Are you looking to add an exciting movement break to your classes or meetings? Book the Humber Health Hustle today and have a group of energetic students come in and get your group moving. 

Email us today to book.  

If you’ve been reading the announcements in Communiqué and have visited the Employee Well-Being and Engagement website, you probably know that we are looking for you to define Humber’s Employee Well-Being and Engagement Framework. The first step towards this outcome is to vote on the suggested Dimensions and Drivers. Since your vote and views matter, we will be sharing more information over the next two weeks that will assist in preparing you to confidently choose those Dimensions and Drivers that matter to you.

Look out for more in this series entitled: My Views, My Vote. We will feature different Dimensions and Drivers and you will hear directly from your fellow employees in upcoming Employee News Network (ENN) videos.

This week’s discussion: Well-Being group ‘Work Well-Being’ and there are two dimensions under this group, Personal Effectiveness and Meaningful Work.

Understanding Personal Effectiveness   

We have defined Personal Effectiveness as “Programs that enable employees to master their careers, achieve personal/professional developmental goals and receive the support that helps them to become more effective.”

Personal Effectiveness is about making use of both personal and professional resources to enable you to achieve your goals. To increase personal effectiveness one needs to understand how effective they currently are and what changes they want to make and how.

The four drivers of Personal Effectiveness are identified as:

• Growth and Development
• Coaching and Mentoring
• Inspire and Motivate
• Self-awareness and Reflection

Here are some examples of what many organizations do related to personal effectiveness;   offer organization-wide training on personal effectiveness (managing stress, organizational skills, personal accountability, goal setting), work within the team/unit to identify and prioritize projects, a strong culture of coaching and mentoring.

Understanding Meaningful Work

We have defined Meaningful work as “Employees work have significance and purpose. It contributes to team/organizational goals and gives a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction.”

Our work matters. Our work has important implications for our personal identity, and much of our self-esteem derives from our work. Our work can satisfy the need for significance, the opportunity to make a purposeful contribution while connecting with others. Meaningful work leads directly to higher levels of engagement, but it must be satisfying, reflect the employee's interest, use their skills, develop potential and allow them to reach their personal objectives. 

The three drivers of Meaningful Work are identified as:

• Quality of Work
• Empowerment
• Direction & Purpose

Here are some examples of what many organizations do related to meaningful work; employees feel and demonstrate ownership and commitment by being able to make decisions, be responsible, be measured by results, and be recognized as thoughtful, contributing individuals,  rather than a pair of hands doing what others say. Employees see how their jobs fit in with and support the organization’s value and purpose.

For more information about these dimensions and to view other proposed dimensions, please visit humber.ca/hroe/oe. Don’t miss the next Well-Being group for discussion; Social/Environmental Well-Being.

Want to participate in the Employee Well-being and Engagement Initiative?

Register to attend an Information Session and voting. Click here to register.

Please be advised that Testing Services will be open late on Monday, March 16, 2020. 

The North Campus location will open at 11 a.m. and Lakeshore will open at 11:30 a.m. following some staff training. For updated information on delayed openings, hours of operation, policies and procedures please visit our website.

Shane Bentham
Manager, Testing and Integrated Services

Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and the potential impact on our community. All classes, campus operations and activities are continuing as scheduled.

There are currently no identified cases of COVID-19 at Humber or the University of Guelph-Humber.

We are taking the COVID-19 situation seriously and the health and well-being of the entire college community is of paramount importance. We will continue to provide students and employees with regular updates and FAQs through www.humber.ca/updates, Communiqué, MyHumber and www.guelphhumber.ca/covid-19.

The College has activated its Critical Incident Response Team, which is responsible for COVID-19 oversight, planning and preparation. Humber has a pandemic plan and multiple business continuity plans in place, should they be required.

What if someone does test positive for COVID-19?

Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 will be under the direction and support of their local public health unit. The public health unit will follow-up with potential close contacts of the individual. Humber will take direction from Public Health as to what follow-up measures are to be implemented, should the need arise.   

