Weekly Wellbeing Resources - 9/14/20

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! 

If you only read one of the articles posted below this week, I highly recommend Tara Haelle’s piece on ‘surge capacity’.  ‘Surge Capacity’ is defined as “a collection of adaptive systems — mental and physical — that humans draw on for short-term survival in acutely stressful situations, such as natural disasters.”  But what do we do in a pandemic, when the disaster stretches out indefinitely?  Or as Haelle says “how do you adjust to an ever-changing situation where the ‘new normal’ is indefinite uncertainty?”.  She likens it to trying to stand in a dinghy on rough seas, not knowing when the storm will pass.  This piece does a wonderful job trying to explain the toll that the pandemic is taking on us and offers some tangible thoughts on how to continue to move forward.

Below please find this week’s curated list of wellbeing resources.  Feel free to share these resources, as appropriate, with your team. 

Have a safe and healthy week!

Career Wellbeing

• Dealing with a Crushing Workload – Workloads and expectations are increasing.  If that statement feels true to you, you are not alone.  This brief podcast by the Accidental Creative shares some practical ways to deal with increasing workloads and decreasing resources.

Social & Family Wellbeing

• The Power of Showing Up – Dr. Daniel Siegel, an internationally acclaimed author and child psychologist, will explain how to be present for our kids so that they can build social and emotional intelligence, leadership skills, meaningful relationships, and happiness.  Tuesday, September 15th at 8 PM ET.  RSVP HERE. 

Financial Wellbeing

• Does It Make Sense to Pay for Childcare? – With many children doing remote learning or hybrid learning models, many families with two incomes are questioning if it makes financial sense for one of them to take time away from their current job to work inside the home on childcare. Does it make financial sense to pay for childcare? Is the cost of childcare worth it?

Physical Wellbeing

• Why Aren’t We Talking More About Nutrition Amid COVID-19? – Focusing on diet amid COVID-19 is both a necessity and an opportunity.  Dr. David Katz gives some tips on what you can do today. 

Emotional Wellbeing

• Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted – It’s Why You Feel Awful –  The Reason you feel unmotivated, angry, and tired?  You’ve depleted your ‘surge capacity’. Learn more about what this means and how you can take steps to move yourself forward. 

Community Wellbeing

• How to Help Victims of the West Coast’s Wildfires – As unprecedented wildfires have been spreading across the West Coast of the United States, hundreds of thousands have fled their homes and tens of thousands have gone without power in a historic heatwave.  Here’s how you can help the victims of this crisis.

Employer Focused Wellbeing

• Parenting in a Pandemic: Supporting Working Parents & Their Mental Health – It's no secret that the pandemic has overly burdened working parents feeling more stressed and anxious. With more limited family support options, parents are overwhelmed with juggling virtual or in-person schooling, the challenges of remote work, and keeping their families safely sheltered.  This webinar, sponsored by Lyra Health and Cleo, will discuss practical ways employers can support working parents to mitigate mental health challenges and build resilience.  RSVP HERE.

About the Author

Andrea Davis, Director of Wellbeing

Andrea joined Alera Group Northeast (formerly CBP) in July 2013, bringing over 15 years of experience in management consulting and strategic solutions. As the Director of Wellbeing, she is responsible for assisting with the development, implementation and evaluation of comprehensive wellness strategies for existing and prospective Alera Group clients. She provides assistance and support to Alera Group clients by developing personalized programs that fit clients’ unique health management needs, wellness program implementation, committee development, promotion and marketing of their programs to encourage participation. In addition, Andrea conducts program analysis and generates reports related to program participation, health assessment and client utilization.