Getting Through the Pandemic
Remote teaching, worrying about loved ones and trying to learn new protocols has been challenging. It’s normal to experience anxiety, fear and stress. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an emotionally overwhelming experience.
Human Resources, Health, Safety and Environment offers a number of resources to support faculty, staff and leaders through the pandemic and promote well-being.
Contact the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) 24/7.
Taking care of you
Upgrading Your Self-Care During the COVID-19 Crisis
Academic Impressions webinar | Create an account for free
Tips for practising self-care
- Get exercise during meetings. If you have a telephone meeting, walk around your space during the meeting to stretch your legs.
- Stay connected. Maintaining community and connections is difficult when we are apart, but it's important to help each other get through these times. Let’s find ways to look after each other—set up 15-minute coffee meetings to reconnect, send a university e-card to thank someone for their hard work, or reach out to someone you haven’t heard from in a while, just to see how they’re doing.
- Give yourself and others grace. It’s okay to feel tired! Working from home is still working. Studies have shown that online meetings are actually more tiring than face-to-face meetings from: they involve staring at screens for long periods, trying to monitor where voices are coming from, read facial expressions from a tiny (often blurry) image, and tech issues around sound or video.
- Recognize that this has been an emotionally overwhelming time. Don’t be too hard on yourself. The new “normal” is hard to get used to. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, take a few deep breaths, try not to get frustrated, go at your own pace, try to focus on one task at a time. We may feel worried, anxious, tired and uncertain about the future. We can be worried about becoming ill, about jobs, our family members, our finances, and how long this will last. We are dealing with all of these feelings and challenges, without the physical support of people we would usually rely on. We miss our routines, our coffee shops, our family, our friends, even our coworkers! And that’s ok.
- Remember that support is available whenever you need it. Staff, faculty, and their eligible dependents have access to psychological counseling support through our Employee and Family Assistance Program provider by calling 780-428-7587.
More resources for taking care of you
- Building Resilience During and After the Pandemic Academic Impressions video | Create an account for free
- Support for First Responders, Front Line Workers and Public Facing Employees EFAP article English | French
- Quelling News Anxiety EFAP article | English | French
Working Remotely
More resources for working remotely
- Domestic violence
- Office Ergonomics - Dr. Linda Miller webinar recording
- Virtual Workplaces, the New Norm EFAP article | English | French
- Increases in Domestic Violence EFAP article
- Tips for working at home EFAP Article | English | French
Family responsibilities
Whether you have children, or aging parents, or family members who require support, managing these activities while working from home can be particularly challenging.
Childcare and Parenting Plan Smart Resource
EFAP Resource
Elder and Family Care Plan Smart Resource
EFAP Resource
Resources for managers and supervisors to support working during COVID-19
More resources for managers and supervisors to support working during COVID-19
- Leading inclusively during this pandemic Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI) Articles
- Supporting your women employees working at home during the pandemic CCDI article
- Building Resilience with Your Team During Uncertain Times Academic Impressions recorded webcast | Create an account for free
- Creating awareness of workplace domestic violence
- The intersection of race, mental health and stigma in the age of COVID-19 CCDI video | Create account using you UAlberta email address