ISU WellBeing

• Having identified financial well-being as one of the biggest stressors by ISU employees, ISU WellBeing and the Benefits team are focused on providing programs, services and resources to support financial well-being.
• The university provides webinars, online services and budgeting tools and resources for work and personal management to inspire financial resiliency.
• Iowa State's insurance benefits package offers Blue365 discounts to help employees save money on medical-related expenses.
• Considering health and well-being as an economic resource is a focal initiative of ISU WellBeing. Better health is a form of self sustainability that can decrease healthcare costs, as well as increase life expectancy.

"With anxieties and depressions, there is a cost to society when people aren't at their best, when we aren't getting along, when we don't value and respect one another, when we aren't embracing of our uniqueness." -Stephanie Downs, ISU WellBeing Coordinator

• ISU WellBeing collaborates with Iowa State Recreation Services and Facilities Planning and Management to promote classes, walking and the use of bike paths.
• ISU WellBeing aims to encourage the use of outdoor areas for both relaxation and activity.
• Working with campus departments to help support healthy movement, nuritious food and regular breaks in the work environment, including encouraging departments to create spaces and conditions that support resiliency and autonomy, is an important main focus of ISU WellBeing.
• ISU WellBeing, along with Environmental Health and Safety, promote ergonomics, the science of human performance factors that influence the workplace.
• ISU WellBeing encourages employees to engage in volunteering and outdoor interaction through community and physical well-being.

• One of the six elements of ISU WellBeing is spiritual well-being. This element focuses on discovering purpose in life and pinpointing values and goals.
• ISU WellBeing collaborates with the Student Wellness program to ensure well-being to the collective campus community.
• ISU WellBeing creates well-being in both the community and university by collaborating with Mary Greeley, McFarland Clinic, the City of Ames, as well as Healthiest Ames and its "Healthy Hometown" initiative.
• With the help of Environmental Health & Safety, Facilities Planning and Management, Live Green! and Student Wellness, ISU WellBeing has established a “WellBeing Leadership Alliance."
• ISU WellBeing supports other initiatives for physical well-being, including encouraging better sleep habits, offering stress tests to assist employees in pinpointing and more effectively managing their biggest stressors, as well as promoting the use of walking meetings.
• ISU WellBeing promotes emotional well-being by offering a comprehensive menu of mindfulness activities, programs and skill-building workshops.
• ISU WellBeing offers resources to support employees' mental well-being, such as individual counseling through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which is dedicated to helping employees overcome challenges to maximize their full potential.
• ISU WellBeing is focusing on building community and facilitating interactions between colleagues and co-workers to make employees feel more connected, socially, physically and mentally. Unique approaches to this include supporting the annual Local Food Festival and connecting local foods and producers to students, faculty and staff, as well as connecting Ames and ISU walking routes to offer a community-connected walking program.
• Through data collected from  university-wide conversations, focus groups and survey data, ISU WellBeing created an Online WellBeing Portal for employees to find and connect to well-being resources, challenges and opportunities.

"When we start to honor and value the emotional aspect of who we are, we can start to see the world differently, feel more connected to the world, and care for the world and one another differently." -Stephanie Downs, ISU WellBeing Coordinator