HR Tea Season 5 | Let's Talk About Well-Being!

The #VillanovaHRTea Season 5 is now live on Google Podcasts and iTunes! This season we are talking well-being! Season 5 was produced by our team of HRD faculty, staff, and students including: Heather Cluley, Bethany Adams, Keith Grohowski, Marisa D'Errico, Tiana Drake, and Jen Caslino. The full season of #VillanovaHRTea Season 5 is available now!

In our fifth season of HR Tea, we have another new host, Dr. Heather Cluley Bar-Or, Villanova HRD Associate Director and Assistant Professor! Heather's background is in Organizational Behavior and she has held roles in health promotion and health care communication in both public and private health care settings. Her research is in the area of work, family, and career intersections and she is an amazing advocate for organizations actively taking steps to support work-life integration for all employees. Who better to lead us through this season as we explore the topic of wellbeing?

We know from research that workplaces that prioritize well-being see employees who are more engaged and productive. And while organizational wellness programs have been around for ages, well-being is still a trending topic that is constantly evolving around the new needs or changing interests of employees. Our guests this season will include organizational researchers, HR leaders, executive coaches, a diversity officer, and even a family & alternative medicine physician. Each has a unique take on what well-being is and what organizations should be doing to support it.

For those of you new to HR Tea, our podcast is for any HR or business professional who is passionate about improving their organization and creating more meaningful work for their employees! Each episode steeps for about 30 minutes and features interviews with HR Leaders, Researchers, Students, and Influencers on trending topics in human resources. And just like our previous seasons, HR Tea is certified by SHRM for recertification credits just for listening! Season 5 of HR Tea is approved for 3 SHRM recertification credits for those that listen to the full season.

Season 5 of HR TEA is approved by SHRM for 3 recertification credits! Listen to the full season and earn SHRM recertification credits for free!

Here is a list of the episodes:

Let’s Talk Well-Being | Welcome to Season 5 of HR Tea. This season of HR Tea will focus on topics related to well-being and how organizations can meet the varied needs of diverse employees. Guests will include researchers, HR leaders, DEI specialists. and even a physician. We hope you enjoy your listening this season!
Worker Well-BEEing | In this episode, IO Psychologists and CoFounders of WorkrBeeing, Patricia Grabarek and Katina Sawyer kick off the season by unpacking the word well-being. Well-being means different things to different people and it’s made up of many different parts, not just physical and mental health. Through their research, Grabarek and Sawyer have found that the best way for organizations to support employee well-being is by developing leaders and managers to better support the unique needs of each employee.
Creating the Culture | In this episode, Chief People Officer for Staples Stores, Sarah Goggin, advocates for kindness, understanding, and thoughtfulness as the primary way to help employees meet their well-being needs. Creating that culture of caring and flexibility takes effort and intention, but it is the path forward for supporting well-being for their mostly retail workforce.
Leading Well-Being | In this episode, Samantha Kahn discusses founding Lighthaus Coaching as a way to help other achievement-oriented women move beyond defining themselves exclusively by their status at work and, by doing so, helping them create a life they love. When these leaders become more balanced, they also lead by example, showing employees what success and well-being can look like when prioritizing oneself as well as one’s work.
A Physician's Perspective | In this episode, we have a physician's perspective on well-being. Dr. Adam Gavsie describes well-being and health not just as the absence of disease but so much more. In fact, he says “what is it not?” Dr. Gavsie sees his mandate as helping patients “realize their own potential to cope with normal stress, be able to work productively, and to contribute to their community". Organizational research has also supported the link between employee well-being and productivity – when organizations support employees’ mental, physical and other types of health, they also support their ability to contribute to the organization.
Technology’s Impact | In this episode, Work-Family Researcher Ariane Ollier Malaterre discusses the ways that work technology can support or harm well-being. The bright side of technology offers connectedness, communication, efficiency and well-being when paired with proper digital regulation. The dark side comes with the electronic leash, unsustainable availability expectations, “bossware” AND anxiety, stress and burnout. This is what happens when boundaries blur between work and the rest of life. Dr. Ollier Malaterre believes that organizations can find common sense solutions that are also a win-win for both employees and organizations.
Benefits of Coaching | In this episode, executive coach Kelly Meerbot talks about her work with top leaders who are often burned out. To help them regain a sense of well-being and purpose, executives have to be willing to become uncomfortable if they are going to truly benefit from coaching. Emotional intelligence training is often the key to helping them achieve the best version of themselves.
The Positive Impact of DEI | In this episode, Joseph Starchia, a recruiter in the DEI space, says we need to “make sure that we're not hiring people into burning buildings and then they're complaining about the smoke and the fire.” Organizations need to create inclusive and healthy work environments if they expect employees to be well and do well. DEI is ultimately intertwined with well-being because people can only fully contribute at work when their physical, mental, financial and social needs are supported. When diverse voices are included in wellness program planning, only then will diverse needs get met. Otherwise, organizations make big investments and employees respond with “Thank you. But that's not what we need.
Working Parents’ Perspective | In this episode, Scott Behson talks about his interviews with business leaders, CHROs, CEOs and small business owners (the topic of his book called The Whole Person Workplace). His key learning is that the best employers value their employees as whole people. Organizations that recognize, appreciate, and try to help employees rise to meet their life challenges, priorities, and passions outside of work also have employees who engage, who innovate, and who stay. He also talks about working dads' particular struggles and how HR can gear programs to meet dad’s needs.
Go Practice Well-Being | In our final episode, we put it all together. Now is your time to go practice well-being. Too often, well-being gets lost in our busy schedules, our deadlines, our strategies. If we want to truly offer well-being as a practice for our employees, it's time we start practicing it ourselves. Go give it a try!

HR Tea is available on both iTunes and Google Podcasts! If you love HR Tea, please share this podcast with your HR colleagues and friends. No matter what you are drinking, whether coffee, tea, or something a little bit stronger, we hope each episode will leave you with fresh-brewed ideas to help make work better for all of us! Cheers!