Team –

Some of you are getting to know me pretty well. I write to you each week about things that I need reminders of, the things that are important to me for our team and the things that I wish for you and your life. This week, I’m writing about all three: relaxation.

I know that while I’m out this week on vacation, I’ll be looking at the occasional email, but I plan to unplug, spend some quality time with my family, and read a really good book.

Last week, I told you that I went to DiSC facilitation training. One of the things we learned about was how each of the DiSC styles recovers from stress. Some seek physical outlets, others look for social interactions, but my dominant style seeks to do nothing to recover from stress.

That’s not to say that my style doesn’t need to recover from stress, but rather the “act” of doing nothing is what is required to recover from stress and return as my best self. That’s what I’m doing on vacation this week. I’m relaxing, recharging, and doing “nothing” as much as I can. I will return to you all refreshed and recharged next week!

I can’t wait to learn more about you, your DiSC style, and how you best recover from stress. I highly encourage all of you to plan time for your own recovery as you can throughout the year so we can all be our best every day!

See you soon!

To show their appreciation for their fellow state team members, OA's Division of Personnel sent personalized thank you cards to each division.

Some of the messages to General Services include:

• "Carla, you do so much to keep us all afloat and we appreciative you."
• "Jacinda and Grayson are amazing. I enjoy seeing how they keep projects moving."
• "If I have any questions regarding a worker's comp claim, I know I can count on Julie Kempker to get me the answer or direct me in the right direction."
• "Working with GS is a breath of fresh air!"

A team member of the Attorney General’s office sent this kudos – “I just wanted you to say how amazing Jessica is. We sent her the email notification of this brand new claim this morning, and by 10:45 a.m. Jessica already had an appt scheduled for this claimant. She is doing an excellent job!”

• You have a leave slip entered for four (4) hours coded with the leave code LWPAA submitted for approval.*This leave entry does require a comment, please enter “Office Closure” in the comments section of your leave slip.
• Hourly employees are eligible to receive this benefit and should only enter regular hours worked on July 3. Your supervisors will work with HR to get prorated hours added to your timesheet based upon hours in the pay status for the pay period.
• If you have an alternative work schedule you should work with your supervisors to coordinate your time and may need to use annual leave to make up for any time beyond four (4) hours, just as it normally occurs on full day holidays.
• If you are an employee who is required to work a full shift on July 3^rd, you should record time worked as a normal day on your timesheet, and your supervisor will notify HR, so the appropriate holiday comp time accrual is entered.

Additionally, if you already had annual leave scheduled for July 3, you will need to go in and adjust your leave entry accordingly and replace the scheduled time with administrative leave.

It is vital to follow this updated process to ensure accurate entries and proper management of leave for the early office closure. If you have any questions or require further assistance, please reach out to OA's Human Resources team at 573-751-2799, or email HR@oa.mo.gov.