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But, seriously, how are you?

Algonquin College’s Psychological Health & Safety Taskforce is launching the Guarding Minds at Work Survey. This unique survey is designed to assess, protect and promote psychological health and safety in the workplace. A psychologically healthy and safe workplace is one that promotes mental health and makes sure employees have the appropriate tools and resources available to them.

As part of our college-wide review of our workplace psychological health and safety, we are asking all Algonquin College employees to complete this survey during the period of February 18 to March 3, 2020. Employee input is a critical component of this review to help us identify strengths and weaknesses and to gather ideas for creating and recommending solutions.

The survey contains questions about common work experiences. The questions cover a range of topics including work responsibilities, work relationships, and leadership. The survey is anonymous and will take less than 10 minutes for you to complete. On February 18 the survey introduction and link will be sent to all College employees by email from “HR Communications”. The link will take the employee to “Guarding Minds @ Work” to complete and submit the survey.

If you are interested in obtaining more information about Guarding Minds at Work, please go to https://www.algonquincollege.com/wellness/survey/

Please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Gauen at gauens@algonquincollege.com, Connie Powers at powersc@algonquincollege.com, Paul Lahaise at lahaisp@algonquincollege.com or JP Lamarche at lamarcj1@algonquincollege.com if you have any questions. The organization and survey are endorsed by our ITS Cyber Security Unit for use with our employees. Should you have any questions or concerns in this regard, please contact Craig Delmage at delmagc@algonquincollege.com.

With best regards,

Your Psychological Health and Safety Taskforce

Dear Colleagues and Learners,

I am writing this to share some concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus and reported behaviour towards some of our international students. There have been troubling reports from our International Education Centre that students of Chinese heritage are encountering hurtful messages on social media, and are being ostracized by their fellow students.

While I understand there is increasing anxiety surrounding this virus, I want to stress that the Public Health Agency of Canada has assessed the public health risk as “low for Canada and Canadian travelers.” Only those people who become ill within 14 days of having visited Wuhan or who have been in close contact with someone who has a respiratory illness who has been to Wuhan within 14 days prior to the onset of their illness are considered at risk for the coronavirus.

Algonquin College is a diverse community with a variety of nationalities calling the College home. This type of discrimination is hurtful and unhelpful and we all have a responsibility not to spread misinformation. We continue to uphold our values of caring, learning, integrity and respect, and pride ourselves in ensuring our community is welcoming to all students and employees. Our College is and needs to remain a safe space, even in difficult times.

It bears repeating that it is recommended to follow the Ottawa Public Health’s guidelines to reduce the spread of illness, such as washing your hands frequently, and staying home if you are sick.

We will update you again should new and important information become available. Until then, you may wish to refer to the following sites for additional details:

• Province of Ontario’s coronavirus webpage (updated daily): https://www.ontario.ca/page/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov
• World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
• Government of Canada Public Health Agency: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus.html
• Government of Canada Travel Advice: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories/pneumonia-china
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

As indicated in your HR Onboarding Full-time Offer Letter or other than Full-time Terms & Conditions Letter, you are required to register for and attend a College Orientation session for New Employees scheduled in the morning.

Check out the New Hire Orientation Schedule here!

The Psychological Health and Safety Committee in conjunction with “Not Myself Today” present:

Staff Caf Karaoke

January 20, 2020, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Brought to you by your college’s “Not Myself Today” committee and special MC guest China Doll

All College employees are encouraged to take the blue out of blue Monday and join us for a fun Karaoke event in the Staff Cafeteria in D building.

Challenge other departments or colleagues to win prizes and have a great time! Group’s or individual’s are welcome. Singing talent optional.

There will be mocktails made by students from the hospitality program and espresso!!

Please sign up by Friday January 17^th by noon by emailing Tara Aquilanti at aquilat@algonquincollege.com

Bring your loonies and toonies as we will have a donation box, funds raised will go to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Our HR Service Centre has extended their hours to help new employees to the college who may have HR or Workday specific questions. They will be available in the Employee Learning Exchange on Monday, January 13 through to Friday, January 17 from 10:30am to 7:00pm. The Human Resources office hours remain unchanged – Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 4:45pm, and Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm.

If you have any questions, please contact the HR Service Centre at humanresources@algonquincollege.com or extension 7660.

Check out the schedule here!

Prior authorization is coming to our drug plan effective February 1, 2020. Prior authorization means getting pre-approval for special or expensive drug treatments that your doctor recommends.

When you or a family member is sick, you need to focus on making the right treatment choices based on reliable information. A talk with your doctor that includes prior authorization for any special or expensive prescription drugs you need is an important step to help you make those choices.

Read more about the upcoming changes below:

Prior Authorization Communiqué_EN

Prior Authorization Brochure_EN