Occupational well-being is the measure of personal satisfaction and enhancement of one’s life through work. Intellectual well-being focuses on strengthening creativity, stimulating your mind, and broadening your knowledge and skills. UNI employees are invited to utilize the following resources and tools to enhance occupational and intellectual well-being.

Safety at Work

Prevent injuries and stay healthy at work by observing the following safety recommendations:

• Take short breaks for stretching. Safety stretches are encouraged three times per day to warm-up for work and help prevent injury.
• Eat a healthy diet and stay active
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Get adequate sleep
• Utilize stress management resources
• Arrange your workstation to fit your body. Learn more about ergonomics below.
• Lift objects safely
  • Proper lifting technique:
    1. Stand close to the object
    2. Stagger your feet and bend at the knees to lower yourself to the level of the object
    3. Grip the object and use your leg muscles to lift it
    4. If you need to turn, pivot with your feet. Do not twist.
    5. When walking, take small strides.
    6. When at your destination, stagger your feet, bend at the knees, and slowly lower the object to the desired space
  • Ask for assistance if an object is too heavy to lift
• Review winter safety tips and resources available through Office of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety

Workers' Compensation

In the event of a workplace injury, all UNI employees are covered by Iowa Workers' Compensation which pays medical and indemnity benefits for employees injured on the job. Learn more about Workers’ Compensation by reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions.

Ergonomics

• Ergonomics is the study of human work that is concerned with the effective use of the physical and psychological capabilities of the human as they apply to work. It involves the worker's interaction with tools, equipment, environment, jobs, tasks, work methods, work rates and other systems.
• View the Office of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety's Resources on Ergonomics
• If you would like an in-depth ergonomic evaluation of your work station after viewing the above presentation by Office of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety, your department head may contact David Oesterle at david.oesterle@uni.edu with the request.
• UNI offers employees the choice of standing or sitting during work through flexibility in workstation furniture by providing accommodations upon request.

Safety Stretches

Completing safety stretches before or during work shifts or participating in a regular stretching program can provide benefits such as reduced muscle tension, increased range of movement in the joints, enhanced muscle coordination, increased circulation, increased energy levels, and decreased risk of activity-based injuries.

Occupational Well-being Resources

• Office of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety
• Workplace Safety & Health Topics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Standing while working promotes fitness, compare the difference with the online calorie-burn calculator.

Staff Tuition Reimbursement Program

The purpose of the Staff Tuition Reimbursement Program is to encourage continual learning and educational development by providing tuition assistance to eligible Merit and Professional & Scientific staff for course work taken from an accredited post-secondary institution.

Lynda.com

The Lynda.com Online Training Library® is a constantly growing and evolving body of training video tutorials designed to help you learn what you want, when you want it. UNI employees have access to over 1,100 courses and 66,000 tutorials organized by subject, software, and instructor.

UNI Employee Well-being Grant

This opportunity is available annually, with a deadline of December 1st, and allows employees to request funds for their departments which will be directly applied to activities and items that promote the four areas of well-being:

• Physical Well-being
• Occupational & Intellectual Well-being
• Spiritual & Emotional Well-being
• Social & Community Well-being

Examples of previous proposals that have been evaluated and approved by the Employee Well-being Team:

• Assistance in paying for facility time (ex. gym, field, court)
• Assistance in paying for instructor led class (ex. Yoga, Pilates, zumba)
• Assistance in paying for department device or electronic to assist in well-being (ex. hula hoops, ball chair, exercise balance cushions)

For more information, please contact employeewellbeing@uni.edu.

UNI Employee Well-being Library Resources

Employee Well-being resources provided by Human Resource Services are located in the Rod Library Stacks. Employees may browse book titles online or contact Rod Library with questions about the Employee Well-being collection.

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