Celebrate National Work and Family Month at UK
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2020) — October is National Work and Family Month — a time for communicating and honoring our University of Kentucky community’s commitment to work-life management and family support. With the overarching goal of supporting work-life integration, flexible work helps UK employees work toward work-life harmony, maintain positive mental health and find joy in and out of the workplace.
For families, this year has been challenging. Families have faced a lot of abrupt changes to their routines, dealt with limited child care options, managed virtual schooling from home, faced limited or no visitation options with elderly loved ones, dealt with financial concerns, learned how to be physically distant while maintaining healthy relationships, managed remote working schedules or served as essential workers who continued to report on site.
Some families have spent more time together than ever, renewed relationships, became creative with family gatherings and gained a new appreciation for their family time. All in all, this has been a year full of surprises and challenges, and families are doing the best they can to maintain and get through it one day at a time.
An important component of work and family harmony is the supportive relationship between supervisors and employees. “Dr. Peter Morris has been amazing,” Assistant Professor Jamie Sturgill says of her supervisor. “He’s been very flexible with scheduling and working from home, now especially, since I am homeschooling and working.” UK HR Work-Life encourages supervisors to continue to think creatively and work with their team members to help them manage their many responsibilities.
UK HR Work-Life helps employees work toward work and family harmony through services, resources and a variety of programs which promote employee engagement, self-care, mental health, elder care, parenting and flexible work.
Upcoming events to celebrate National Work and Family Month and engage with work-life management and family support services from HR include:
Story time with Work-Life
Three stories can be viewed here
Every Monday and Thursday
Oct. 9, 16, 23 and 30
Mindful Self-Compassion - Self-compassion decreases anxiety, depression, stress, perfectionism and shame
Oct. 12
Work-Life ROCKS - Featured topic: work and family harmony
Oct. 13
Working Parents Network Meeting - Meet Katie Penry, author of “The Parenting Toddlers Workbook”
Oct. 15
Elder Care Lunch & Learn - Featured topic: elder care options
Oct. 21
Parent Coffee Talk - Featured topic: embracing the chaos
Oct. 21
Elder Caregivers Support Group - Share advice and learn about resources
Oct. 22
Children and Mental Health: Know When to Get Help - Determine when and if your children may be experiencing mental health distress or challenges
Oct. 26
Work-Life ROCKS - Featured topic: dealing with setbacks
To learn more about balancing work and family responsibilities, reach out to the Work-Life Office.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.