Redesigning Wellness Podcast

Give yourself a pat on the back for making it through 2020! It's time for Jen's annual wellness wrap-up with colleague Bob Merberg, Principal Consultant at Jozito. A year like this one definitely needs a debrief to look at how the industry coped and pivoted through a year fraught with uncertainty and tumult. In this episode, Jen and Bob recap how they personally fared in 2020 along with their opinions on the high notes and challenges that the industry at large experienced. They touch on essential wellness topics highlighted this year, such as the conversation on diversity in wellness, the importance of employee mental health offerings, and the effect of virtual learning on parent's work and wellness. Finally, they discuss what's next for each of them in 2021, and their hopes for the wellness industry moving forward. For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

The scope of career paths open to wellness professionals varies far and wide, as evidenced by the resume of today's guest, Dr. Jay Maddock, Co-director of the Center for Health and Nature and Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Texas A&M. Dr. Jay Maddock has done a little bit of everything - serving as the Director and Chair of the University of Hawaii Public Health Program, the Dean of the School of Public Health and Chief Wellness Officer at Texas A&M University, and most recently the Editor In Chief of the Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living. In this episode, Jay discusses his background and aspects of his time with the Healthy Hawaii Committee. He shares a bit about his role as Chief Wellness Officer at Texas A&M and the creation of their successful wellness program, Flourish. Jay then delves into his real passion, the Center for Health and Nature and his fascination with how the outdoors affects everything from illness recovery to worksite wellness. Lastly, he leaves wellness professionals with a few tangible tips. This podcast episode is brought to you by Kynd Kits. Giving back for the holidays will look a little different this year. We all know that employee volunteerism is beneficial to both the community AND your employees mental health, so don't let safety restrictions stop your company from volunteering this holiday season! Kynd Kits are volunteer experiences that can be sent to your employees home, and each kit benefits a different cause. The Kynd Kit team will even facilitate a team building experience over zoom once all of the employees get their volunteer projects delivered. Kynd Kits are provided by Denver based non-profit Project Helping, and 100% of the proceeds from Kynd Kits go to benefit mental health initiatives and volunteerism. Head over to KyndKit.com and put in the code RWpodcast to order a completely free Kynd Kit to try out! Also, if you want to set up an employee experience, email hey@kyndhub.com or justin@projecthelping.org For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

The stress and anxiety increase among employees as a result of COVID has required emotionally connected leadership, leaving many leaders wondering how to accomplish this while maintaining accountability. Today's guest, Errol Doebler, founder of Leader 193, has developed a leadership training process that hinges on emotional awareness to identify and change culture in an organization. Having served in both the Navy SEALs and the FBI, Errol Doebler is no stranger to both excellent and poor leadership. His experience has culminated in the founding of the leadership consulting firm Leader 193 as well as writing his book The Process, Art, and Science of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Confidence and Clarity in Combat, in the Boardroom, and at the Kitchen Table. In this episode, Errol discusses his experience in both the Navy SEALs and the FBI that lead him to leadership consulting. He explores some of the factors behind bad leadership and briefly explains his leadership process. Errol talks about the importance of getting to the underlying aspects of stress and how the Wim Hof Method can help. He touches on the awareness needed to identify current company culture and how to create guidelines for behavior in order to change it. Finally, Errol discusses the drawbacks to multitasking and leaves wellness professionals with a tangible tip on how to enhance the leadership conversation within their organization. This podcast episode is brought to you by Kynd Kits. Giving back for the holidays will look a little different this year. We all know that employee volunteerism is beneficial to both the community AND your employees mental health, so don't let safety restrictions stop your company from volunteering this holiday season! Kynd Kits are volunteer experiences that can be sent to your employees home, and each kit benefits a different cause. The Kynd Kit team will even facilitate a team building experience over zoom once all of the employees get their volunteer projects delivered. Kynd Kits are provided by Denver based non-profit Project Helping, and 100% of the proceeds from Kynd Kits go to benefit mental health initiatives and volunteerism. Head over to KyndKit.com and put in the code RWpodcast to order a completely free Kynd Kit to try out! Also, if you want to set up an employee experience, email hey@kyndhub.com or justin@projecthelping.org For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

It's no secret that teachers are one group that have borne a great deal of the weight of the pandemic, and as such their wellbeing has been impacted immeasurably. Concerns over the health and safety of their own families as well as the wellbeing of their students have resulted in an astounding amount of pressure, stress, and burnout. Today's guest, Tyecia Powell, wellness coach and consultant for Nonprofit Wellness and Sojourner Truth PCS, gives us an inside perspective on what educators are dealing with and how they are coping. In this episode, Tyecia discusses a bit of her 15 year background in the education sector, including the parts that she loved and the things that lead to her eventual burnout. She explains some of the challenges teachers are facing both pre and post COVID as well as how administrators, parents, and other teachers can offer support. Lastly, Tyecia touches on necessary teacher self-care and leaves wellness professionals in the educational sphere with a tangible tip on how they can help alleviate stress. For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

2020 has presented an abundance of obstacles, but have you noticed the opportunities? In this webinar turned podcast, host Jen Arnold highlights some of the essential skills wellness and HR professionals need while planning for 2021 and how you, too, can develop and strengthen them. In this episode, Jen takes listeners through practicing acceptance, building agility, and staying relevant despite the changing demands of the post COVID workforce. She highlights opportunities that can be found in situations you might currently see as obstacles and explains the importance of understanding organizational objectives to continue showing your value. Lastly, Jen shares a more in depth view of the Redesigning Wellness Academy and how it has energized and revolutionized the perspectives of academy graduates. For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

