As I'm writing this, I'm looking forward to a nice break with family for Thanksgiving. I guess that's got me in a thankful mood because I want to express my gratitude for being able to work in Dx and at UVU. While it's true that our pay isn't quite on par with the market, have you ever thought about the other benefits UVU and Dx offer us? I'm sure I won't remember all of them, but I hope that this article gives you something to be grateful for as we close out 2022.

I'm cognizant that some (if not most) of the things I'm going to talk about apply only to full-time (FT) employees. Student employees and part-time (PT) hourly employees don't have the same benefits as FT employees, including paid time off and health insurance. While PT work is not without its own benefits, I hope that FT supervisors and coworkers will look for opportunities to recognize and support PT employees. There's a lot we can do to make their experience great while staying in line with their wishes, university policy, and state law. 

In a large organization like UVU, many of our benefits come from the institution, so I'll first share about UVU benefits before I get into specific benefits of working in Dx.

Leave Time

In a recent Half-Time, I shared a long list of paid non-workdays that FT employees receive from the university. Just in annual leave, we enjoy a minimum of 17 holiday and closure days. Adding in vacation, sick, personal, and service days, we have another 27-39 possible days per year in paid time off. And if you consider saving up through vacation and sick leave accruals, even more days are available to us when we need them. The average number of working days each month is 22. If we actually used all the paid time off that is offered to us, we could take around two months of paid time off each year. That estimate doesn't even count all the paid leave available to us in special circumstances; we have maternity, parental, funeral, jury/witness duty, military leave, and more.

Health Benefits

Another great UVU benefit for FT employees is our insurance. UVU pays all or most of our health insurance costs while giving us great options so we can choose a plan that is most beneficial to us. Besides health insurance, other offerings include:

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA), where UVU deposits money each month
• Telehealth
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• International coverage
• Diabetes Management Program
• Mental health options
• Prescription plan
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage
• Employee Wellness Incentive Program (UVUFit) to earn up to $525 annually

Financial and Other Benefits

Beyond the good health benefits, UVU offers several free or discounted options for financial planning and other perks—some of which are also available to PT employees.

• Life Insurance
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage
• Long-Term Disability insurance
• Supplemental insurance (specialized health, auto, home, legal, and education)
• Home-Buying Assistance
• Retirement options
• Tuition Remission
• Free UTA Transit Pass
• Free Employee Parking (most schools charge)
• Free LinkedIn Learning to skill up
• Work from Home (WFH) options
• Awards and Recognition Programs (Excellence Awards, Wolverine Sightings, Spot Awards, and more)
• Summer University
• PACE Staff Association
• Free or discounted admission to sports, arts, etc.
• Free or discounted meals, such as Food Truck Fridays and regular campus events

Dx Benefits 

One of the reasons that UVU is such a great place to work is because they offer all these benefits and perks. Dx makes it even better by enhancing the university's benefits listed above, taking advantage of every opportunity within university policy to make our work environment fantastic. 

• Our Dx leaders make work-from-home (WFH) options as flexible and productive as possible. We provide equipment and space for WFH employees when they come to work in person at UVU. 
• Some student and PT employees want to move into FT work, and when they do, Dx works with them to make that happen. However, others prefer PT because it offers incredible flexibility while still enabling them to make ends meet. We even offer a place for student employees to study while they're not on the clock. 
• Dx found the right way to work within policy (not easy) to create our own peer recognition program in the form of weekly Dx Team Recognition. We've also gained the benefit of improved transparency, knowledge sharing, and team building through enjoying the weekly Half-Time Livestream.
• Dx is focused on helping our employees become all they can be. They support Dx employees through Pluralsight and other training tools that level up our skill sets. In the coming months, our Pluralsight licensing will likely be made easier and more available to everyone. 
• We provide funding to directors of each department to ensure everyone has the equipment, software, and environment they need to succeed. Each department in Dx is also encouraged and has flexibility in providing training, conference, and travel opportunities for their employees. 
• We've instituted quarterly All-Hands meetings where the food is amazing, the topics are relevant, the presentations unite us as a successful team, and we get to interact with people from all across the Dx organization to build our professional network.

Here's the bottom line: I love working in Dx at UVU. I hope you do too! I so look forward to all that our future has in store for us. We're on a good track, and if we all continue building ourselves into one team, we can't help but find success! Have a great holiday season! 

In these last few months before retirement, I've looked back with fondness over my career at UVU. I've contemplated how the institution has grown and changed, the role technology has played, the people I've had the opportunity to work with, and our accomplishments. 

As I prepare to step aside, I've also considered the future. I have tremendous confidence that Dx is in good hands and headed in a good direction. Sure, we have challenges, but they can be overcome. If I've seen one constant over the years, it's that there never seems to be enough money or people to accomplish what we feel is expected of us. However, it's also been the case that as we prudently use the available resources, we can achieve our strategic goals, fulfill the university's mission, and do so in a way that respects our values.

I've been energized and encouraged by the Dx leadership and organizational changes that have taken place over the past three years. I admire our leaders and wish them well as they guide and direct Dx. I respect our talented teams, from the frontline staff supporting students and employees to those who keep our devices, data, networks, software, and systems state-of-the-art, stable, and secure. 

In keeping with Christina's "Beach Picture" concept, I'd like to share five statements that I presented to Dx leadership in October that I hope our Dx team aspires to:

1. Despite our differing perspectives and competing interests, we trust that other people have well-meaning motives and intentions for Dx and the institution. 
2. We have healthy conflict and meaningful, passionate deliberations to determine priorities, directions, and resource allocations. Even though we may not fully agree, we understand, respect, and support the decisions that result from these deliberations.
3. We look at change and disruption as opportunities, not as threats, and we convey that attitude to those we influence.
4. We view Dx as a unified team with a shared purpose and vision. Dx earns a reputation on campus and across the state for being reliable, responsive, accountable, forward-thinking, and sensible.
5. Our organization evolves to align with the university's strategic directions and to deliver the transformational potential of technology.

Finally, I'd like to express my appreciation to everyone I've associated with over the years at UVU. Many are still here, and many more are not. I am fortunate to have had a career where I enjoyed the people I worked with, and my contributions were meaningful and made a difference.

I very much look forward to retirement, but at the same time, I will miss associating with you and being part of the important work that you are all involved in.