Christina HendricksNov 29, 2016
And I sat there and weighed whether to say anything about how the problem is deep, systemic even, and making us feel better and handle stress is good but ultimately doesn't get to why we're stressed in the first place. Decided to keep quiet b/c (a) I'm already seen as the negative element in the group, & (b) I had no solutions to offer. Left feeling more stressed than was when walked in.
Show threadBonnie StewartNov 29, 2016

@clhendricksbc i spoke about this last year in a wellness meeting on campus where focus was all on faculty & students & i was the precarious staff/sessional sitting there & finally i explained, folks, i don't even have the health coverage for the solutions you're proposing, let alone time. can we look at this systemically?

even among those who claim to love critical analysis, critical analysis when they want to feel warm & fuzzy isn't always welcome. :/

Show threadKateNov 29, 2016

@bonstewart @clhendricksbc Oh yes, my goodness. This is a source of so much stress in higher education everywhere: the rise and rise of performative wellness. If only we did more yoga, used more tracking software, didn't waste time. As if there is a single minute of surplus time to be wasted that isn't already committed to bone-shuddering fatigue.

And the troping of critical as negative is such an effective way of silencing dissent, or even enquiry.

Show threadChristina HendricksNov 29, 2016

@katebowles @bonstewart It bugs me that the answer to work-life balance is often: do something to make yourself feel better about the shitty work life balance you have! If you just relax more in yoga & do meditation you can better get through your insane days & nights of work!

Sorry--I'm really ranting now. And in fact, I do do yoga & mindfulness things and find them really great. But it's not the heart of the issue.

Show threadBritni Brown O'DonnellNov 29, 2016
@clhendricksbc @katebowles @bonstewart It astounds me that, at least at my institution, as I student I can visit counseling services and get *free* counseling and visits with a psychiatrists, but if I were to be staff and no longer a full time student that is no longer available. I feel like all student health services -especially mental health services- should be available to staff as well.
Doesn't address *time* issue but does speak to the systematic ignoring of [employee] mental health
Show threadChristina Hendricks
@bmbod @katebowles @bonstewart we are lucky here in that we have some mental health benefits, but when I used that service in the last I wasn't terribly happy. And the benefits are pretty limited.
Nov 29, 2016 at 5:00amWeb