myHR: November 13, 2024

Biometric Screening Countdown

Penn’s free, convenient fall biometric screenings end on November 26. Just five more dates remain. As part of Penn’s annual Be in the Know wellness campaign, these screenings provide you with vital information about your health status. Plus, you’ll earn $75 in Pulse Cash rewards to redeem for gift cards, wellness items, and charitable donations!

Here are the final on-site biometric screening dates and locations for 2024:

• Monday, November 18: Morris Arboretum, Widener Visitor Center (flu vaccines are also available at this location)
• Wednesday, November 20: Houston Hall, Hall of Flags
• Thursday, November 21: Wharton, Dinan Hall (formerly Vance Hall)
• Monday, November 25: Smilow Commons, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
• Tuesday, November 26: Houston Hall, Hall of Flags

Sign up for your non-fasting appointment online at the Health Advocate website using your PennKey and password. Click the HEALTH tab at the top, then Health Screenings. Look for Schedule an Onsite Health Screening, then click Schedule Now. Select your preferred location and follow the steps to schedule your appointment. You will receive an email confirmation from Health Advocate.

Benefits of an On-Campus Biometric Screening

• On-campus screenings are free, fast, and convenient. Health Advocate personnel will measure your blood pressure, blood sugar/glucose, and lipids (including total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.) Your privacy is strictly protected, and all screening results are confidential.
• Get personalized feedback on your results from Health Advocate professionals, who are onsite to help you understand your results. After your screening, you can call one of their Wellness Coaches for further discussion.
• Health Advocate automatically sends screening credit to Virgin Pulse, so there’s no extra step to earning your first $75 Pulse Cash reward for the Be in the Know wellness campaign! (Please allow a few weeks for screening credit to appear on Virgin Pulse.) Not enrolled on Virgin Pulse? Get started at https://join.virginpulse.com/penn.
• Receiving biometric screening credit also unlocks the opportunity to earn up to an additional $225 in Pulse Cash rewards, with qualifying "Ways to Earn 2024-2025"  wellness activities.

Be in the Know for Better Health

Penn’s annual Be in the Know wellness campaign is available for all benefits-eligible faculty, staff, and postdoctoral researchers and fellows eligible for the Penn Postdoc Benefits Plan. In partnership with its wellness platform partner, Virgin Pulse, it provides an array of wellness tools, programs, resources, and rewards to support your health and feel your best.

For complete details about the 2024-2025 Be in the Know wellness campaign, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow. 

Team Up for Campus Cup

Registration is open for the 5th Annual Penn Relays Campus Cup. Penn Athletics invites all University faculty, staff, and postdocs, as well as Penn Medicine and CHOP employees to team up for a series of fun events and competitions and the chance to claim the 2024-2025 Campus Cup for their team.

The 2024-2025 Campus Cup action begins in December and continues through the Spring 2025 term. Join your colleagues as they match skills in events like:

• Dodgeball & Donuts
• The Penn Women’s Basketball Watch Party and Brunch
• Hot Shot Basketball
• Cornhole & Trivia

The contest culminates in the Campus Cup Relays Finale on Thursday, April 17 at Franklin Field. This finale includes tug-of-war, track races, bean bag races, and the opportunity to connect with colleagues and families in the same stadium where world-class Penn Relay Carnival athletes and the Penn Quakers compete.

Here’s how to participate:

Form a Team

• Each team must assign one member to be the captain.
• Each team must have a minimum of five members on your team to participate. Each team can have a maximum of 12 members.
  • After receiving all the registrations, Penn Athletics will create teams for those who do not meet the minimum requirements.
  • If you have more than 12 members, please split your members up to create two separate teams.
• One Penn department can have multiple teams.

Your entire team does not need to be present for each event, but you must meet the participant minimum to compete at each event.

Register

Captains must register their teams by completing the 2024-2025 online registration form. Registration ends Monday, November 25.

Earn Points

• Each event will have a unique point breakdown.
• Points will be accumulated throughout the year after each event.
• These points will not be added to your team score during the finale event. Rather, the points accumulated throughout the year will grant advantages to the teams who earn 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place at the finale.

