Campus to Campus Challenge – Week Seven Results

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During week seven, 24 employees participated in the Campus to Campus Walking Challenge, and as a group we logged 1,675,360 steps.  During week seven, we continued our trek across the french countryside to Paris, then to Zurich, Switzerland, and ended up in Rome, Italy!

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Did you know the best way to lose weight by walking is to take a longer, moderately paced walk (40 minutes at 60-65% maximum heart rate). Shorter, faster walks (20-25 minutes at 75-80% maximum heart rate) are best for conditioning the heart and lungs.

During week seven, Jayne Kluge, Ron Kottnitz, Barb Tomashek-Ditter, Jamel Heim, and Jeff Krueger had the highest number of steps. Keep on exercising – your body will thank you! 🙂

Reminder: Health Plan Wellness Incentives Are Taxable

The State of Wisconsin extended a number of financial incentives to employees through the Well Wisconsin employee wellness program. If you are covered under the State of Wisconsin Group Health Insurance program, you are eligible for a financial incentive to complete biometric testing and health risk assessment. Depending on your health plan, you may also be eligible for financial reimbursements for wellness related expenses such as gym memberships, fitness classes, the cost to participate in Community Support Agriculture (CSA) programs and rewards for participating in health or wellness programs or challenges. You can learn more information about the benefits available to you by accessing wellwisconsin.wi.gov.

Per guidance from the federal government and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), these benefits are classified as taxable fringe benefits. This means that any financial incentive you receive from the program is taxable income for state and federal tax purposes.

What this means for you:

  • Throughout 2016 financial incentives will be reported by your employer as a taxable wage and will be subject to applicable withholdings and taxes. You will see withholdings for all incentives issued in the current calendar year reflected on your December pay stub. This will include incentives issued to your eligible family members.
  • Withholding will include 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare and may include withholding for federal and state taxes, depending on the number of exemptions you claimed on your W-4.
  • Federal regulations requires the payroll center to receive financial data regarding incentives issued to employees and their covered family members. Your health information is protected by federal privacy regulations and is not shared with your employer.
  • These taxable fringe amounts will be processed with the code: XHW (Tax Fr – Health/Wellness) earnings code.

Even with the federal government’s tax regulations, eligible employees are able to receive substantial financial rewards for using the wellness incentives offered by the State of Wisconsin and participating health plans. Benefits available through the Well Wisconsin program are also available to any dependent over the age of 18 who is covered by your State of Wisconsin insurance plan.

Please contact Human Resources at payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

Campus to Campus Challenge – Week Six Results

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During week six, 29 employees participated in the Campus to Campus Walking Challenge, and as a group we logged 1,893,719 steps!  Since we crossed the continental United States during weeks three through five, we thought we’d try backpacking across Europe next!  During week six, we walked from Lisbon, Portugal to Madrid, Spain, and are enjoying the french countryside as we make our way to Paris!

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The average steps per team member per day was 9,329.  Did you know the average steps per day for an American is 5,117, which is the least of any industrialized nation?  Australians take 9,695 steps per day on average, so a little more than our team members!

During week six, Barb Tomashek-Ditter, Jayne Kluge, Lindsay Hahn, Jamel Heim and Ron Kottnitz had the highest number of steps. Great job team – hope you can find creative ways to stay active even though the weather has turned quite chilly!

Important Year End Leave Information for University Staff

As we near the end of the 2016 calendar year, University Staff employees are reminded to review their leave balances.

Vacation Carry Over
Normally, vacation time must be used within the calendar year during which it is earned.  Employees may carry over any unused earned vacation into the following calendar year.  Any vacation carried over from the previous calendar year must be used by December 31 of the following calendar year.

The Human Resources System (HRS) will automatically take any vacation absences entered first from carry over balances before taking from the current year’s allocations.

Compensatory Time
Compensatory time is able to be carried into the following calendar year if approved by the immediate supervisor.  If carried over, unused compensatory time must be used by April 30th of the following year or it will be paid out on the pay period that includes May 1st.

Personal and Legal Holidays
Personal and Legal holiday hours may not be carried into 2017 and if not used by December 31, 2016 will be forfeited.

Annual Leave Conversion Option (Banked Leave or Sabbatical)
Forms for all employees eligible for the Annual Leave Conversion Option are now available on the My UW System Portal, under the Time and Absence section, Leave Reports tab.  All completed forms must be submitted to Human Resources no later than Friday, December 2, 2016.

Please contact the Payroll & Benefits office at 920-465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu if you have any questions.

Campus to Campus Challenge – Week Five Results

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During week five, 28 employees participated in the Campus to Campus Walking Challenge, and as a group we logged 2,042,512 steps!  During week five, we walked from Charleston, West Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to New York City to the beautiful Acadia National Park in Maine – right on the rocky coast of the Atlantic Ocean!  So, it took us three weeks to walk from coast to coast!

