Department

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Since January 2023, a large scale (i.e., full institution) effort has been underway to transform the culture of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to one of Total Organizational Health. This TOH@UTC initiative is dedicated to cultivating a healthier and more engaged campus environment within this university. We are using data-driven and evidence-based practices to help protect and promote healthy and safe work experiences for all employees at UTC. Additional objectives are to enhance employee engagement, build a more supportive workplace culture, and become an "employer of choice" regionally and within the broader university system. In this session, an overview of this initiative will be provided, with a special emphasis on how this work aligns with this conference's themes (e.g., how this initiative is having a positive impact on the extent to which staff and faculty employees increasingly see this university as an "employer of choice" and understand the value they can create within their work and the value their work can create for them). This ongoing initiative is an example of a Total Worker Health(R) initiative that has been broadened to also address a variety of organizational-level outcomes and needs (hence the Total Organizational Health label). The underlying framework supporting this initiative is the U.S. Surgeon General’s (2022) framework for Mental Health & Well-Being in the Workplace and the widely used IGLOO model of multilevel assessment and intervention; both of these core elements will be discussed in this presentation. This session will also provide an opportunity to discuss strategies for managing change and engaging a large number of key stakeholders in an organizational development and change process. This session will also include some discussion about how this initiative transforms from its current form into something more sustainable long-term for this particular university and how this initiative might be able to scale to be applied to the broader university system and/or other similar organizations.

Date

11-9-2024

Subject

Industrial and organizational psychology

Document Type

presentations

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Nov 9th, 2:55 PM Nov 9th, 3:55 PM

Building a Culture for Total Organizational Health in a Higher Education Environment

Since January 2023, a large scale (i.e., full institution) effort has been underway to transform the culture of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to one of Total Organizational Health. This TOH@UTC initiative is dedicated to cultivating a healthier and more engaged campus environment within this university. We are using data-driven and evidence-based practices to help protect and promote healthy and safe work experiences for all employees at UTC. Additional objectives are to enhance employee engagement, build a more supportive workplace culture, and become an "employer of choice" regionally and within the broader university system. In this session, an overview of this initiative will be provided, with a special emphasis on how this work aligns with this conference's themes (e.g., how this initiative is having a positive impact on the extent to which staff and faculty employees increasingly see this university as an "employer of choice" and understand the value they can create within their work and the value their work can create for them). This ongoing initiative is an example of a Total Worker Health(R) initiative that has been broadened to also address a variety of organizational-level outcomes and needs (hence the Total Organizational Health label). The underlying framework supporting this initiative is the U.S. Surgeon General’s (2022) framework for Mental Health & Well-Being in the Workplace and the widely used IGLOO model of multilevel assessment and intervention; both of these core elements will be discussed in this presentation. This session will also provide an opportunity to discuss strategies for managing change and engaging a large number of key stakeholders in an organizational development and change process. This session will also include some discussion about how this initiative transforms from its current form into something more sustainable long-term for this particular university and how this initiative might be able to scale to be applied to the broader university system and/or other similar organizations.