STCC CARES

Employee Well-being Strategy

STCC Cares Wellness WheelMission

To improve the health and well-being of all Springfield Technical Community College employees by providing networking, education, tools, and other resources that cultivate and sustain a positive commitment to a culture of health and wellness. 

Goals

  • Champion health promotion across the college
  • Foster the adoption of best practices through programs and resources
  • Provide quality professional development activities
  • Facilitate communication and networking about health promotion best practices
  • Create a community and peer group of health and wellness advocates

The wellness wheel describes the integration of six important dimensions of wellness. These dimensions are interconnected and interdependent and include emotional, financial, physical, spiritual, occupational, and social.

Please see the following links for resources associated with each of these wellness dimensions:

Emotional

Emotional wellness is understanding your feelings and expressing emotions in a constructive way. It is also the ability to manage stress and cope with life's challenges.

EAP, student and employee resources; title IX, suicide prevention; resources on alcoholism/domestic abuse; working from home and isolation

About Emotional Wellness

Policies and Procedures

Rights and Responsibilities

Resources

Financial

Financial Wellness involves the process of learning how to successfully manage financial expenses. Money plays a critical role in our lives and not having enough of it impacts health as well as job and academic performance. Financial stress is repeatedly found to be a common source of stress, anxiety, and fear.

Financial Aid, Employee Benefits, 401k, THRIVE, Veterans Services

Other Financial Education Resources

Physical

Physical wellness comes from making choices to avoid harmful habits and practice actions that support your physical body, health, and safety. It includes choices about physical activity; healthy eating; sleeping; safer sex; getting medical care; and use of alcohol, other drugs, and tobacco.

YMCA; Tobacco cessation; nutrition resources; drugs and alcohol, sexual violence; weight management;

Spiritual

Spiritual wellness refers to having values or beliefs that provide a sense of meaning and purpose to your life and considering whether your actions align with your values. You can also take time to connect with something bigger than yourself. 

Mindfulness; mind body and spirit resources; prayer and meditation

Occupational

Occupational wellness is finding fulfillment from your work and study, contributing meaningfully, and continuing to expand your skills and strengths. Occupational wellness is relevant throughout our lives, encompassing academic study, paid work, and volunteerism.

How to Engage in Occupational Wellness

  • Look for opportunities to use your talents and skills to contribute positively to the world around you.
  • Make it a priority to find paid and volunteer opportunities that interest you.
  • Learn skills that will help you accomplish your goal, such as time management, study skills, communication, presenting and writing, and project management.
  • Identify and reduce occupational and academic stress.
  • Find a balance between school/work and leisure time.

Human Resources; Workforce development; career center; MassHire;

Social

Social wellness refers to the quality of the relationships you have and how you interact with others. Building supportive relationships, dealing with conflict effectively, and making the time for socializing contribute to your overall wellness.

Resources student clubs; other events at STCC: The Social wellness dimension involves having healthy relationships and an interest in and concern for the needs of others and humankind

Hispanic Association in Higher Education

The Hispanic Association in Higher Education’s (HAHE) mission is to promote a greater knowledge and appreciation of the diverse array of Hispanic cultures. Our organization welcomes participation by individuals of any ethnicity. HAHE also seeks to enhance the social and economic status of our community- on campus and throughout Western Mass- by helping to create pathways for greater professional advancement. We intend to accomplish these goals thru concerted efforts at recruitment, promotion and retention.

For more information on HAHE please email:

Jennifer Wallace-Johnson
HAHE Co-Chair
JWJohnson@stcc.edu
Early Childhood Education Counselor and Student Liaison

Yezenia Lopez
HAHE Co-Chair
yllopez@stcc.edu
Academic Advisor

Black Professionals Group

The mission of Black Professionals Group (BPG) is to create an avenue for sharing, socializing and networking, for seeking out talent and developing strengths. This group will foster a sense of community amongst the Black faculty and staff on campus, to positively benefit the college and the local community. This group will also serve as a way to create and seek out resources and form collaborations between like-minded individuals.  It is open to anyone who believes in our mission.

LGBTQIA+  Group

The STCC LGBTQIA+ ERG seeks to:

  • Create a safe space and build community for LGBTQIA+ employees at STCC
  • Contribute to efforts to create a more inclusive campus for all LGBTQIA+ people (students, faculty and staff)
  • Work in alliance with our existing STCC Employee Resource Groups and engaging with other campus initiatives focused on equity and inclusion, including but not limited to the AIA
  • Build opportunities for STCC to engage in advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community at the local, state and national level

For more information about the LGBTQIA+ ERG please contact,

Cynthia Breunig
cbreunig@stcc.edu
Project Director, OVW Safety and Advocacy For Everyone (SAFE) Grant

Social Resource Links

Health Equity

Health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to “attain his or her full health potential” and no one is “disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances.” Health inequities are reflected in differences in length of life; quality of life; rates of disease, disability, and death; severity of disease; and access to treatment.

Priorities 2021

  • Convene a network of Wellbeing Champions among employees to promote health and wellness across STCC Departments. 
  • Support employee resource groups: HAHE, BPG, and LGBTQ
  • Promote healthy lifestyle behaviors through online resources and workshops.  
  • Gather input from faculty and staff on a Smoke-Free campus policy.
  • Offer smoking cessation clinics and resources for employees who would like to stop smoking.
  • Partner with our benefits provider on initiatives that encourage employees to be more active.
  • Promote local partnerships that support healthy lifestyles including health clubs, walking groups, alcohol awareness, and healthy eating.
  • Create online Resilience and Stress Toolkits to help employees to be ‘change ready’ and better prepared to cope with life’s transitions. 
  • Prevent harassment and bullying through workshops and trainings for all departments across STCC. 
  • Encourage a series of lunch and learn programs on nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, and staying connected.

Contact

Kathryn C. Senie, J.D., Ed.D.
Director of Compliance
Affirmative Action Officer/Title IX Coordinator
ADA Coordinator
Ira H. Rubenzahl Student Learning Commons (B19), room 153
kcsenie@stcc.edu
413-755-5642

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