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In this Issue
As national mental health awareness month kicks off, we are
reminded that life is stressful, and conflicts arise. Developing
resilience means we develop and use skills and strategies to
maintain balance when we’re faced with challenges. And, being resilient protects us from developing mental health difficulties by giving us the strength to overcome and move forward in our lives.
The mindfulness sessions being offered by Fit For Life is one way to build those skills (review the wellness events calendar on MetNet). Our web-based resilience course and the Council’s employee assistance program, Sand Creek, are additional resources. To view the web-based course:
- Go to Learn.
- Once in Learn, click the magnifying glass and search "Resilience in the Workplace."
- The course will appear (22 min.).
You can also find other resources on the Respectful Workplace Program page of MetNet.
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Last year the Human Resources department enjoyed the opportunity to answer questions and share information during our Ask HR sessions. We invite Council employees to join us for continued conversation around the following topics in 2021:
- May: 2021 HR activities in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion
- June: Best practices using the Perform module
- July: Manager focus: Applying lessons from the Leadership Forum
- August: Surviving and thriving in a hybrid work environment
- September: HR and OEO working together to make a difference – Affirmative Action Plan and beyond
- October: Making the most of Human Resources resources, tools, and technology
These sessions will be held virtually via Webex. HR will send Outlook calendar invites to all staff a few weeks before each session.
Make a difference in your professional career or in the direction of someone else’s through the 2021 MentoringWorks Program. For detailed information on this virtual program, please visit the MentoringWorks site and read the fact sheet (PDF).
Applications for mentors and mentees will be accepted throughout 2021 to join cohorts each quarter. Submit your application by May 10 for this year's second group, which starts on May 20. Apply on MetNet by selecting Be a Mentor or Be a Mentee.
Who is eligible? Employees who have passed their probationary period and received a "Met Expectations" or higher on their last performance review, and are not currently on a Performance Improvement Plan, and have their supervisor’s approval. Bus and rail operators, interns, and post-retirement option (PRO), contract, or temporary employees are not eligible.
The Benefits unit in Human Resources is pleased to announce the next webinar in its educational series: planning for retirement. All employees are welcome and will find valuable information on the retirement plans sponsored by the Met Council.
The session will begin with a review of Pension, Deferred Compensation, Health Care Saving Plan, and other information for retiring, followed by an opportunity to ask questions of the Benefits staff.
Mark your calendars to learn more about how to start planning for retirement, when to start planning, and where to find resources to make good decisions. The retirement planning session will be held May 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. An Outlook calendar invite to the Webex session was sent earlier this week.
What are you going to do with your $40?
The online health assessment from HealthPartners poses general questions about nutrition, exercise, emotional health, life satisfaction, and sleep. This is a great opportunity to check in with yourself and receive specific HealthPartners program recommendations based on your results like Wellbeats on-demand fitness classes – with a newly added guided cardio channel (PDF) – and other health habit tracking programs. In addition to the annual health assessment HealthPartners is offering additional health programming.
The health assessment and HealthPartners programming are available for employees who have HealthPartners medical or dental coverage through the Met Council. A $40 gift card (subject to tax) will be provided to those who complete their assessment before May 31. The HealthPartners health programming is available till the end of the year, and you don’t need to take the health assessment to participate in the other programs.
To complete the assessment and access HealthPartners programs, visit healthpartners.com/wellbeing and log in with your HealthPartners account.
Need help? Call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052 for assistance.
Mental health is more important than ever before as we experience continued local and national racial injustice furthering the collective trauma of racism particularly for Black, Indigenous and people of color. It is absolutely critical to take care of one’s mental and emotional health especially during these painful junctures, find support with others, ask for what you need, and allow time to heal.
Below are two resources that may be helpful in processing and coping with the complexity of the impacts on our mental health:
If you aren’t sure where to start or what you might need, free mental health counseling is available 24/7/365 through the Council’s Employee Assistance Program, Sand Creek, with referral partners that specialize in racial trauma counseling. For more information, call 1-888-243-5744 or visit sandcreekeap.com.
Many people believe their salary represents their total compensation. In reality, it is a lot more.
Everything the Met Council spends on an employee is part of your compensation. This includes cash compensation, benefits, pension, insurance coverage, the employer contribution to an HRA, and more. Your personalized 2020 Total Compensation Statement shows you the dollar value of all the benefits you received last year, including wages.
You can find your 2020 Total Compensation Statement on your confidential Employee Self Service (ESS) account: Main Menu > Payroll and Compensation > My Total Compensation. You may view your total compensation by section or as a summary table or chart (click the arrow next to "View Summary Chart").
Prior year statements back to 2018 will remain permanently available for easy comparison year over year.
If you have questions about the compensation statement, contact the Benefits One line at 651-602-1601 or Benefits@metc.state.mn.us.
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