November 2022 The WELLesley Employee

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

November Wellness Activity

Coming Soon - A Stress Management Initiative. Tufts will have a meditation program starting November 14. An email will be sent soon!

The Great American Smoke Out

Click here to get help quitting smoking!

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

Tips to Not Overeat on Thanksgiving

^{Cay Meagher, Select Board Office}

Don’t skip meals before “the big one”; so many people skip breakfast or lunch because they think they’re going to eat a lot of turkey and sides. This backfires because by the time the stuffing heads your way, you’re too hungry to take a small amount and pass it along. Have a filling and healthy breakfast, a small but satisfying lunch and you’ll be just fine for gravy and mashed potatoes.
Plan snacks for meal prepping time. If you’re the one doing the cooking, it’s easy to taste along the way. Have some healthy snacks pre-planned out so you aren’t too hungry or worse already tired of the meal!
Make time to move! Turkey trots are fun for the family but you can also take a walk around the neighborhood before and after you eat. Any movement throughout the day is a great way to get that meal digested before pie and football!
Wait on the alcohol. Besides the obvious downside of drinking your calories, hold off on the drinks until you’re seated at the table. Drinking too much beforehand can limit your ability to make good food choices. Also, drink responsibly!
Make a balanced plate. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing, so think ahead and look at all your options on the table before filling your plate. If you know you’ll want pie/dessert maybe check the amount of heavy food you take.
If you do overeat, don’t beat yourself up. Like anything else, one day at a time. Holidays are meant to be enjoyed, and the next day is a new day!

‘Tis the Season to be Jolly? Relieving the Stress of the Holidays

^{Michael Carmody, Safety Coordinator, Department of Public Works}

Preparations may already be underway in your family for the holiday season; Thanksgiving through New Years. With so much planning and so many expectations to meet, it’s natural that this time of year leads to increased family tensions, anxiety, and depression.

A study by the American Psychological Association listed the five greatest stressors during the holiday season as: lack of time, money worries, overcommercialization, gift-giving pressure and family get-togethers.

My preference for dealing with stress is to eliminate it or control the stressors if I can, rather than manage how I cope with it. With parents, it’s hard to eliminate the pressure of meeting expectations for young children: wrapped presents, the big dinner, stockings by the fire, decorations on a tree, lights on the house, elf on a shelf and on and on. TV commercials reinforce the “necessity” of all of these elaborate traditions. I especially love the ad with the couple arguing over who gets which of the his and hers truck and SUV sitting in the driveway.

With older children it may be possible to “dial back” some of the time-consuming traditions. Talk with them about the ones that are not so important and drop the ones they don’t care so much about. Would a catered dinner be ok? Could a Yankee Swap or Secret Santa be an alternative to everyone buying a gift for everyone else?

In speaking to one’s family about the reasons for cutting back on some traditions, and that it’s a stressor that hinders your ability to enjoy the holiday, they should also understand the deeper reason for the holidays, gathering together to honor our traditions, including our faith traditions, singing songs together, and enjoying each other’s company. These are the most precious gifts to share this holiday season.

Reduce Stress - Just say No!

^{Emma Weiler, Library}

https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/the-beauty-of-saying-quot-no-quot/

COVID-19 Information

Vaccine Info

Updated Quarantine Info

Upcoming Trainings

Click to see MIIA Training Calendar

PREVENTING DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE November 8th, 2022 10:00am - 1:00pm

EAP (REWARDS ELIGIBLE) PROACTIVE LEADERSHIP IN TURBULENT TIMES November 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. For instructions on how to register, click here.

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