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As summer fades, we begin to engage in familiar fall routines like children attending school, planning holiday leave, and celebrating National Work and Family Month in October.  My name is Tonya Lee, and as the NIH Work-Life Coordinator, I'm excited to assist in planning this year's National Work and Family Month. This year's theme is “Taking Care of Your Personal Well-Being." 

The NIH is a dedicated workforce. At times, we get so involved in our work and lives that we forget about an important factor – our personal well-being. Well-being is more than one's physical and mental health, it also includes financial, family/social and career goals. Work and Family Month provides an opportunity to focus on taking care of your personal well-being. 

Work and Family Month reintroduces existing NIH resources, highlights changes to existing programs, and presents new ones. The events and activities focus on personal well-being, provide opportunities to interact with subject matter experts, and show how to meet your current and future work and family needs. 

Since the inaugural 2018 event, the Office of Research Services (ORS) and the Office of Human Resources (OHR) have partnered to provide this event to the NIH workforce. These annual events expanded the relationships between ORS and OHR program managers, stakeholders and subject matter experts. From the feedback we receive, our goal is to gain insights into the current and future needs of the NIH workforce. 

I hope you will take time during October to focus on your well-being. The place to start is the Work and Family Month website: https://www.workfamilymonth.ors.nih.gov. Explore a few links and schedule webinars and sessions with subject matter experts. You will be surprised at what you find.​​

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