Upcoming Human Resources Programs
January 23, 2007, Volume 53, No. 19	Print Issue

Work-Life Balance Workshops

Dealing with the demands of work and personal life can be challenging. That’s why we offer a variety of free workshops led by experts from Penn’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Work & Family Benefit provider, Penn Behavioral Health, to offer information and support for your personal and professional life challenges. Each workshop will include an optional Q&A period from 12:30 to 1 p.m. For more information and/or to pre-register, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/quality/workshop.asp or call (215) 573-2471.

Baby Prep 101: Preparing For A New Baby In Your Life–A Father’s/Partner’s Role; February 7; noon to 1 p.m.; free.As a father/partner, finding out that you’re going to be a parent is a life-changing moment; but along with the excitement, you may feel daunted. This workshop will help diffuse any concerns you may have about not being important to your new baby. Learn how to emphasize the naturalness of the primary mother-child bond as well as enjoy the absolutely critical nature of your supporting role.

Managing Relationships; February 14; 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; free. Learn about the dynamics of relationships, as well as some of the important factors that either interfere with or maintain them. Discussions will include effective communication, relationship perspectives, stressors, balance and priorities, relationships and career, and relationships and children.

Reducing The Pressure On Our Children; February 22; 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; free. This session is designed to explore pressures in children, look into their effects, then discuss coping mechanisms and skill development. Includes developmental, environmental, family, and parental pressures; symptoms of pressure; coping mechanisms; parental responses; and empowerment.

For personalized assistance with dependent care issues and personal well-being, contact Penn Behavioral Health, at 1-888-321-4433 or www.hr.upenn.edu/quality/wellness/eap.asp, or go to the EAP website at www.pennbehavioralhealth.org. For questions on QOWL programs, contact Human Resources at fitzpatl@hr.upenn.edu or (215) 573-2471.

Professional and Personal Development

Take advantage of the many development opportunities provided by Human Resources!  Simply pre-register for programs by visiting the online Course Catalog at www.hr.upenn.edu (click on Course Catalog at the top of the page), or contact Learning and Education at www.hr.upenn.edu/learning or (215) 898-3400.

Career Focus Book Group: The 12 Bad Habits that Hold People Back; January 26 and February 2; noon to 1 p.m.; free. Have you ever wondered if something you’re doing–or not doing–is preventing you from reaching your career potential? Come learn about 12 bad habits that might be holding you back!  Join a small group of Penn staff to read and discuss The 12 Bad Habits that Hold Good People Back: Overcoming the Behavior Patterns that Keep You from Getting Ahead. This interactive 2-session program (January 26 and February 2) involves reading, group discussion, and exercises to bring about awareness of your own behaviors. You will be provided with a copy of the book.

Brown Bag Matinee–Focus Your Vision; January 30; noon to 1 p.m.; free. Take a virtual vacation from your desk as you travel with Dewitt Jones, former National Geographic photographer. This video creatively uses the striking photographic work of Jones to teach us the importance of direction and purpose as we set goals to accomplish in our personal and professional lives. You will learn the 7 Key Concepts of Focusing through this innovative and unusual training film.

American Management Association (AMA) Program–Mastering Organizational Politics, Influence and Alliances; February 1 and 2; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $60. Politics are a facet of everyday life in organizations. Skills and experience alone do not guarantee a successful career. In just two days, you can discover how to successfully manage your political image as you build alliances and take your career to the next stage. Learn how to use communication to influence others and strengthen your position in your organization. You will effectively manage your own behavior and your impact on the team.

Brown Bag Matinee–Painless Performance Improvement; February 7; noon to 1 p.m.; free. Real change only happens when the decision to change comes from the person doing the changing. Painless Performance Improvement provides managers with a simple and proven technique to help team members improve their own performance without the drama, conflict or pain often associated with performance issues.

Professional Development Program–Franklin Covey’s FOCUS; February 9; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $75. Competing priorities. Multiple deadlines. A hundred unanswered e-mails. This engaging, highly interactive workshop will give you the tools to increase productivity, enhance your chances of success, keep focused, effectively manage all the information that comes across your desk, and reduce your stress level.

Professional Development Program–Teams: Who, What, When, Why & How; February 22 and 23; 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; $60. Teams are more than simply a group of people working together. They can be an enormously effective way to create synergy and produce outstanding results. Or they can be a colossal waste of an individual’s time. The difference is in the planning and the planning consists of answering some very basic questions: What is a team? Why use a team? When is it appropriate?  Who should belong to the team?  How will we accomplish our objective?

Career Focus Brown Bag–Fulfilling Your Career at Penn; February 26; noon to 1 p.m.; free. This video workshop is based on the work of Richard Chang, who wrote The Passion Plan–A Step-by-Step Guide to Discovering, Developing and Living Your Passion. Chang believes that each of us can find our passion, the one most important element that can make our work fulfilling and rewarding. He offers practical suggestions and exercises to help identify goals, identify barriers and solutions to overcome them, and to create action plans, both short term and long term.

Professional Development Program–Minutes Writing Course; February 28; 9 a.m. to noon; $60. In this class you will learn the components of writing good and effective minutes. Course topics include why you should take minutes, formats and writing styles for minutes, when they should be written and sent, and a quick writing skills review. The course will combine discussion, lecture and hands-on writing exercises.

—Division of Human Resources