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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.

Winter 2025

  • Healthy Workplace Committee (HWC) 2025 Recipe Calendar

    Are you wondering what to make for dinner? Would you like to try a new recipe?

    Look no further! The HWC 2025 Recipe Calendar is filled with delicious options contributed by Ontario Tech University colleagues! Each month highlights a different winning recipe that was selected as a part of a HWC 2024 recipe challenge! Also enjoy photos of people, places, pets, and peers that were submitted as part of the 2024 HWC annual photo contest!
  • Learning to Recharge: Wednesday, February 26

    Let's continue the conversation, related to January 22'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 that 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: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
    Time: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
    Location: In-person, SHA-018
    Target Audience: All faculty and staff

    REGISTER BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21

  • Cooking demo and taste testing, March 10

    Take a break on March 10th from 1-2 pm and join members of the Healthy Workplace Committee along with representatives from our campus food services provider, Dana Hospitality.

    Participants will have an opportunity to make and enjoy a yogurt parfait including fresh fruit, and homemade granola! Dr. Sylvie Bardin, Teaching Professor, Faculty of Science, and Certified Holistic Nutritionist, will discuss nutritional benefits of yogurt parfait ingredients. 

    Enjoy a specialty coffee with Alan Shabstone, Mountainview Coffee, and learn about the Basics of Coffee! Mountainview Coffee takes pride in producing ethical and sustainable products and works in partnership with Dana Hospitality.

    Donna Bottrell, Director of Culinary, Marketing and Sustainability, will be available to answer questions regarding Dana Hospitality’s culinary programs.

    Date: Monday, March 10
    Time: 1 – 2 pm
    Location – on campus, RBC Faculty Lounge (BIT 1055)
    Target audience: all faculty and staff
    Note: registration is limited to 15 so register soon

    REGISTER

  • Mindful Mondays: March 3, 17, 24, & 31

    Feedback from the Introduction to Mindfulness session last November, indicated a desire for more opportunities to explore mindfulness practices, so we are excited to introduce Mindful Mondays in March!  Attend individual sessions or multiple to create your own series.  If you would like to connect with the instructors, Joan or Karen, individually, they will be available 15 minutes prior to and 15 minutes after each session.

    Instructors

    Joan Hunt MSW RSW is a retired social worker and psychotherapist specializing in the Mental Health and Addictions field. She is also a Certified Teacher (2014) of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has extensive experience teaching mindfulness to a number of different populations including Mindfulness Based Cancer Recovery, Mindfulness Based Wellness and Resiliency and more recently Mindfulness and Self Compassion.

    Karen Lewis MSW RSW RMFT-SQ is a social worker, psychotherapist, and couple & relational therapist in private practice. Her interest in the benefits of mindfulness and compassion to promote wellbeing and personal growth, led her to pursue training through the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, a global leader in self-compassion training and practice, and the MiCBT Institute, an established research and training organization based in Australia providing professional training in mindfulness for regulated health professionals. Karen has significant experience facilitating groups.

    Sessions

    Coming Out of Automatic Pilot
    Date: Monday, March 3
    Time: Noon to 1 p.m.
    Location: In-person, SHA-024
    Register for Coming Out of Automatic Pilot

    Mindfulness of the Body
    Date: Monday, March 17
    Time: Noon to 1 p.m.
    Location: In-person, SHA-024
    Register for Mindfulness of the Body

    Mindful Walking
    Date: Monday, March 24
    Time: Noon to 1 p.m.
    Location: In-person, SHA-024
    Register for Mindful Walking

    Mindful Eating
    Date: Monday, March 31
    Time: Noon to 1 p.m.
    Location: In-person, Campus Corners, Room 2222
    Directions to this room: Enter Campus corners via the double doors beside Copper Branch restaurant.  Take the elevators to the second floor.  Turn left off of the elevators, and then turn left to walk down the hall.  Room 2222 will be on your left.
    Register for Mindful Eating

    Each session will follow the same format as follows:

    • settling practice
    • brief review of the practice intention
    • the main practice
    • post-practice reflection
    • Question and Answer time
  • Crucial Conversations: Individual Contributor Cohort: March 17-21

    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.

    • Date: Monday, March 17 to Friday, March 21, 2025 (2.5 hours x 5 days)
    • Time: 9:30 a.m. to noon
    • Location: Virtual
    • Target Audience: Front line contributors
      Note: Participants must attend all dates to receive their certificate.

    REGISTER FOR MARCH 17-21, 2025 SESSION.

  • National Pet Day, April 11

    National Pet Day is an unofficial holiday that takes place each year and is a day to appreciate the role that pets play in our lives.

    You and your pet(s) are invited to join members of your Healthy Workplace Committee for this virtual event! Join in the fun, share a story, and learn more about pets loved and adored by your colleagues! 

    Participants will be entered into a random draw for a “pet prize”!

    Date:   Friday, April 11, 2025
    Time: 12 – 1 p.m.
    Mode of delivery: Virtual
    Target audience: All faculty and staff

    REGISTER by Monday, April 7th

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.