If you have Campus Cup questions, please contact Penn Athletics Assistant Director of Business Development and Special Events, Lauren Gerlin, at lgerlin@upenn.edu.

Strategies for Better Time Management

If you've ever struggled with procrastination, you're familiar with the frustration of putting things off, even when you know they’re important. One key to overcoming this is understanding the emotional side of time management—why certain tasks feel so daunting and how that impacts our ability to act. By shifting your approach and learning to focus on what truly matters, you can start to break free from the cycle of delay and take more control over your time.

In the December 3 Talent Development workshop, TED Talk Tuesday: How to Multiply Your Time, you will learn how to change your thinking around time management and discover the power of procrastinating on purpose. The virtual workshop will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and facilitated by Amma Napier, Senior Talent Development Consultant, HR Talent Development.

“Time management is emotional. It has aspects that are triggered by your personal preferences and aversion,” says Napier.  

“Figure out what tasks you can eliminate first to reduce what you have to put off and explore the emotional responses to the tasks you put off,” Napier adds.

According to New York Times bestselling author and TED Talk speaker Rory Valden, we used to think that if we just develop tools and technology to get our to-do lists done faster, that would give us more time. If we prioritize tasks into categories of “important” and “urgent,” focusing first on those things, somehow that will free up more hours for us to accomplish everything we want.

The reality is that we all have the same 86,400 seconds in a day to work with, so while time management tools and prioritizing are important, Valden suggests that increasing your available time also means becoming what he calls a “multiplier.” Multipliers use three-dimensional thinking that not only allows you to make decisions based on urgency and importance, but also significance.

“When creating a to-do list, most people ask what is the most important thing I can do today? Multipliers don’t ask that question. They ask, what can I do today that would make tomorrow better? What can I do right now that would make the future better? They are making the significance calculation,” Valden explains.

In the workshop, participants will discuss why this calculation matters.

When faced with tasks, multipliers use a process called a Focus Funnel to evaluate how to spend their time. In this workshop, Napier will discuss the three stages of the funnel:

• Eliminate. The first question a multiplier asks is: Can I eliminate this task? Decide if the task is worth taking on and if you can say no. Multipliers realize that next generation time management is the permission to turn down some things. While saying ‘no’ to an assignment may not be an option in every situation, you may be able to make your project easier using the other Focus Funnel stages.
• Automate. Invest time in setting up a process that will streamline your work and make it easier to complete. “Automation is to your time exactly what compounding interest is to your money,” Valden says. “Just like compounding interest takes money and it makes money into more money, automation takes time and makes it into more time. Multipliers give themselves the permission to invest the time and energy to automate the process.”
• Delegate. Delegation is important to good time management. Consider whether you can teach someone else to complete the task. Investing a bit of time in training a colleague to do the work you may not have the bandwidth for could save you time in the long run.

Napier will also discuss procrastinating on purpose and how that decision impacts time management and the Focus Funnel.

Register today for TED Talk Tuesday: How to Multiply Your Time and rethink your time management process for improved workflow. 

For more professional development programs, visit the Learn & Grow section of the Human Resources website. 

Break Free from the Tobacco Habit

It’s a well-known fact that living tobacco-free can improve your health and reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, lung disease, and other tobacco- and vaping-related illnesses. Yet, for many people, quitting can be a challenge. The thought of living without cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or tobacco products can be intimidating, especially if you have been using them for decades. Fortunately, Penn offers benefits and support programs to help tobacco users kick tobacco and e-cigarettes one day at a time. As a bonus, Be in the Know wellness campaign participants can earn points towards rewards with both the Penn Stop and Virgin Pulse Coaching offerings.

Penn Stop: Penn's Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Program

The Penn Stop care team works one-on-one with individuals to develop and design a personal treatment plan that takes a compassionate approach to meet your specific needs.

You can make an appointment at one of four locations. The care is covered under insurance plans as a specialist visit. Complete three sessions with a Penn Stop professional to earn 1,500 Be in the Know points. Inform Penn Stop that you are a Be in the Know participant, so they can track sessions and inform Virgin Pulse when to award your points.

