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Events, Initiatives and Training

Healthy us. Healthy campus. Rise and thrive at Ontario Tech.

Your Human Resources health and wellness supports and services, including the Healthy Workplace Committee are committed to providing the university community with opportunities to engage in activities that promote employee optimal health and well-being. Check out this web page often for updates on offerings that support a holistic approach to building a healthier workplace. 

Do you have an idea for an event, speaker or initiative? The Healthy Workplace Committee welcomes your input, email wellnessatwork@ontariotechu.ca.

Current and Upcoming

  • Puzzle Lending Program Available as of November 1st

    We’ve heard that puzzles bring teams together, to socially connect and work toward a common, fun goal, so we are launching Ontario Tech Puzzles, a puzzle lending program!  Images that represent Ontario Tech have been turned into puzzles and are now available for you/your colleagues to borrow and complete.

    Please visit the Puzzle Lending Program web page to view the available puzzles and request a puzzle today!

  • Door Decorating Contest: Vote on or before Friday, December 19

    Celebrate the holiday & winter season with Ontario Tech’s annual Door Decorating Contest!

    How it works:

    1.  Gather your colleagues and select a door to decorate* for the holiday/winter season.
           *Please abide by the Guidelines for Office Decorations from the Office of Risk Management.

    2. Decorate your door in celebration of the holiday and/or winter season.  Please be mindful that any decorations used do not damage the door upon removal.   

    3. By Friday, December 12, email wellnessatwork@ontariotechu.ca the following:
      • A photo of your door
      • Names of decorating participants
      • Your Department/Faculty

    4. Dec. 17-19 view photos of contest submissions on the Door Decorating webpage and vote for your favourite!

    5. Please remove your decorations no later than Tuesday, December 23.

    6. Winners will be announced in January 2026 and prizes distributed (yes, there are prizes!).
  • 12 Days of Self-Care until the Winter Solstice: Enter the draw by December 23

    It can be difficult to squeeze in time for our health and well-being with the holidays approaching, and limited daylight in our evenings.  The Winter Solstice occurs on December 21st and is the day of the year when we have the least amount of daylight. 

    To help you infuse wellness into your days, welcome Winter with our 12 Days of Self-Care until the Winter Solstice Activity Sheet.  Choose from activities that will help you connect with colleagues, get into the holiday spirit, and take time to be well. 

    Prize Draw: Participate in the 12 Days of Self-Care until the Winter Solstice Activity Sheet and then enter your name into this draw to win a self-care prize pack. Submit your name on or before Tuesday, December 23, 2025. A randomly drawn winner will be selected in 2026!

  • Active Living Challenge: January 5-30, 2026

    The Active Living Challenge (ALC) is a campus-wide recreation, fitness and wellness event aimed at promoting health and wellness into the new year. Participants can track their workouts, participation in recreational sports, and activities that demonstrate overall physical activity to complete their activity card for a chance to win weekly prizes, including the Challenge grand prize. The ALC is open to all students, staff and faculty members.

    For full challenge details please visit the Active Living Challenge webpage.

  • Respiratory Care & Can Quit Programs: Informational Workshop: Wednesday, January 21, 2026

    This session will include an overview of the FREE Respiratory Care & Can Quit Programs offered by Sun Life.

    The Respiratory Care Program (RCP) is a 12-month, no-cost program designed to support individuals living with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

    Program benefits include:
    - Access to a dedicated team of pharmacists specializing in asthma and COPD care
    - One-on-one virtual consultations
    - A personalized Asthma/COPD care summary to take home
    - Ongoing follow-up appointments over 12 months

    The Can Quit Program, offered by Sun Life in collaboration with the Ottawa Heart Institute, provides Canadians who smoke or vape with virtual access to expert guidance and proven strategies to quit.

    Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026
    Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
    Location: Virtual
    Audience: Group Benefit Plan Members

    REGISTER TODAY

  • Learning to Recharge: Tuesday, January 27

    Let's continue the conversation, related to January 21's Let's Talk Day, focusing on supporting your mental health by finding time to recharge.  It may seem like a good work strategy to just do one more thing or push through. But, in fact, our focus and productivity go down when our energy is depleted. This means that we have to work harder and longer to get the same results than we would have had if we took the time to recharge. Attend this session to explore techniques to energize, calm your mind or relax your body and discover what you most need to recharge.

    Give-away and Draw: Participants will receive a Break Kit to support recharging after this workshop (while quantities last) and everyone will be entered into a random draw to receive a 1-year subscription to Calm.

    Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2026
    Time: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
    Location: In-person, SHA-037
    Target Audience: All faculty and staff

    Register by Friday, January 23

  • The Working Mind-Employee Cohort: Thursday, January 29

    This evidence-based course, with newly released updated content, is designed to initiate a shift in the way you think, feel and act with respect to mental health by increasing your awareness, reducing stigma and other barriers to care in the workplace, encouraging mental health conversations, and strengthening your resilience. By accomplishing these goals, TWM aims to help you maintain your  wellness and support others living with a mental health condition in a psychologically healthy and safe work setting.

    Participants will receive a certificate of completion from the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

    Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026
    Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    Location: Virtual
    Target Audience: Faculty and Staff without direct reports

    Register today!

  • Crucial Conversations for Employees: February 2-6, 2026

    When it comes to the health of relationships, teams, and organizations, one thing affects everything: communication. Backed by 30 years of social science, Crucial Conversation skills represent the standard in effective communication. Improve your skills and get better outcomes by attending a training course.

    The communication skills taught in this training focus on a specific kind of interaction: those when stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. This is not a course on winning friends or winning people to your way of thinking; it’s about strengthening relationships and securing results in the moments that matter most.

    This course teaches nine powerful skills for working through disagreement to achieve better resources: Get unstuck, Master my stories, Start with heart, State my path, Make it safe, Learn to look, Seek mutual purpose, Explore others’ paths, and Move to action.

    Crucial Conversations: Employees

      • Date: Monday, February 2, 2026 to Friday, February 6, 2026 (2.5 hours x 5 days)
      • Time: 9:30 a.m. to Noon
      • Location: Virtual
      • Target Audience: Employees

    REGISTER

Reoccurring

Learning and Development

Please contact Julie Day, Health and Disability Management Specialist, with questions or if you should require an accommodation in order to participate in any of the events.