This Week’s Event Round-Up 12/5/11

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We’ve rounded up a variety of events going on this week that MSU faculty and staff may be interested in! Please visit the links for more information. Many events require registration.

Tuesday, December 6th

Recipe for Health Cooking Series, 12:10 p.m. – 12:50 p.m., Brody Demonstration Kitchen

Wednesday, December 7th

HRD Class, Delegation for Results, 8:30 a.m. – noon, 10 Nisbet

How Buildings Work, Noon to 1 p.m., International Center Spartan Room C

Thursday, December 8th

Construction Junction 8:30 a.m., 206 Old Horticulture

Environmental Steward Orientation, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m., 209 Olds Hall

FRC Class, “The Importance of Fathers in the Lives of their Children”, Noon to 1 p.m., 27 Nisbet

Horticulture Holiday Open House, Noon to 7 p.m., Plant and Social Sciences Building

Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives Brown Bag Series presentation, “The Lives of Career Waitresses: Rethinking Work and Identity,” 12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., MSU Museum Auditorium

2011 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture, Rethinking Human-Environment Interactions, 3:30 p.m., Kellogg Center Lincoln Room

Friday, December 9th

Season of Light, 8 p.m, Abram’s Planetarium

Saturday, December 10th

MSU’s Home for the Holidays, 8 p.m., Wharton Center Cobb Great Hall

Do you have an upcoming event you’d like us to consider posting? Email us at hrcommteam@hr.msu.edu!

If I enrolled in a 2012 HCSA, can I throw away last year’s Benny debit card?

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The answer is NO! If you were enrolled in a Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) for 2011, do not throw away your current debit card! You will use the same card again in 2012. If you do need to obtain additional cards, there will be a $5 fee for each additional card.

HCSA Debit Card
Don’t throw out your HCSA “Benny” cards! You will use the same cards in 2012.

Also note that after December 31, 2011, when you use your HCSA debit card, it will withdraw from your 2012 HCSA. You may continue to use your 2011 funds through March 15, 2012, but you must pay for eligible items or services first and submit receipts for reimbursement, rather than using your debit card.Continue Reading… If I enrolled in a 2012 HCSA, can I throw away last year’s Benny debit card?

“Fun Friday” Contest Winners 12/2/11

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The drawing’s been held for this week’s “Fun Friday” contest, and the winners are:

2011 MSU Ornament
The 2011 Official MSU Ornament, featuring Gruff Sparty

Today is MSU Green Day!

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As an employee of Michigan State University, the color green may be a staple in your wardrobe. But today is different from your average day of wearing green! Governor Rick Snyder has declared Friday, December 2, 2011 as “MSU Green Day,” honoring the Michigan State University football team that will play in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night in Indianapolis.

MSU Green Day Proclamation
Gov. Rick Snyder issued this “MSU Green Day” proclamation. Photo courtesy of University Relations.

We’re proud of the accomplishments of this year’s football team. The current senior class is now the winningest class in the 115 years of Spartan football.Continue Reading… Today is MSU Green Day!

Thank You Snow Removal Teams!

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It’s Thankful Thursday and, after yesterday’s heavy snowfall, we want to thank each and every Physical Plant Division employee involved in snow removal at MSU.  You make life so much easier, safer and better for all of the faculty, staff, students and community members who work, study, live and visit on MSU’s campus during the snowy days of winter.  Thank you for your tireless around-the-clock efforts that keep MSU running!

If you’d like to learn more about snow removal at MSU, please visit http://landscapeservices.msu.edu/index.cfm/snow-removal/ for more information as well as an informative video showing how MSU Physical Plant departments battle winter weather on behalf of us all.Continue Reading… Thank You Snow Removal Teams!

Job Posting of the Week! 12/1/11

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This week we’re highlighting a Secretary II position in Statistics and Probability (Posting #5536). Some of the job duties for this position include providing front-office department secretarial support; assisting with student inquiries, walk-in, telephone and mail; maintaining the Help Room work schedule and related records; assisting undergraduate students with enrollment, prerequisites and transfer credit process; compiling faculty teaching data; providing secretarial support to faculty and support to the graduate secretary and budget manager. For a complete description of this position, and to view all of our current postings, please go to www.jobs.msu.edu and select Support Staff under the Fast Jobs Search.

Planned Snacks: Recognizing and Planning for Your Hunger Patterns

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You feel it coming…your stomach starts to grumble, your mouth starts to water…you’re hungry! But wait, it’s 10 a.m., or 3 p.m., and it’s not meal time. So, what do you do? You may ignore it, but then you’re starving by your next meal and you overeat. Or, you look around the office and settle for a couple candy bars that ruin your appetite for your next meal. To avoid this dilemma, here are some tips for planned snacks:

  1.  Notice your hunger patterns. Each person’s is unique and doesn’t vary much from from day to day. Most people need their meals plus a snack or two.
  2. Plan for it. Bring in snacks you enjoy to work, and then you’ll have something ready for those hunger pains. Taking a break from work while you snack allows you to eat undistracted. You can return to work refreshed. And your hunger will return in time for your next meal.
  3. Give yourself permission. Planning the snack is the first step in permission giving that will help you avoid bad feelings and binge eating. There’s a reason your body is asking for food!Continue Reading… Planned Snacks: Recognizing and Planning for Your Hunger Patterns
Folder with Do it or delegate it note

Need to be a Better Delegator? There’s a class for that . . .

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Ever have so much going on that it doesn’t feel like there’s even enough time to ask anyone for help?  Or have you wanted to reach out to your team members for help but wound up just keeping all the work yourself because it was too complicated figuring out what you could safely and fairly give away, who you should delegate it to and how you could make sure work still got done well and on-time once you handed it over to others?

Folder with Do it or delegate it note
To do or to delegate? How good are you at making that call?

If so, you aren’t alone, according to Jennie Petrovich, an MSU Organization and Employee Development consultant. Petrovich, who also oversees the education and training provided to MSU employees through the office of Human Resource Development, said that becoming more effective at delegation can make life better for both the delgator and the people being delegated to, while also improving the overall quality of the work accomplished.Continue Reading… Need to be a Better Delegator? There’s a class for that . . .

Is Open Enrollment the Only Time I Can Change My Benefits Selections?

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Today’s mailroom monday question: Is Open Enrollment the Only Time I Can Change My Benefits Selections?

Picture of Mom and Baby (Don't worry, you can add her to your benefits right away.)

Though MSU’s annual open enrollment period held each spring is the time when most benefits decisions for you and your dependents should be made, under certain circumstances you can make changes to your benefits selections outside of open enrollment.  The circumstances typically involve what are called “Qualifying Life Events.”  Some of the most frequent reasons faculty and staff may qualify to make benefits changes outside of open enrollment include mid-year changes in life circumstances due to:Continue Reading… Is Open Enrollment the Only Time I Can Change My Benefits Selections?

Are you Psychologically Flexible?

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This is a guest post by Lisa Davidson. Lisa is a counselor at the MSU Employee Assistance Program, a consultant for Health4U and a facilitator for numerous Human Resource Development courses.


When something happens that is challenging, unpleasant or not what you expected, how able are you to adapt in the moment? Do you respond from your core values, or do you tend to become reactionary and respond in ways you later wish you hadn’t? Increasing your psychological flexibility allows you to respond to the inevitable pain of life with greater acceptance, clarity and effectiveness.

According to Russ Harris, M.D., author of The Happiness Trap, psychological flexibility is “the ability to be in the present moment, with awareness and openness, and take action, guided by your core values. In other words, it’s the ability to be present, open up and do what matters.”Continue Reading… Are you Psychologically Flexible?