As a Human Resources Professional, a person of color and a student of the civil rights movement, today’s health and social pandemics serve as a reoccurring dream, nightmare, or both for me.  Everyone’s asking the big question, “Where do we go from here?” Frankly, I’m back to “How did we get stuck in the first place?”  Folks are saying today’s events of COVID-19 and the brutal killing of George Floyd are “wake up calls.”  People in the Black community are countering this by saying that most of America has been hitting the snooze button on racial inequities, social injustice, mass incarceration, and historical, systemic, and structural racism for over 418 years. Can it be real that the souls of Americans have finally “woke up” to the plight and experiences of so many who have not remotely experienced “this more perfect union”, or “the American dream.” 

My dear HR colleagues, my hope for you and us is to be able to provide leadership within our circles of influence, communities, families, and organizations, as we are charged with the attracting, developing, and retaining human resources or as it is commonly called in many of our companies – “Human Capital” – I prefer “Human Beings” or “People.” 

A “pandemic” is defined as “a disease prevalent over a whole country or the world.”  “Disease” is defined as “a particular quality, habit, or disposition regarded as adversely affecting a person or group of people.” COVID-19 is our most recent disease resulting in a global health pandemic. Racism is a disease that has been allowed to adversely affect Black people in this country and the world for centuries. Racism is not a new Pandemic! While the comfort values of prior generations produced legislation, systems, and policies that sustained the Racial Pandemic; generations X, Y, and Z have demonstrated little tolerance for the Racial Pandemic and have placed their lives on the line amid COVID-19 to ensure that their collective voices are heard.

This feels different than the Civil, Women’s, and Gay rights movements. Lots of people are saying that real change is needed and is finally here. Let me get really specific regarding how you as my colleagues and friends can be on the front lines, if you are not already, regarding this change.

1. Each generation operates based upon a set of core Values. If you are not having facilitated generational values discussions and training, you are missing a rich and bountiful opportunity to create a broad understanding of perspectives and learning.
2. Equity is the key to honoring Diversity and promoting Inclusion. Serious conversations with your Executive Leadership team regarding systematic and structural barriers that need to be removed/eliminated is critical. This includes an examination of policies, practices related to hiring, compensation, promotions, and career advancement. Diverse representation is the baseline to ensure that “all voices are heard.” A seat at the table is great, but a seat means nothing if the voice isn’t heard and acknowledged.
3. Assess the current climate in terms of a readiness for Change (Willingness versus Skills). Develop a plan to: Eradicate the disease that causes the Pandemic. “a particular quality, habit, or disposition regarding as adversely affecting a person or group of people.” This one will require significant heavy lifting. The demographic shift in America can be seen every night by those who are protesting. We see the rich fabric of a diverse nation right before our eyes. 40% of the U.S. workforce are Millennials. In many organizations where Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity work is a reality, there are Business Resource/Affinity Groups in place designed to bring unique perspectives that connect strategy, outcomes, management, community, and employee needs. These voices, if heard and acknowledged, can assist you and your company in answering the BIG Question – “Where do we go from here?”

The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “In the end we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

My HR friends, please do not be silent during these times of pandemic. A strong correlation exists between the two.

To your wellbeing,

Bobby King

Mines & Associates

EID Consultant

This post was provided by our friend and training partner Bobby King. Bobby has served over 25 years as a Human Resources and Workforce Diversity, Equity & Inclusion executive in high tech, municipal government, and healthcare.