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Can’t find a full 30 minutes to walk? Spread it out throughout your day- 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there will add up if you stick with it.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, breaking your workout into several shorter workouts throughout the day is just as effective as one longer workout session, while also making it easier to fit into your schedule.

The average steps per team member per day was 10,421. During week five, Jayne Kluge, Jeff Krueger, Barb Tomashek-Ditter, Jamel Heim and Lynn Rotter had the highest number of steps.  Two weeks to go – where should we walk to next?

November Payroll Processing Change for Employees Paid Bi-Weekly

The November A payroll period (10/30/16 to 11/12/16) has been moved ahead of its regular processing schedule, so we are requesting that employees paid on a bi-weekly basis submit their timesheets and absence requests by Friday, November 11th at 4:30 p.m.  Supervisors should review and approve timesheets and absence requests by Monday, November 14th at 11:00 a.m.  Please e-mail payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu if you have any questions or concerns about the adjustment to this deadline.  Thank you for your help!

Financial Fitness Challenge

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The Financial Fitness Challenge (October 25 to December 31, 2016) is a free financial education and awareness program designed to help you take control of your financial future and improve your financial well-being. Offered to Wisconsin state and local government employees and their friends and families, it consists of a confidential and secure online survey to assess and benchmark financial aptitude, habits, and confidence.  After completing the survey you’ll receive a financial fitness score and, based on your results, recommendations for selecting among hundreds of online tools and tutorials (the Financial Fitness ACADEMY), and the option of using a financial advisor from Ameriprise Financial for up to 30 days at no cost. You learn at your own pace in as little as 10 minutes a day.

Step 1. Get centered: Take the free Financial Fitness CHECKUP. It’s a confidential, and secure online assessment of your financial well-being. Receive instant feedback – your personal financial fitness score.

Step 2. Sharpen focus: Enroll in free online Financial Fitness ACADEMY courses. They’re easy-to-follow tutorials designed to help you improve your financial well-being.

Step 3. Zoom in on a bright future: Access an exclusive offer for free financial coaching for 30 days.

Click here to get started, and for more information.

Stress Management Lunch ‘n Learn

 

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Almost 30 employees attended the Stress Management Lunch ‘n Learn on Thursday, November 3rd and learned about positive and negative stress, three types of stress (physical, chemical and emotional), and the ‘snowball’ effect of changing one behavior for the better.  For example, eating healthier can lead to having more energy, which can lead to exercising more and sleeping better at night, which can lead to a healthier body which can handle stress better and has less dependence on prescription drugs.

The doctor also promoted the benefits of drinking plenty of water.  Did you know that we should drink half our body weight in ounces?  So, if your body weight is 160 pounds, you should drink 80 ounces of water per day.  Assuming you have 16 waking hours per day, that is just 5 ounces per hour.  If we only drink when our body tells us it is thirsty, our body would be in a persistent state of near dehydration, which doesn’t lead to a healthy body.

We also learned that drinking one alcoholic drink per day can be beneficial, and our emotional stress depends on how we percieve a situation and respond to it.  Everyone has a go-to destressor, such as relaxing with a glass of wine or a beer, going for a run, reading a book, watching a movie, browsing Pinterest, etc. It is important that we know what our destressor is, and use it when our body is maxed out.

Thank you to Dr. Logan Andera, D.C. of Cornerstone Chiropractic and Kendall Howard of Wellness Champions for the interesting, helpful and funny presentation, as well as buying us lunch!

 

Wellness Webinar – Healthy Eating for Effective Weight Loss

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Maintaining or losing weight is not an easy task, especially as we age and your metabolism slows down.  While there are no “silver bullet” remedies for effective weight management, understanding how your metabolism works, balancing a healthful diet with exercise and establishing realistic goals can provide you with a foundation roadmap for sustainable success.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understanding BMI and waist circumference
  • Finding the balance: food and exercise
  • Explore how your metabolism works
  • Healthy eating tips and strategies
  • Avoiding holiday pitfalls

When: Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Time: 12:00 to 12:45 p.m.

Location: CL 735

No need to RSVP – feel free to join us and bring your lunch! 🙂

Campus to Campus Challenge – Week Four Results

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During week four, 34 employees participated in the Campus to Campus Walking Challenge, and as a group we logged 2,378,411 steps!  During week four, we walked from Alburquerque, New Mexico to Tulsa, Oklahoma to Nashville, Tennessee to Charleston, West Virginia!  The average steps per team member per day was 9,993. Did you know that not only is walking one of the easiest ways to exercise, but moderate-intensity walking for 30 minutes or more each day can lower your blood pressure, help you maintain a healthy weight, lower your risk for heart disease and stroke, and improve your mood!  During week four, Ron Kottnitz, Jayne Kluge, Jeff Krueger, