Remember to Use Your TechFit Benefit

 

 

reminderRemember to use your TechFit benefit before the end of the year! 

TechFit provides employees, retirees of Michigan Tech, and their dependents with a monetary supplement towards an eligible wellness program (see the website for more details):

  • $150.00 each calendar year for benefit eligible employees and retirees of Michigan Tech.
  • $100.00 for all (not each) dependents per calendar year. Dependents include spouse and children that are eligible dependents for healthcare.

Check your balance in Banweb under the Employees/Benefits and Deductions/TechFit tabs.

Complete your Health Risk Assessment and get your yearly physical by December 31, 2017, in order to receive your HRA incentive.  Contact benefits@mtu.edu for information.

Relax for the Holidays Well Attended

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the MUB on November 8th to Relax for the Holidays.  Approximately 50 participants reduced stress with mini yoga sessions offered by Beth Ryynanen, HuskiesFit.  Everyone went home with make-and-take soup mix and trail mix, while Michelle Coria, Young Living Oils representative, was on hand with samples of essential oils designed to melt the stress away and keep keep the germs at bay.

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J. Jukuri generously donated giveaways for the event.  Congratulations to our winners:

Manicure:  Lisa Normand
Massage: Renae DesRochers
Massage: Amy Mensch
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Special Operating Hours Over Thanksgiving Break

Special Operating Hours Over Thanksgiving Break

 

The University will be closed on the following days—Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24. Business Operations has posted the departmental hours of operation during the Thanksgiving break on their website.

This will be updated regularly prior to Nov. 23. If your department has not yet submitted your Special Operating Hours, do so using this google form posted on the website.

Note: for employees in units considered critical areas of operation, regular hours and shifts will continue as usual and as needed over the entire break. Check with your supervisor to determine if you or your area is considered a critical area of operation.

For questions, contact Business Operations at 7-2148.

 

Worried About Winter Weather?

With winter weather approaching, now is a good time for departments to begin discussing communication procedures for weather-related absences. During times when weather conditions deteriorate, each person within the University community must exercise personal judgment on the ability to get to or from campus.

Interruptions in work due to weather are no different than other events that cause us to leave work early or arrive late. The first thing employees should do is contact their supervisors directly and explain the situation.

Hourly employees may use vacation or comp time to make up for hours missed due to bad weather. Exempt employees are expected to fulfill their regular job responsibilities.

Please exercise caution in adverse conditions. In the event the local public schools are closed, remember that Michigan Tech has a policy regarding Children in the Workplace.
For questions or concerns, employees should contact Human Resources at 7-2280 or email Amy Mensch at ajmensch@mtu.edu.

Lunch & Learn: Relax for the Holidays Open House

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All faculty, staff, and students are invited to stop by the Memorial Union Ballroom B between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8 to attend an open-house style Lunch and Learn.

The 4th annual “Relax for the Holidays” open house will feature several relaxation stations, including Aromatherapy with Michelle Coria and Yoga & Guided Relaxation with Beth Ryynanen. There will also be some “fun” stations: a coloring station, light therapy, make-and-take soup mix, and more.

Attendees will be eligible to enter a free drawing for prizes by J. Jukari Spa and Salon. Feel free to bring your lunch; tea and hot chocolate will be provided. Attending employees will earn 100 HuskyPAW points.

This event is sponsored by WorkLife Connections and Employee Wellness.

Contact sbrodeur@mtu.edu with questions.

Lunch and Learn Well Attended

Lynn, L&LWith everything life throws at you, how do you handle stress?  Lynn Anderson, certified massage therapist and owner of The Healing Nest in Laurium, was on hand Wednesday to share her personal journey into finding ways to manage physical and emotional symptoms.  She also demonstrated simple hand-on techniques for relaxing the nervous system for yourself and others.  Attendees left feeling a little more relaxed with tools to help reduce stress and a list of Lynn’s favorite books.  Lois Sedar, Recreation, was the winner of the massage giveaway.

TIAA Beneficiary Reminder

TIAA is mailing out the following reminder to update your retirement beneficiary information.

Naming your beneficiary, and keeping the information current, is an important aspect of managing your retirement account. A birth or marriage may have changed your thinking since you made your original choice. Or perhaps you never designated a beneficiary at all. Missing or outdated information can create significant costs and delays for those you leave behind.

This is a friendly reminder to make sure your beneficiary information reflects your current wishes.

It takes just a few minutes online.

The good news is that it’s easy to name, change or confirm your beneficiaries.

  • Log in to your account at TIAA.org.
  • Under My Account, select Change Beneficiaries from the Profile section.
  • From there, you can designate beneficiaries and select how much each should receive.

If you prefer, you can complete a paper form and return it by mail. To have a form mailed to you, call us at 800-842-2252. For your protection, we cannot change your beneficiary over the phone.

If you make a change, you’ll receive a confirmation by mail. And you can change your beneficiary again at any time. TIAA and Michigan Technological University appreciate your attention to this matter.

How Do You Handle Stress? Lunch & Learn

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This Lunch & Learn is presented by Lynn Anderson, certified massage therapist, and sponsored by Employee Wellness and WorkLife Connections. It will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4 in Memorial Union Alumni Lounge A.

All attendees will be eligible for a prize drawing for one bodywork session with Lynn. Register here. HuskyPAW members may claim 100 bonus points for attending. Feel free to bring your lunch; refreshments will be provided. This free event is open to faculty, staff and students. Email Shannon Brodeur with questions. L&L-Oct4-final

Weight Watchers at Work


Register here for the 12-week Weight Watchers at Work session, which begins Wednesday, October 4, in 125 Fisher Hall at 5:30PM for weigh-ins and 6PM for the meeting. Open to employees and retirees.
Participants must register online by Wednesday,September 27, 2017. The fee for this 12-week session is $126.00 per participant and includes free access to Weight Watcher’s premium ‘Online Plus’ website. Registrations will no longer be done on site – all registrations must be completed online.
You will have the option of paying with a credit/debit card or TechFit. If using TechFit, choose “yes” for “Payroll Deduct”Flexible Spending Account money (FSA) is not accepted as a method of payment. The Weight Watchers Monthly Pass is not accepted in At Work. Credit/debit cards or bank accounts will not be billed until a minimum of 15 participants have registered for the meeting.
Contact sbrodeur@mtu.edu or 7-1146 with questions.

Flu Clinic

UP Health System Portage will be offering flu vaccine clinics on Michigan Tech’s campus this fall

The quadrivalent flu vaccine is by injection at a cost of $40 payable at the time of service. Cash, check or credit card will be accepted. Students with Michigan Tech’s Consolidated Health Plan (CHP) insurance can have their flu vaccine billed to insurance with their CHP member ID card. Employees, retirees and family members insured by Michigan Tech’s Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) can also have their flu vaccine billed to insurance with their BCBSM member ID card. This does not include retirees that have Blue Cross insurance through MPSERS.

Anyone under the age of 18 cannot be vaccinated without parental permission. A spouse and/or child may attend without the employee.

The dates of the clinics are:

  • Thursday, September 144-6 pm (MUB Ballroom)
  • Tuesday, October 34-6:00 pm (MUB Alumni Lounge B)
  • Monday, October 164-6 pm (MUB Alumni Lounge A)