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	Managing Change and Environmental Wellbeing
Welcome to the March 2019 edition of TotalWellbeing, your guide to the 8 dimensions of wellbeing. This month we are looking at the concept of change and how a change in our environments such as our home or our workplace affect us. Change is inevitable but the good news is that that there are healthy ways to manage change and keep disruption to a minimum. Take a look at these helpful articles, free webinars, and the information below to learn how to be a master of change and react positively to changes as they occur in your life. If you missed us last month, last year, or you are new to TotalWellbeing, you can catch up on our newsletters page. Remember, this newsletter is aimed at providing helpful information about various aspects of your wellbeing and then connecting it all back to important and relevant parts of everyday life. We will continue to focus on looking at each facet of wellbeing from a small, personal, level and then look at how it connects to the bigger community level as we explore how our wellbeing is tied to the world around us in often surprising ways. To your total wellbeing, The MINES Team
Environment, Change, and the Workplace Work and home are most likely the two environments that you spend most of your time in, and change in either, welcomed or not, can take getting used to and, furthermore, can cause disruption in your day to day life. While this article focuses on change in the workplace, several of the principals can be applied to change in any of your life’s environments. To help minimize the disruption that change causes to your environmental wellbeing it is important to follow the 4 A’s. Awareness, acceptance, attitude, and action. Be Aware of the changes going on and seek out information to help understand the change. Accept the change as something that is part of your environment now. Adjust your Attitude to focus on the positive aspects of the change. Develop your Actions to respond positively to the change by asking questions, learning new skills, or developing a network of people to help navigate the change together. If you would like to talk to a counselor or wellness coach about these topics, please call us at 1-800-873-7138 to get connected right away. Also, PersonalAdvantage has a ton of great resources and FREE webinars this month to help you focus on your wellbeing while also being productive at work and home.
Question of the Month What are 3 things you can do right now to prepare for and adapt to changes going on in your life?
Quote of the Month “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ― Albert Einstein
Community and Global Perspective Our global and community environments are under constant change. Some changes happen slowly while others happen very fast. Social trends, the political landscape, the layout of our neighborhoods and cities are all aspects of our environment that shift as the thinking of the people within them shift. Within this framework, it is important to take part in the things you can help control. Vote, stay informed and help educate others, make your own social statements and choices around the people you associate with and the trends and styles you follow. These are all ways that you can stay on top of, participate in, and help influence the changes in your environment and your place within it. As for the things you can’t control, such as other people’s actions, the weather, socio-political issues, among others, it is best to stay informed and educate yourself around these issues so that you are prepared for change. However, resisting these shifts or trying to control what you cannot will only bring stress and distract you from the domains that you do have control over. Change what you can, prepare for what you cannot.
If you or a member of your household needs assistance or guidance on any of these wellbeing topics, please call MINES & Associates, your EAP, today for free, confidential, 24/7 assistance at 800.873.7138.
This Month’s Focus Check out this month’s webinar: Resilience in Times of Change MINESblog: New to TW? Check out our past Blogs! Important Links Visit our BLOG MINES and Associates 2019 Training Catalog Balanced Living Magazine LinkedIn MINEs Archives Contact Us Email MINES
		MINES does not warrant the materials (Audio, Video, Text, Applications, or any other form of media or links) included in this communication have any connection to MINES & Associates, nor does MINES seek to endorse any entity by including these materials in this communication.  MINES accepts no liability for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided herein, nor any additional content that may be made available through any third-party site. We found them helpful, and hope you do too!

