August 2022 The WELLesley Employee

A Monthly Safety and Wellness Newsletter brought to you by The Town of Wellesley Employee Safety  & Wellness Committee 

Town of Wellesley Healthy Cookbook

Take a look at some of your coworker's favorite healthy recipes here: Healthy Cookbook

Thank you to those who submitted their recipes!

Safety & Wellness Survey

Thank you to the 131 employees who completed the Safety & Wellness Survey in the spring. The Town of Wellesley Safety & Wellness Committee will be incorporating many items into our work plan over the next 12 months. Here are the top ten areas of interest, according to the survey results:

Chair massage

Stress prevention/management strategies

Ergonomic assessments of desks and other workstations

Chair yoga or conventional yoga

Healthy eating, including live demonstrations and healthy cookouts

Health screenings for high blood pressure, skin cancer, Body Mass Index (percentage body fat)

Green initiatives: energy conservation, recycling, reuse, reduce, eco-friendly products

Compliance with employee health and safety regulations (OSHA)

Walking or other fitness challenges with team competition or personal best scores

Healthy sleep and sleep disorder awareness

National Smile Week August 8-12

_{Submitted by Cay Meagher, Select Board Office}

The second week in August is “National Smile Week”, once primarily stated as a campaign for dental health has since evolved. Your face has 44 muscles that allow you to make more than 5,000 expressions. Smiles are contagious so brush, floss, fluoride, and flash what you got!

Ways to engage with “Smile Week” 

1.    “Pay it forward” – smile at a stranger, or a friend; added bonus if you offer a compliment too

2.    Make a list of things that make you smile and post it where you’ll see it; the gentle reminder will turn that frown upside down

3.    Challenge someone to a smile contest and see who can hold that smile the longest (I feel a giggle fit coming!)

Hope you will challenge yourself and set a goal of how many smiles you share this week! 

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Number

_{Submitted by Jeff Azano-Brown, DPW}

988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), and is now active across the United States.

The new hotline is live and forwards callers to one of 200 call centers across the country, 24-7.  When people call, text, or chat 988, they will be connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing Lifeline network. These trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary.

About 988

•    988 is a direct three-digit phone line to trained National Suicide Prevention Lifeline call takers.

•    988 can be used anytime, anywhere you or a loved one is in emotional distress or having suicidal thoughts.

•    Trained call takers, who are not licensed clinicians, are available to provide free, confidential emotional support to all callers. You do not need to be suicidal to call 988.

•    With an easy to remember number like 988, the Lifeline hopes to reach many more people in emotional distress and connect those to services if needed.

•    As of July 16, 2022, 988 is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

For more information go to https://988lifeline.org/

August Wellness From West Suburban Health Group: HYDRATION

Did you know that water makes up 50% - 75% of our body weight? Water helps our bodies run

smoothly. It assists every cell, tissue and organ in the body, and is needed for bodily functions

such as: perspiration, urination, bowel movements, temperature control, joint cushioning and

tissue protection.

Staying hydrated is important because we lose water through everyday activities, such as

breathing, urination, bowel movements and perspiration. In addition to these everyday activities,

additional fluids are needed for things such as: exercise, environmental factors (such as heat,

humidity and high altitudes), some health issues (such as fevers, vomiting or diarrhea) and

during pregnancy and breast-feeding.

What is the best way to stay hydrated? Drinking water and other fluids make up about 80% of

hydration. Water is a great choice, and drinks such as milk, juice and herbal teas also can assist

in hydration. Just be careful of drinks which may contain too much sugar (such as soda, some

sports drinks, some juices, etc).

The other 20% of hydration may come from foods that are water-rich, such as watermelon,

lettuce and cucumbers. For a list of some additional foods that hydrate, click here:

19 Water-Rich Foods That Help You Stay Hydrated

Is the common recommendation of 8 glasses of water a day the magic number? That depends.

It may be the right amount; however, some people do need more or less water. This amount can

vary depending on some of the factors mentioned above, such as: energy output and sweating

during exercise, heat, humidity, altitude, pregnancy, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and health conditions

such as bladder infections and urinary tract stones; as well as other individual health issues.

It should be noted that although very rare, it is possible to drink too much water. With too much

water, a dangerous situation is caused because the kidneys can not get rid of the excess water.

To find out the fluid intake that is necessary for your individual needs, it is important to talk

with your doctor, nutritionist or dietitian in order to take any specific factors into consideration.

For general information on water intake, hydration and the health benefits of water, click here:

Water Intake Information from the Mayo Clinic

COVID-19 Vaccine Information

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-booster-frequently-asked-questions

Upcoming Trainings 

Click to see MIIA Training Calendar        

PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID FOR MANAGERS & SUPERVISORS Online August 9th, 2022 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Did you know that you have access to recorded trainings on a variety of topics through MIIA? If you don't already have a login, you can register here using your Wellesley email: https://www.emiia.org/join

 MIIA's New E-learning Center provides quality training to meet annual requirements and tracks compliance for organization members at no cost to you. Train anytime, anywhere with our vast online library that includes more than 3,000 diverse courses and videos.

Do you have an event or training that you would like to make available to all employees? Please contact Jen Glover jglover@wellesleyma.gov

Monthly Action Item

_{Submitted by Emma Weiler, Library}

As the temperatures rise, our tempers can flair.  

Here are some tips on how to have emotionally intelligent disagreements and keep your cool:

• Remember The Relationship: Enemies don’t say, “You are right. I am wrong.” Friends and colleagues do.

• De-Escalate: It’s natural to respond in kind.  So if they yell, you start to yell.  Endeavor to get them to follow your good behavior instead. 

• Stop Trying To Control What They Think Or Feel: When their autonomy is threatened, people attack or shut down. Be human, be humble, be open-minded. The biggest problem everyone has these days is they’re too sure they’re right and so they’re incapable of truly listening.

• Help Them Make Their Argument Stronger: After they say something, don’t immediately move to counter it. Summarize it to their satisfaction. Say, “So if I’m hearing you right, what you’re saying is…” This proves that you’re listening, that you’re understanding and it takes a lot of potential conflict off the table. People naturally calm down when they feel understood.

• Disrupt The Script: Constructive conversations have ups and downs. Don’t escalate tension. Make a joke or say something positive. Emotional intelligence can sound like something that requires a PhD or 10 years of meditation, but sometimes it’s as simple as making a joke instead of an insult.

• Get Curious: So those aliens that talk to you, do they give good advice? Being curious implies you don’t have all the answers and often inspires them to hold their beliefs more loosely as well.

• Help Them Question Their Own Thinking: Therapists don’t say: “That’s ridiculous. Where in your brain did the stroke occur for you to have an idea so stupid?” No, they ask questions until you start to question your own thinking and it crosses the blood-brain barrier that what you’ve been saying is the equivalent of 2+2=147. Listen and reflect. Help them clarify their case. Now they feel understood, you gain information and there is no resistance. Then ask them polite questions that make them think about their position

from: https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2021/10/conflict/

 May you all have a more productive August!