Thursday, January 28, 2016
Monday, January 11, 2016
Mark Your Calendars! Webinar: "Enhancing Stress Resilience for Kids" - Wednesday, January 27 9:00-10:00 a.m. ET
The Family Liaison Office in partnership
with MHN (formerly Managed Health Network)
presents an interactive workshop
“Enhancing Stress Resilience for Kids”
Wednesday, January 27,
2016
9:00 -10:00 A.M. ET
Department of State, FLO Room
1239
This session is
designed for an adult audience and will address the challenges children face in
today’s busy world. The one hour interactive workshop will provide ways for
parents to identify signs of stress in their children, discuss how adults’ and
kids’ bodies react to stress, and provide techniques to reduce stress.
A trainer from MHN
(a Health Net company) will facilitate the discussion.
Remote participation:
You do not have to attend in person. This
workshop is available virtually. Virtual
participants will need a computer with a high-speed internet connection and
computer speakers. The “chat” function will allow virtual participants to post
questions during the presentation. There is a workbook to use during the workshop. Please contact
FLOAskUT@state.gov to request a copy.
Who may participate?
This program is open to all U.S.
government employees, their family members, and Members of Household. It
may be especially useful to those affected by long-term temporary duty (TDY)
and permanent change of station assignments to unaccompanied posts or high
threat posts.
How to participate:
Contact FLOAskUT@state.gov
to participate in person. Virtual participants will log on to https://deptofstatehr.adobeconnect.com/r23k31mdibr/.
Enter as a guest; type your name and your current or future post.
If you
have questions: Please contact FLO's Unaccompanied Tours
Support Team at
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
IQ: Information Quest presents a Webinar
IQ:
Information Quest presents-
Webinar: Building Self-Confidence Tuesday, January 26
from 1 to 2 pm ET
In order to handle today's challenging situations,
we need to be at our best and believe in ourselves.
This webinar will
outline why confidence is so
important and how to continue feeling strong and empowered. We will have an
interactive, engaging conversation that will help you feel more self-assured,
both at work and at home.
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IQ is the Department’s comprehensive and
confidential resource and referral service that offers support to employees and
families searching for ways to balance the demands of their professional and
personal lives. They have a wealth of information on many topics,
including 30 minutes of free consultation with a lawyer. They also provide emergency child-care backup
(5 days per year of child-care).To
request customized research and referrals, email the Specialist directly
at Specialist@LifeCare.com or call 866-552-4748. Specialists are
available any time of the day or night, every day of the year. Use the
following to log on to their website: www.worklife4you.com:
screen name: statedepartment; password: infoquest. Referrals through IQ
offer discounted rates for continued service.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Posted by Beth Payne on Monday, January 4th
2016
Most people who work
for the State Department will find themselves in a crisis at one time or
another. Most of the time the crisis will be unpredictable. Whether you find
yourself in a city during a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or civil
unrest, it is very important that you and your team maintain your resilience so
that you can respond to the crisis effectively and achieve U.S. foreign policy
goals.
Here are some tips on
how you can foster resilience during a crisis:
§ Focus on people first: The highest priority in a crisis is the safety
and security of the team. Take the time to ensure that everyone has what they
need to feel secure. Let people leave if they need to.
§ Ask for help: One of the best ways to maintain resilience
during a crisis is to ask for help and resist the temptation to prove how
capable you are by going it alone. Many Department bureaus can send TDY support
if requested and are happy to walk you through best practices and lessons
learned. Be proactive early on and get the help you need.
§ Create work schedules and rest breaks: While a crisis often requires 24/7 work
coverage, that doesn’t mean people should work non-stop. Develop
clear work schedules that incorporate time for rest breaks, meals and
relaxation. Make people who are not scheduled to work go home. Some people like
to stay where the action is, but they can be distracting and will then be over
tired when it’s their turn to work. Leaders should designate deputies so they
can also take time to eat, sleep, and relax.
§ Communicate extensively: Effective communication is critical in a
crisis and err on the side of over communicating.
§ Manage Washington: In a crisis, senior officials in Washington
crave information and details. Channel communications through a central point
of contract or location so that employees aren’t distracted by constant
requests from Washington. Everyone should regularly feed information to the
designated Washington point of contact so officials are satisfied. Don’t allow
a vacuum to develop.
- Eat and drink: Provide fluids and healthy food and the time to
eat. Minimize caffeine and sugar since these only provide a temporary
boost followed by a significant drop in energy. If you want to have snack
foods, bring in fruit and nuts instead of candy and chips. Avoid alcohol
during the crisis. Alcohol will mask, but not reduce stress, and can have
a negative impact on the body in times of stress.
- Have fun: Even though you find yourself in a life or death
crisis, there is still room to have fun and laugh – find it. However, be
sure your humor is culturally sensitive.
What helps you stay
resilient during a crisis?
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