The MSUB Library team has earned an MUS Wellness Departmental Gold Award for outstanding wellness initiatives and positive workplace culture throughout a very difficult year. In spite of Covid, the MSUB Library team ramped up their efforts to stay collaborative and creatively maintain a healthy work environment month after month, with special emphasis on mental health, positivity, and connection with each other. Here are a few highlights from the healthy initiatives the Library staff ran throughout the year:
Fit February
February is cold, and sometimes our New Year’s ambitions start to lose steam, so the team developed Fit February. The team was able to put stickers on a large February calendar in the library to represent each workout completed. A workout could be anything that met the fitness goals of the individual, and the team goal was to try and fill the calendar! Mission Accomplished!
Pour some gravy on me thanksgiving positivity
The Library team made “hand turkeys” (think elementary school projects), and encouraged library visitors to write something positive and pin the turkeys onto a board. This was a great way to involve the whole University community as they shared positivity and gratitude.
Spread Love, Not Germs Valentine’s day Celebration
More positive vibes and fun as the team created Valentine’s sacks and stuffed the sacks with goodies and encouraging notes.
A Year of Feelings
Keeping morale high through a difficult and unpredictable time meant checking in with each other. When the Library staff was working remotely, they used Microsoft Teams to start a chat group called Tell me something good.
“We were all feeling overwhelmed with the situation of the world, and we all were seeking to hear something good. So this was and still is the place where you can share anything positive that you have heard, seen, or done.”
Then, in March, the staff started keeping a monthly team barometer they called A Year of Feelings to check in on how they were handling the adversity of Covid, and to check in on each other. One look at their graph and we can all probably relate to the highs and lows we experienced collectively this past year.
“This has been a difficult year for all of us, and we are not out of the woods yet. However, we have been finding ways to cope. We have found ways to make each other laugh and smile through these dark days. There have been times that a team member asks for a positive pic or word to be said and the Teams chat lights up. We have become a stronger team throughout this scary time.“
MUS Wellness Departmental Awards program
MUS Wellness wants to recognize outstanding well-being initiatives on the department level. A work environment that is positive and intentionally focused on the well-being of employees leads to better work outcomes, and to happy, healthy employees who are more engaged and feel more included. This is why we have the MUS Wellness Departmental Awards program. If you think your team has what it takes for an award, or if you have aspirations of creating a culture of well-being in your office or department, check out the Department Awards information, criteria, and application on our MUS Wellness Homepage.
Congratulations to the exceptional MSUB Library Team–bringing home the GOLD for the second straight year!
If you are inspired by the MUSB Library Team, and want to learn even more about all their amazing initiatives, you can check out the full document they submitted along with their application:
Montana Moves 