Nurturing Our Wellbeing Logo

This work will be dynamic and will evolve over time as we work to strengthen our culture to support staff wellbeing. 

The Division of Student Affairs at Iowa State University is in the business of changing lives.  Our division is the heartbeat of the university.  We support students during their journey at ISU to enhance their success, learning, wellbeing, inclusion, and retention. 

We know wellbeing is influenced by individual behavior, attitudes, and knowledge, group, and office norms, as well as the environment.  Policies, practices, norms, expectations, and culture within an organization all play a role in overall wellbeing.  While individual responsibility and behavior is an important factor that contributes to one’s wellbeing, the environment, culture, and conditions within an organization are an equally important factor that influence staff wellbeing.  We view our work and responsibility in the division as creating a culture through norms, expectations, and practices that support staff wellbeing to create the conditions for staff to reach their optimal potential.

Student affairs work is hard.  It is rewarding but can also be emotionally and physically demanding.  It requires staff to be well to support students every day.  Historically and currently, the culture, environment, and conditions within student affairs (e.g. high workload, challenges with work/life balance, demanding work, etc.) across the country has led to poor retention, high turnover, and poor wellbeing for staff. At Iowa State University, we recognize and acknowledge how this culture and the conditions within an organization affect staff and our work to support students.

To proactively address these issues, we are committed to shifting the culture within the division through setting norms that a) support wellbeing, b) seek continuous feedback from staff around wellbeing, and c) implement strategies that create the conditions for staff to thrive.  We believe this will help advance our mission priorities of student and staff success.

As employees within the Division of Student Affairs, we will communicate the expectations and norms we want to establish for the division.  While some of these norms in practice may look different for some areas, the goal is to maximize the conditions across the division that address staff needs and enhance wellbeing.

Over time, the Division of Student Affairs will build in practices (or “norms”) that help us shift our culture towards wellbeing.  Social and cultural norms are standards or patterns that are typical or expected of a group.  These norms play a role in influencing our individual and group behavior.  Setting and communicating norms that support staff wellbeing is critical to shift the culture towards enhanced organizational wellbeing.  Our goal is for ALL Division of Student Affairs areas and employees across the division to live these norms, including continuing certain norms you are already doing.

Strategies for employees and supervisors

Meetings and appointments will be more efficient, effective, and flexible.  

Staff have indicated that their schedule is full of meetings and appointments that has created challenges for wellbeing, especially with too many back-to-back meetings and appointments that make it challenging to complete administrative work, take breaks, and manage basic needs. 

The following strategies focus on ways to enhance this aspect of our culture within the division.  

  • Before scheduling a meeting, consider if a meeting is needed or if the objectives can be accomplished through other means (e.g. email, Microsoft Teams Chat, quick phone call).   
  • When possible, intentionally schedule meetings with a 15-minute break between the top of the hour (or before the next meeting) to allow space and time for basic needs and re-charging (e.g., schedule 45-minute meetings instead of 60-minute meetings). 
  • As you are able, block structured time in your calendar during the week to attend to administrative tasks and work with your supervisor to limit meetings scheduled over that period to reduce work being pushed into off work hours.
  • As a division, we will avoid scheduling meetings or programs over the lunch hour (with exception of an emergency or a gathering where lunch is provided).  We want everyone to take their lunch and avoid working over this period.  Some areas may take lunch breaks in shifts and it is important to honor that time within the department, so each employee has time in their day to rest and recharge.

Time and space for professional development and wellbeing needs are encouraged.

Staff feedback has indicated that due to high workload, space to engage in activities to enhance wellbeing and professional development during work hours is very limited, particularly for merit employees. It is important that all employees take advantage of activities on and off campus and online to improve their skills and abilities that ultimately positively impact our workforce.

The following strategies focus on ways to enhance this aspect of our culture within the division. 

Supervisors

  • Continually strategize office coverage to allow for all staff to participate in opportunities during the year.  Engage with employees to make sure they have time to participate in professional development and wellbeing needs as they arise.  Use this resource as a guide. 
  • Have consistent conversations about career goals and aspirations with employees and identify how you can help them meet their career needs.

All Employees - Engage and participate in activities that enhance your wellbeing and professional development opportunities during your working hours.  These opportunities strengthen your skillset and allow you to enhance your work with students, colleagues, and guests. Information about professional development opportunities will be shared on platforms like Topics with Toyia, Inside Iowa State, and other communication from the university and division to learn about opportunities.  We encourage you to seek out opportunities and talk with your supervisors about what participation could look like for you.

Supervisors and employees will strengthen collaboration and communication around workload, responsibilities, and expectations.

Staff feedback has indicated challenges with unclear expectations around responding to emails and phone calls during their “off” hours, experiencing vague job responsibilities, and too many conflicting prioritizes. 

The following strategies focus on ways to enhance this aspect of our culture within the division.

  • Supervisors
    • Establish clear boundaries with staff regarding communication (e.g. email, Microsoft Teams, phone) during off work hours that are appropriate with the employee’s position. Use this resource to help guide your conversations. 
    • Communicate clear expectations around job responsibilities, office protocols and expectations, with employees at least annually.  Use this resource to help guide your conversations.
    • Work with your individual employees and team as a whole to prioritize job responsibilities to create a more sustainable workload to reduce high, demanding workloads on staff to create more efficiencies in our work. Are there opportunities for efficiency?  Are the opportunities to do things differently?  Are there opportunities to stop doing things that are not effective or not mission critical?   Use this resource to help guide your conversations. 
    • For staff who routinely serve students into the evenings and weekends (outside of their typical work hours) make sure to flex their schedule to they can serve students well and manage off hours.
  • All Employees – Have a discussion with your team about how you define boundaries with students and develop tools to implement when supporting students to aid in their success after they leave Iowa State.