Participants noted: 

• An excessive number of organizational priorities in both administrative and academic domains
• Immediate supervisors at all levels have unrealistically high expectations
• Insufficient consultation between managers and employees, resulting in ill-defined priorities
• Unfilled administrative positions means further tasks and duties for those remaining in positions, namely both faculty heads and other administrative staff
• Professors did not feel sufficiently supported during the process to shift courses online and then teach bimodal courses; they raised concerns about declining administrative support

Actions: 

• Human Resources is working with faculties and services to help support their conversations with their teams and implement concrete actions to address workload concerns. We aim to have a continual improvement process for workplace mental health, engage teams in identifying innovative solutions, and educate our community to view all operations through a culture of health and wellness. 
• A conversational tool was created to help lead a collaborative conversation about workload challenges for both managers and employees.
• The Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and TLSS are collecting data from students and faculty to better understand the impact of bimodal formats on the teaching and learning experience and the support and training that faculty members need. The analysis is scheduled to be completed in late summer 2022.

Resources: 

• TELUS Health (formerly Lifeworks) resources, on the new and improved platform, provides employees, leaders, and professors with practical ways to lessen workload issues as well as other resources to improve health and wellness.
• Don't let work and life drain you – learn to recharge is a free webinar hosted by Canada Life, and is also offered in French (Ne laisser pas votre vie professionnelle et personnelle vous épuiser – apprenez à vous ressourcer).

Participants noted: 

• The pressure to be connected 24/7 is widespread and undermines wellbeing and balance
• Remote work is perceived positively and provides increased flexibility and, therefore, a measure of work-life balance, even amidst major challenges
• The high workload required for professors to shift to online and bimodal learning caused an increase in workload, which had an impact on work-life balance.

Actions: 

• A Disconnecting From Work policy will set out the guiding principles about disconnecting from work and the general responsibilities of supervisors and employees. This policy came into effect on June 2, 2022
• Telework Guidelines were implemented throughout the organization in January 2022. This pilot project will serve to determine how telework will be implemented in the longer term.
• Human Resources are working with faculties and services to help support their conversation with their teams and implement concrete actions to help facilitate better work-life balance.  We aim to target management levels to “walk the talk” and encourage all levels to participate in disconnecting from work when appropriate.
• A conversational tool was created to help lead a collaborative conversation about workload challenges for both managers and employees.
• Virtual Telemedicine Services, launched in May 2022, will allow employees and faculty to consult health service providers remotely, eliminating the need to visit a clinic and possibly spend hours in a waiting room. All staff also have access to EFAP services and an online booking service for counselling.

Participants noted: 

• Administrative and support staff had mixed feelings about current recognition practices
• Extra days off and recognition from students and peers for jobs well done were appreciated
• A desire for more formal recognition was also prevalent (where achievable), along with recognition in the form of bonuses, team building, and training opportunities.

Actions: 

• New uOttawa President’s Awards were launched in December 2021. The newly expanded formal recognition program will recognize both academic and support staff for their numerous contributions throughout the year. A Healthy Workplace (team and individual) awards have been added to help support mental health for all.
• New TELUS Health (formerly LifeWorks) Recognition Program was launched on May 2, 2022 to encourage informal recognition throughout the organization.  
• Human Resources are working with faculties and services to implement informal recognition processes within their teams to encourage a positive workplace culture.
• A conversational tool was created to help lead a collaborative conversation about workload challenges for both managers and employees.