In the summer of 2017, the WorkLife unit in Human Resources asked staff across UC Davis and UC Davis Health to consider acknowledging their managers and supervisors as “Worklife Champions,” in appreciation of their support of employees.

“The response was overwhelming and heartening,” Sandy Batchelor wrote in a report that appeared in Dateline UC Davis. “We received almost 250 nominations from staff who told incredible stories of support and expressed their sincere appreciation for their ‘World’s Best Boss.’”

Now, more than a year later, the WorkLife unit — where Batchelor is now the interim manager — has set out to compile a new champions list: outstanding managers and supervisors who “provide support, show empathy, and offer day-to-day assistance and resources to help you facilitate the management of your professional and personal responsibilities.”

Batchelor said the champions program, based on gratitude and employee-experience research, offers a simple way to celebrate managers/supervisors who:

• Communicate and encourage participation in programs/policies that promote worklife integration and provide support for employees to bring their best selves to work.
• Encourage and model worklife integration behaviors and strategies to establish a norm and influence a culture of inclusiveness and support.
• Manage with a humanistic style that promotes employee motivation, engagement, satisfaction and loyalty.

“The program is not a contest or competition, and there are no prizes,” Batchelor said. “It is simply a grass-roots act of recognition and gratitude for concerned and effective managers/supervisors.”

The Worklife Champion Recognition website includes a summary of research linking such championing to employees’ well-being and, as a result, their engagement at work, among other positives.

So, do you report to a Worklife Champion? If so, consider filling out the recognition form — it was posted Jan. 28 and will be available through Feb. 8 (the submission process is anonymous). The form invites you to share examples of why your manager or supervisor is a Worklife Champion.

“We will honor your supervisor with a certificate, public recognition, a celebration, and provide any comments you provide on the form so they know exactly how and why their efforts help you bring your best self to work,” the flier states.

In 2017, the Davis campus honored its Worklife Champions with a luncheon in the Putah Creek Lodge.

Questions? Contact Batchelor by email or phone, 530-754-8791.

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