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	March 2017: Financial Wellbeing and Internet Safety
Get Involved! Welcome to the March issue of TotalWellbeing! If you have been following TotalWellbeing you know that every month we focus on one of the 8 Dimensions of Wellbeing. This month we will discuss how your emotional wellbeing dictates how you work through change. Change is hard no matter how you look at it. Whether it is changes at work or in your personal life, it is hard to recalibrate and accept the changes that inevitably come. The state of your emotional wellbeing will determine how you are able to deal with these changes. For a closer look at this month’s topic and helpful resources please check out The Path and The Connection below or check out our new infographic here! Last month we hit many important topics on MINESblog. First, in the wake of the Super Bowl, our own Dr. Robert Mines examined the psychology behind professional athletes in high pressure situations. Next, we took a step back to look at the tradition of Groundhog’s Day and looked at ways you can avoid running from your own shadow. Finally, Dr. Robert Mines and our CIO Ryan Lucas took an in-depth look at the gap of care that exists between students and care providers, and how Employee Assistance Programs can help get students the care they need. Finally, we also had a friend and community member, Amy Babich share her insights on Eating Disorders as Feb. 27 – Mar. 3 is Eating Disorder Awareness Week. As always, for more information please check out the links to the left or hit the share button to send us a message. To be notified when we post more resources and articles make sure to subscribe to MINESblog. See you next month! To your total wellbeing, The MINES Team
The Path: from your Emotional Wellbeing to Managing change Emotions and change go hand-in-hand. The changes you have experienced in your career and in your home life affect your emotional state and depending on your emotional state, change may be harder to accept or work through. When you lose the promotion you have been waiting for, you may react negatively and feel like you failed yourself, especially if you are not able to find a way to stay positive and you do not have the emotional support needed to survive this type of change. When you decide to change your current behaviors and work on those New Year Resolutions, how you look at the failure or success of those resolutions is determined by your emotional wellbeing. The key is to find ways to stay emotionally healthy so you can work through these changes and thrive no matter what is thrown your way. Make sure you take time for yourself and work on your emotional resilience, so that when you come across these changes, regardless if they are changes you can control or not, you can work through them successfully. Get perspective about managing change. Take the time to talk to someone who has dealt with change in their life and see how they reacted to that change and what you can learn from them.  Those who have dealt with daily changes that they have no control over have very different, but effective, ways to handle change and their emotional wellbeing related to those changes. Check out these resources about how to best manage changes in your life.
Tips for you: Choose one change at a time and think SMART when you decide how you want to work on that change. Choose a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely and accept that it is ok to slip up on occasion. Check out this webinar for more about change.
The Connection: Get Involved Wellbeing does not simply start and stop at the individual. Our community is connected to each of our own individual wellbeing in a huge way. When we are well we can better function within our community.  We can help our fellow humans thrive, and in turn, when our community is prospering, it helps each of us reach our goals as individuals. So why not help our community so we can all thrive together? Each month we will strive to bring you resources that can help you enhance the wellbeing of those around you or get involved with important causes.
Community Wellbeing Resources: This month check out this link to find ways to help foster change in others’ lives. Click here to learn more Don’t forget that PersonalAdvantage, an online benefit available through MINES, has tons of great resources for all the dimensions of wellbeing that we discuss here, along with some articles and assistance for Change Management. If you haven’t checked it out yet, or want to see what resources they have for this month’s topic check out the link below. You’ll need your company login, so make sure to get that from your employer or email us and we’ll be happy to provide that to you. Check Out PersonalAdvantage Here!
If you or a member of your household needs assistance or guidance on any of these wellbeing topics, please call MINES & Associates, your EAP, today for free, confidential, 24/7 assistance at 800.873.7138.
		MINES does not warrant the materials (Audio, Video, Text, Applications, or any other form of media or links) included in this communication have any connection to MINES & Associates, nor does MINES seek to endorse any entity by including these materials in this communication.  MINES accepts no liability for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided herein, nor any additional content that may be made available through any third-party site. We found them helpful, and hope you do too!

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That is a very powerful statement to make!

Awareness of the opportunities to impact one’s own health and then the wherewithal to actually make a change also necessitates awareness as to the impact that that change is having on you.  And to do that, conveniently, we have  useful tools available to us to help begin tracking and reporting on that data ourselves…but how?

Enter #mHealth

One of the trends that has certainly begun to make its mark on the issue of monitoring and tracking this data is the mobile health (mHealth) industry.  From apps to the actual hardware itself – in the case of the iPhone 5s and its motion sensing capability, but even as early as the simple GPS function being used in running and biking apps – many people are starting to log and catalog this data for themselves.  The difficulty is that sharing this information is usually specific to a particular platform, creating a barrier to actually leveraging the social side of health behavior modification, which we know to be so important at creating success (read pretty much anything I’ve previously written in the Health inSite series).

An early leader

WebMD is leading the way with an in-app storefront for purchasing interoperable medical devices that already work with the 2net platform (Qualcomm’s health cloud services) and will make it easier to stay on top of health and health behavior.  Further, with the avado partnership and connection between Medscape and WebMD, the app should be able to handle end-to-end management of those health behaviors beginning with: identification of information related to a certain health metric or behavior; access to the acquisition of a relevant piece of equipment to “sense” the data related to the health factor; wirelessly transmitting and logging relevant data; and then through co-ownership between the patient and the provider, the ability to monitor that data and make adjustments.  Throw in a little bit of personal social network for those wanting to connect this with their existing support (or in the “friends’ friends make you fat” way, lack of support) to help create the conversation necessary to actually affect our health behavior and our health self-concept.

Dr. McGonigal is right

While it is exciting that we are starting to be able to monitor and track all this cool stuff about ourselves (some have been doing it for decades in larger and smaller ways even before the tech was available to integrate the monitoring with the data management), the important thing is that you have to test it for yourself.  We don’t all respond the same way to every intervention method, and some things work better for others that won’t even begin to help us.  But we cannot know how or what will work until we make the decision that we want to try and then start tracking that data and, most importantly, recognize that we need to believe in (trust) our own data to help us make the decisions that will have the greatest impact in whatever we want to improve while creating our optimally-performing self. This is the art of health based on the science of health.

To our health,

Ryan Lucas
Manager, Engagement & Development

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