All students and employees (including from the University of Guelph-Humber) must inform Humber if they have tested positive for COVID-19. Students can notify Jacqueline Anderson, Associate Director, Health and Counselling. Employees can notify Margaret Fung, Manager, Occupational Health and Safety. Humber will track these individuals and provide appropriate support to these individuals throughout their period of illness and recovery.   

Ability to Work and Learn on Campus

Recommendations to support global containment efforts and limit the spread of the virus, including self-isolation are still in place, particularly for those who may have been travelling recently. The Government of Canada Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak Update page provides regularly updated travel advisories.

If a student or employee, or their family members, have travelled to China, Iran, or Northern Italy within the last 14 days, they should stay at home and contact Toronto Public Health to seek guidance as to whether they should self-isolate before coming to work or class.

Any students who are feeling unwell and/or have reason to believe they should be self-isolated should stay home and contact their Associate Dean (University of Guelph-Humber students should contact their instructor and/or academic advisor) before coming to campus. Students will be accommodated, as long as the appropriate notice and documentation is provided, as required.

Faculty members who are feeling unwell and/or have reason to believe they should be self-isolated and therefore are unable to attend class, should stay home and contact their Associate Dean (for the University of Guelph-Humber should contact their Program Head or Assistant Program Head) before coming to campus to discuss appropriate next steps.

All other employees who are feeling unwell and/or have reason to believe they should be self-isolated should stay home and contact their manager before coming to campus to discuss appropriate next steps. 

Employees will be accommodated, as long as the appropriate notice and documentation is provided, as required.

Measures Underway

While the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international public health emergency, the current risk to Canadians remains low. We maintain ongoing contact with Toronto Public Health and have been advised that there are no additional actions required, and to follow regular respiratory illness protocols and prevention strategies.

In addition to what has been communicated previously, bring your own mug/cup is currently not available at Starbucks and Tim Horton’s locations on campus. The Roll Up The Rim at Tim Horton’s contest has also been suspended to limit potential exposure with the return of used coffee cup rims.

Humber is following all respiratory illness protocols and prevention measures already in place. In addition, areas of the College that provide health-related services, including the Health Centres, Dental Centres, the Humber Spa and the Tzu Chi Clinic of Chinese Medicine, have the recommended screening protocols in place.

We have increased cleaning of high touch point areas, using a chemical that kills both coronavirus and norovirus. Electrostatic fogging machines are also being used twice a week in cafeterias, open computer labs, high-traffic washrooms, athletic changerooms, health centres, Residence etc. This includes the keyboards and monitors in the open access labs. Electrostatic fogging machines seal surfaces so that germs are unable to attach to them.

Soap and hospital-grade hand sanitizer dispensers across campus will be monitored and filled regularly.

As we are in the winter flu season, we ask everyone to:

• wash your hands as frequently as possible,
• cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then immediately throw the tissue in the garbage and clean your hands,
• if you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your sleeve or arm,
• and stay home if you’re feeling ill.

Public Health Ontario also has several hand hygiene videos available as reference.

Resources and Contacts

We want to emphasize that Humber takes the health and well-being of our staff and students seriously and we are monitoring the situation closely. An oversight group comprising representatives from the Academic Division, Communications, Human Resources, Legal and Risk Management, Public Safety, Student Success and Engagement, and the University of Guelph-Humber will provide regular updates to the community.

If you have any questions, please contact:

• Jacqueline Anderson, Associate Director, Health and Counselling at jacqueline.anderson@humber.ca
• Margaret Fung, Manager, Occupational Health and Safety at margaret.fung@humber.ca

Other COVID-19 information is available at the following links:
Ontario Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) page
Toronto Medical Officer of Health statement – March 2
Toronto Public Health 
Toronto Public Health Novel Coronavirus Fact Sheet
Government of Canada - Travel Health Notices
Public Health Agency of Canada