The Resilience Through Well-Being campaign is an initiative led by the Office of the Director Executive Office (ODEO) and the Immediate Office of the Director (IMOD) with support from the Office of Strategic Planning and Management Operations (OSPMO) with the shared purpose to empower OD staff to embrace well-being. The campaign was developed in response to a new need for mental and physical well-being resources as the COVID-19 pandemic forced many employees to adapt to working from home. With the leadership of OD Associate Director for Management/Executive Officer, Darla Hayes, and NIH Acting Associate Deputy Director, Dr. Courtney Aklin, and the support of Sandy Scarbrough, Sherry Quinn, Martha Randazzo, Robin Brooks, Michelle Polera, and Hayley Peacock, the campaign was formed. Additionally, the campaign worked with the Community of Support Committee, consisting of Chris Gaines, Tonya Lee, Keith Martin, and Erica Landis, to assist in identifying key themes and reviewing communication products.
The campaign's objectives are to promote awareness of the well-being resources that currently exist at NIH, to craft unique resources for staff to utilize, and to encourage community engagement around well-being. Each month, the campaign team focuses on individual themes including mindfulness and meditation, fitness and nutrition, benefits of sleep, National Yoga Month and managing stress.
To reach as many OD staff as possible, the campaign distributes a monthly “Thoughtful Thursday" newsletter, which features each month's newly developed resources. Resources regularly include digital meeting backgrounds, email signatures, infographics and flyers to inspire conversation and bring awareness to well-being. The campaign also devotes each month to a wellness expert at NIH who provides insights on the topic at hand through an expert interview. To encourage community engagement, the campaign hosts monthly guided meditation events, as well as ad hoc workshops geared at introducing new techniques to put monthly themes into practice.
Since launching in June of 2021, the Resilience Through Well-Being campaign has organized 42 activities and created 75 unique resources (including videos, newsletters, posters, etc.) that gained a significant amount of traffic on the campaign's site, with over 1,200 views. It is important to note that while the campaign is primarily promoted within OD, the campaign team believes well-being resources should be made available to anyone interested at NIH.
This month, with attention to year-end, the campaign moved its focus towards 'Managing Stress.' In addition to the many resources that the campaign will provide, they will be hosting a guided meditation event, leadership panel and managing stress workshop. If you are interested in learning more about why stress management is important and the ways to combat chronic stress, please reach out to the Resilience Through Well-Being campaign through their Intranet Site or on MS Teams.
