Understanding that the wellbeing culture for graduate students exists in interplay with the culture for undergraduate students, faculty, and staff, supporting a wellbeing culture for all members of the university community is our foundational goal.
Ideas we have about what graduate school "should" be like shape our cultural norms. What are the beliefs, values, and norms that characterize your department? What does it mean to be a good graduate student? What are the norms of graduate education? How do our research groups/cohorts/programs run? What does success look like? How do we build the tools (skills, attitudes, mindsets, resources, supports) we need to be successful? How and when do we give feedback?
Human connection is the underpinning to wellbeing. As we think about and build culture, we want to prioritize facilitating community and connection as a foundation. We cannot control the experience of each individual, but we can work to build a setting for wellbeing, which creates the best conditions for pursuing rigorous and exciting graduate education.
In the same way that a systems approach to health isn’t preventing all illness, but creating the conditions for health, a systems approach to culture works to create the conditions for wellbeing in your department. As the people creating the program, we have an opportunity to create a setting where people can thrive.
Ways to support a culture of holistic wellbeing:
- Support the infrastructure of community. This could look like support (structure, funding, etc.) for grad student groups or creating semi-regular times for connections – lunches, tea and cookies, seminars, or symposia.
- Create common experiences. In a highly specialized educational setting, creating spaces for shared experiences creates connection. Don’t be afraid to require attendance at a few things – an orientation, cohort meetings, seminars.
- Model the behavior you want to see. Kindness. Learning people’s names. Remembering that everyone has a life outside of work with many things happening. Let students see glimpses of your life outside of work – let them know you take time for hobbies, caring for family, rest.
- Reflect on your current culture. The eight dimensions of wellness (Environmental – Financial – Spiritual – Vocational/Occupational – Emotional – Social – Physical – Intellectual) can be a helpful rubric. How are students as a cohort doing in each of these wellness areas? Where do you see strengths or challenges?
- Embrace the importance of casual conversation. Even 30 seconds of discussing the weather works to establish openness to other conversations.
- Use the frameworks that already exist. Seminars, symposia, mentoring meetings are opportunities to create cultural norms by including things like conversations about what healthy behavior looks like, sharing campus resources regularly or expressing appreciation and publicly celebrating accomplishments.
More on creating culture:
- Recording of a Illinois systemwide presentation on Advancing Student and Employee Health and Well-Being as a Health Promoting University
- Reports from the 21st Surgeon General's Office on Social Connection and Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being and a zine-style Recipes for Connection.
- Two articles on building psychological safety as a key to team effectiveness. A Guide to Building Psychological Safety on Your Team and Understand team effectiveness.