Our people

Brock Wellness

Wellness continues to be an integral focus of the Brock community as we focus on how well-being influences the overall employee health and supports a culture that values work-life balance.

The University’s holistic Workplace Wellness Framework was developed to address employee well-being, based on the American Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s eight dimensions of wellness (see Figure 33) which has evolved since its inception. Some of this past year’s initiatives included:

• Physical activity challenges have been developed that can be incorporated into the workday.

• The protection against second-hand smoke and vapour: smoking and vaping of tobacco, nicotine or related products is prohibited except in established outdoor designated smoking areas, and smoking and vaping of recreational cannabis is prohibited.

• The Work-Life Balance Bulletin was created to offer tips and recommendations for separating work activities from personal time.

• Many virtual seminars and resources continue to be shared with faculty and staff to promote well-being.

• Brock continued to promote the enhanced Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) electronic platform, which provides a wide range of individualized, confidential and voluntary support services to eligible employees and their dependents.

Central to the Workplace Wellness Framework is the Employee Mental Health Strategy, which promoted positive mental health to ensure the following objectives were achieved: 1) Raised awareness and promoted well-being, 2) Developed personal resilience and self-management, 3) Addressed gaps by enhancing services, programs, and supports through prevention, and 4) Created and sustained a supportive campus environment. An integral component of the strategy is the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s The Working Mind Training, designed to reduce the stigma around mental health/ illness in the workplace by creating a culture that fosters greater awareness and support for mental health-related challenges.

The University continues to ensure mental health resources are both available and applicable to adapt to the changing needs of our Brock community.

Developing a People Strategy

Believing in attracting, developing, and retaining top talent, and recognizing the importance of faculty and staff in ensuring the success of Brock, our University leadership has championed the development of a People Strategy.

The People Strategy at Brock University delivers an overarching structured framework to guide and apply all aspects of an organization's human resource deliverables, functions, and programs. The People Strategy identifies the long-term vision, supporting success factors, and the most immediate priorities and the re-allocation of resources needed to achieve the University's mandate and the employee experience expectation. A People Strategy will not only improve the performance and the experience of the individual

EMOTIONAL

Coping e ectively with life and creating satisfying relationships

ENVIRONMENTAL

Good health by occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support well-being.

INTELLECTUAL

Recognizing creative abilities and nding ways to expand knowledge and skills.

PHYSICAL

Recognizing the need physical activity, diet, sleep and nutrition.

8

DIMENSIONS OF Wellness

FINANCIAL

Satisfaction with current and future nancial situations. SPIRITUAL

SOCIAL

Developing a sense of connection, belonging and a ell-developed support system. OCCUPATIONAL Personal

Expanding our sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Source: American Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or the team collectively but will also help improve the University's performance as a whole and allows us to be proactive and resilient to feedback and environmental changes.

Although the work on the People Strategy was paused to focus on COVID-19 response and recovery, we are excited to refresh this work to be able to capture the significant shift that has emerged over the last few years around the role of our workplace and the future of our work. A draft People Strategy has been developed and is currently going through extensive review. We anticipate being able to translate this work into a formalized People Strategy and plan of action over the next year.

Building leadership capacity

Brock is an organization with a mandate and mission to help people grow and develop, and that focus applies to our staff, faculty, and students.

Building on the successful launch of Brock’s leadership programs, ‘Leading at Brock’ and ‘Emerging Leaders’, in 2021 and 2022, a third offering of the programs was launched in March 2023. The ‘Emerging Leaders’ program helps to build skills for those in nonmanagement positions who wish to take on greater leadership roles within their current sphere of influence and scope of duties. The ‘Leading at Brock’ program is for current, new, or seasoned people leaders looking to enhance their leadership capabilities. This workshop series seeks to deepen and strengthen leadership skills as well as increase knowledge of core topics related to management at Brock.

In February 2023, the Office of People and Culture also reintroduced Crucial Conversations, a program that combines the strategies, theories, and tools to turn a disagreement or a difficult conversation into a constructive and positive dialogue and manage the conversation effectively and respectfully while being mindful of feelings and emotions.

As part of our evolving vision for the leadership development platform, we have introduced the Harvard ManageMentor program in January 2023. Participants pursue personal and professional learning and development objectives and provide feedback about their learning experiences with the highest quality content that engage and motivate learners. Harvard ManageMentor is fueled by the latest thinking and proven practices from Harvard Business Publishing’s world-class experts.

Participants have access to 41 courses, some of which are focus courses. The curated focus courses have been selected to complement Brock’s existing leadership programs, support the people goals in Brock’s strategic plan, and reflect thought leadership in leadership development.

The formal Brock Employee Mentorship Program, which is now in its fourth year, is currently in the planning stages. This program is intended to match mentors and mentees from across the University, building relationships, experiences for growth and opportunities for collaboration.

Our employees

Our people are the key to Brock’s success. We appreciate all faculty and staff for their dedication, and we will continue to recognize our exceptional Brock team with incentives and initiatives. Figure 34 depicts employee headcount by employee group as of May 1, 2023.