“Maybe you’ve tried things in the past and nothing seemed to work,” says Penn Stop Project Coordinator Jody Nicoloso. “One of our utmost priorities in the program is to find the treatment plan that will work for you and makes it a comfortable process so you can go through the day without fighting against the cravings.”

To learn more about Penn’s Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Program or to schedule an appointment, visit the Penn Stop website or call 1-888-PENN-STOP.

Telephone Coaching

Be in the Know wellness campaign participants also can team up with a Virgin Pulse tobacco specialist through Virgin Pulse Coaching. With this telephonic coaching program, you and your coach will determine strategies that make sense for your life. For each completed session, you will earn 350 Be in the Know points, up to six sessions per campaign year. In addition, you’ll earn a 200-point bonus each time you’ve completed three sessions.

To schedule a coaching session, log in to the Virgin Pulse wellness platform. From the main menu, select Health then Coaching. You and your personal coach will find the best strategies to help you understand, reduce, and eventually break your nicotine habit.

Additional resources are available on the Tobacco Cessation Resources webpage on the HR website. For complete Be in

Healthy Meals: Burrito Bowl with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Break free from the monotony of traditional dishes with this vibrant burrito bowl recipe from Penn Medicine. It combines wholesome grains, fresh fruits, colorful vegetables, and lean proteins into a satisfying, nutrient-packed meal. It’s an excellent heart-healthy choice loaded with potassium, magnesium, calcium, and fiber. Perfect for lunch or dinner, this delicious bowl will keep you feeling full and energized.

Click here to send us your healthy recipes and tips.

Ingredients:

For the Rice

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, diced small
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning spice mix
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cups water

For the Filling

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning spice mix, divided
• 2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ½- inch cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 15-ounce can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
• Juice of 1 lime

For the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup neutral oil (canola, vegetable)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 5 scallions
• 1/2 cup cilantro, tightly packed
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Taco Seasoning Spice Mix

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. For the brown rice, add the olive oil to a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. 
2. Add the rice and 1 teaspoon of the spice mix and stir into the onions for 30 more seconds to toast the grains. Stir in the water and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 40 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender. Fluff with a fork and taste for doneness. 
3. For the filling: Preheat oven to 375°F. Optional: line two sheet pans with foil or parchment paper. 
4. Set the chicken thighs on one sheet pan, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with half of the remaining taco seasoning mix. 
5. In a large mixing bowl, drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over the sweet potato, sliced peppers, and onion, add the rest of the taco seasoning spice mix, and toss until evenly coated. 
6. On the second sheet pan, spread the prepared vegetables in a thin layer to cook evenly. Place the sheet pans in the oven. Roast the chicken for 25-30 minutes, until a thermometer reads 165°F when inserted into the meat. Roast the vegetables for 20-25 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. 
7. Toss drained and rinsed black beans with the roasted vegetables to warm slightly. Squeeze the fresh lime juice over the prepared vegetables. Set aside until ready to assemble bowls. 
8. Use two forks to shred the chicken. Cover to keep warm until ready to assemble. 
9. For the cilantro lime vinaigrette, combine all the measured ingredients for the dressing into a tall-sided container, if using an immersion blender, or into a blender. Blend the ingredients together until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. 
10. To assemble, scoop about 1/2 cup rice into the bottom of a bowl. Add about 3/4 cup scoop of the roasted vegetables and beans and about 1/2 cup of shredded chicken. Top with optional lettuce ribbons, tomatoes, avocado, scallion greens, or yogurt, and a drizzle of vinaigrette.
    
    

Meet With a Registered Dietitian Today!

• One-on-One, virtual sessions you can schedule at any time that works for you
• 100% covered under many insurance plans
• Available to spouses and dependents
• Fill out the Ramp Health Nutrition Counseling Sign Up Form or call 800-484-7720.

Did You Know: Penn’s Way Campaign Ends Soon

Penn’s Way, the workplace charitable giving campaign, is going strong. So far, more than 10,500 University and Penn Medicine faculty and staff have participated and have raised over $1.5 million. The campaign runs through November 22, so there is still time for you to join the effort to support and build community by making your pledge. Penn will match your contribution dollar for dollar. Use the Penn’s Way website to donate to your choice of charities.