There are specific circumstances in my life that have lead to some areas of personal wellness being more stressed than others, but I am purposefully working on them. I'm very grateful that BYU has the Employee Wellness office and allows employees to intentionally develop in all the areas of wellness.

Sometimes [the Employee Wellness activities] are the only reasons we leave our office/building outside of work commitments. It’s so important and beneficial to have a chance to focus on wellness and relationships. If the Wellness Program were to be discontinued, it would be a major loss and have a negative impact in so many ways. The Wellness events are some of the things I look forward to the most.

I have loved it. It is something that you don't just end up participating in, you have to make the conscious choice to be involved. But that is how wellness works. you have to choose for yourself to work on wellness. [This program does] a great job of helping me choose to strive for improvement in my wellness.

The academic year is so full that it's often hard to prioritize wellness when there's a heavy workload. The fact that BYU has a specific section of HR that focuses and advocates for employees to participate in wellness activities is important to me, because it demonstrates that the university means that it is important. Things from insurance companies are just that- things from insurance companies. It's easier to justify, personally and also to leadership, participating in a university-sponsored wellness event than it is to an insurance event. They're perceived differently.

As a three-quarter time employee, I appreciate that Employee Wellness offers me benefits and resources that would otherwise not be accessible to me. Full time faculty and staff have significant health benefits (insurance, free access to university and Provo city facilities, etc.) as a part of their compensation, which three-quarter time or part time employees do not receive. Employee Wellness helps to bridge this wellness gap by still offering opportunities at work for all employees to integrate wellness into a healthy working environment. Employee Wellness empowers all employees to make sustainable changes wherever they are at in their wellness, and that still has a positive impact on employee health. Without the advocacy and opportunity that Employee Wellness provides, it would be much more difficult for those not with full-time benefits to prioritize health and wellness in the workplace.

While I do feel that I have room for improvement in all of the wellness categories, I am proud of the progress I have made so far with my wellness goals. I have especially seen improvements to my emotional and physical wellness as I have become more aware of my needs in those areas. I feel that having Employee Wellness lectures, activities, and articles helps me remember that I can prioritize my emotional and physical wealth while at work. Overall wellness is not something that gets left at the door when I go from home to work; my wellness impacts my ability to show up for myself and my colleagues. Employee Wellness empowers me to make space for wellness in all aspects of my life.