Program Incentive in the Community Well-being category for participating in two of the fall coping mini-series (Coping with Current Events: Cultivating Attentional Agency, Improve Your Well-Being Through Meaningful Connections at Work, Building Blocks of Civil Discourse, and Everyday Antiracism)

Improve Your Well-Being Through Meaningful Connections at Work

Full-time employees spend more than half of their waking hours engaged in the workplace environment, including meetings and communications with coworkers. It’s no surprise that our interactions with coworkers have a significant influence on our mental, emotional, and social well-being. This interactive mini-series will offer a unique opportunity to explore the science behind meaningful workplace relationships and how they contribute to overall job satisfaction and well-being.

Over four sessions, Jessica Grossmeier, PhD, MPH, will delve into a science-based framework designed to help you cultivate authentic and impactful interpersonal relationships in your professional life, as well as emphasize the importance of finding a balance between personal and professional aspects of your life - enhancing both your workplace performance and overall happiness. Guided by a skilled instructor, you will participate in breakout rooms and large group discussions to apply the concepts learned and practice integrating them into your daily conversations. Each session will focus on a specific approach to enhancing your social connections with coworkers. You will have the opportunity to implement these strategies during your workweek, allowing you to seek feedback and support from your peers in the subsequent class.

Wednesdays, October 30 - November 20, from 12-1 pm via Zoom

Small Acts, Big Impact: Be Healthier, Happier, and More Successful Through Kindness

In today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, essential dynamics like collaboration, cohesion, and validation are often overlooked - if not outright dismissed. This is a missed opportunity, as scientific evidence shows that these positive interactions boost productivity, enhance problem-solving, spark innovation, and strengthen team spirit, leading to significantly improved overall performance. Moreover, research reveals that the benefits of kindness extend beyond the workplace - promoting physical health, longevity, and reducing stress and discomfort in ways that modern medicine can’t fully explain. Join MJ Shaar, MAPP, to explore the transformative power of kindness in the workplace and learn how to turn “have a good day” from polite lip service into reality. Together, let’s create the culture we want to thrive and grow in.

Key Take-Aways for Participants will Include:

How kindness contributes to physical and mental health improvements
How being kind provides competitive advantages that lead to higher success levels at work
How to make kindness an uplifting and sustainable part of our daily lives

Tuesdays, October 1 - November 19, from 12:30-1:30 pm via Zoom

*Eligible for a Wellness Program Incentive in the Community Well-being category

Building Blocks of Civil Discourse

Fall 2024 brings the U.S. election and ongoing world affairs which may present challenges in regard to interactions with others. Being familiar with the critical skills and tools to manage healthy dialogue and conflict, give hope, and empower individuals to engage in civil discourse will be the focus of this new mini-series. Learn more about key interactive skills that build consensus through a civil discourse approach in this skills-based series led by Rhonda Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the Sustained Dialogue Institute. Each session will provide an in-depth overview of the specific topic as well as time for reflection and large group discussion. Session topics include:

Us and Them: Resisting Dehumanization and Polarization
How to Manage Your Emotions (practicing self-regulation during conversations)
What can Dialogue Do? Stories of Successful Dialogue
Processes and Tools for In-Group and Affinity Group Conflicts

Tuesdays, October 1 - October 22, from 1-2 pm via Zoom

If you are feeling a bit anxious about upcoming events and want to engage in a proactive learning opportunity to gain skills to help you manage over the next few months, then please register today.

Graphic of concepts related to antiracism

Everyday Antiracism

Love fiction and looking to spark your thinking and action on antiracism? Join us for one or more informal discussions with CWRU Professor Mark Joseph to discuss stories from his recently completed volume, Changing the Narrative: Short Stories to Advance Everyday Antiracism. Recordings of the sessions will be made available to those who register. Please register for each individual session you would like to attend.

Curiosity: The Passenger
A routine plane flight has an unnecessarily tragic conclusion
Tuesday, September 17, from 1-2 pm via Zoom
Register for Curiosity

Structure: The Dark Chocolate Boys of the Class of 2003
Five successful African-American classmates gather for their reunion
Monday, October 7, from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm via Zoom
Register for Structure

Perception: A Mother’s Awakening
A mother-daughter reckoning during a return home from college
Friday, October 18, from 12-1 pm via Zoom
Register for Perception

Belonging: Doing It Our Way
A Shaker Heights high schooler disrupts the exclusionary status quo
Tuesday, November 19, from 12:30-1:30 pm via Zoom
Register for Belonging

Building Connection and Communication

Wouldn't it be great to be able to better manage stress in your relationships at work and at home? Learn new and transformative ways to improve response versus reaction, diplomacy and respect, verbal and non-verbal communication, and more. Join Heidi Weiker for the Building Connection and Communication (BCC) series to practice using these tools for better success in your relationships.

Tuesdays, August 20 - October 15 (no class Sept. 10), from 12-1 pm via Zoom

*Eligible for a Wellness Program Incentive in the Stress Management category