The widespread financial hardships of COVID-19 have illuminated just how much some employees, especially frontline and lower waged workers, are struggling with basic necessities like food security, shelter, and transportation. Today's guest, Linda Montgomery, Senior Vice President of Engagement Services at WorkLife Partnership, knows that oftentimes simply presenting resources isn't enough to stabilize an employee in the midst of the struggle. In her career with WorkLife Partnership, Linda brings a passion for addressing employee needs where they begin - with the quality of individual lives. WorkLife Partnership holds an employee's hand every step of the way through hardship, not only resulting in quicker and more permanent stabilization but also providing cost savings to the employer through lower employee turnover. In this episode, Linda discusses how WorkLife Partnership works with employers and gives a few examples of how they might help a struggling employee. She explains the navigator and research team set up they use and how managers might discover which employees need assistance. Finally, Linda offers success stories of organizations and leaders that are helping their workforce and leaves wellness professionals with a tangible tip on how to start. For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

Finding the ideal vendor can be a stressful and time consuming process for HR and wellness professionals, especially as vendor needs continue to change with the volatile climate of 2020. Today's guest, Joe Miller, President and Co-founder of Shortlister, returns to the podcast with some new and improved tools and tips to make the process easier, as well as insight into recent wellness trends based on vendor searches. In this episode, Joe briefly discusses the expansion and name change of Shortlister, the biggest wellness trends he's seen this year in light of the pandemic, and his predictions for 2021. He shares the direction Shortlister is headed in, when people can expect Shortlister's Annual Trends Report, and lastly a few tangible tips on choosing vendors for wellness and HR professionals. For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

Addressing workforce mental and emotional health is a wellness strategy many organizations have been hesitant to embrace. However, with the emergence of the pandemic, mental health offerings have become increasingly necessary to address employee needs. Today's guest, Darrell Moon, founder of Orriant, has discovered that managing population mental health can translate into spending far less on medical claims. With more than 10 years of experience running psychiatric and medical hospitals across the country, Darrell Moon now applies his expertise as a speaker, CEO consultant, Healthcare Innovation Specialist, Forbes Business Council Member, and Forbes Leadership Contributor. In this episode, Darrell discusses strategies that work in managing population mental health as well as practices that are less helpful. He offers tips on creating a culture of mental health awareness in the workplace and what barriers he believes make companies unwilling to address mental health. Darrell shares a few strategies for proactively engaging employees with resources and how wellness professionals can make the case for mental health management to executives. Lastly, he leaves listeners with a tangible tip on helping people change behaviors. This podcast episode is brought to you by Kynd Kits. Kynd Kits are volunteer projects in a box that come delivered to your doorstep with 100% of the materials needed to do a meaningful volunteer experience by yourself, or with your family. With COVID cancelling so many in-person volunteer experiences, this is the perfect way to continue to give back from home, and 100% of the proceeds go to benefit a mental health non-profit called Project Helping. These are great for corporate volunteer experiences, or at home volunteering with your family and friends. Head over to KyndKit.com and the first 50 people to put in the code RWpodcast can order a completely free Kynd Kit to try out! For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

Among the people hit hardest by the emergence of the pandemic, small business owners are at the top. With trainings and conferences cancelled, in person meetings inadvisable, and both personal and corporate budgets locked down, many entrepreneurs were immediately thrown into survival mode. Today's guests, Maggie Gough, founder of Realize Wellbeing, and Kevin McAlister, founder of Lift Your Wellbeing, offer an inside look at how small business owners in the corporate wellness industry have been surviving this potentially devastating disruption. In this episode, Maggie and Kevin share their initial reactions to COVID and the business pivots they had no choice but to make. They discuss how they were able to deal with the grief and nervousness surrounding these changes and what "aha" moments the pandemic has provided. Both guests give their insight into looking ahead at 2021 and offer tangible tips for business owners on getting through. This podcast episode is brought to you by Kynd Kits. Kynd Kits are volunteer projects in a box that come delivered to your doorstep with 100% of the materials needed to do a meaningful volunteer experience by yourself, or with your family. With COVID cancelling so many in-person volunteer experiences, this is the perfect way to continue to give back from home, and 100% of the proceeds go to benefit a mental health non-profit called Project Helping. These are great for corporate volunteer experiences, or at home volunteering with your family and friends. Head over to KyndKit.com and the first 50 people to put in the code RWpodcast can order a completely free Kynd Kit to try out! For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod

If 2020 has taught wellness professionals anything, it's that flexibility and creativity are key. Now, looking toward 2021 and the uncertainty surrounding COVID and returning to the office, today's guests are putting those skills to use. Maddison Bezdicek, Health Strategies Practice Leader at Hylant, and Vicki Roy, Senior Health Strategist at Hylant, offer an inside look at how wellness consultants handled the sudden pivot required at the start of the pandemic, what strategies they've used since to support their clients, and how the Redesigning Wellness Academy helped them along the way. In this episode, Maddison and Vicki share both personal and professional reactions to COVID, which resources they presented that were successful and unsuccessful, and what they implemented from their time with the Redesigning Wellness Academy. They discuss how they're approaching planning for 2021 and offer a few outstanding tips for wellness professionals to stay afloat during uncertain and stressful times. This podcast episode is brought to you by Kynd Kits. Kynd Kits are volunteer projects in a box that come delivered to your doorstep with 100% of the materials needed to do a meaningful volunteer experience by yourself, or with your family. With COVID cancelling so many in-person volunteer experiences, this is the perfect way to continue to give back from home, and 100% of the proceeds go to benefit a mental health non-profit called Project Helping. These are great for corporate volunteer experiences, or at home volunteering with your family and friends. Head over to KyndKit.com and the first 50 people to put in the code RWpodcast can order a completely free Kynd Kit to try out! For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod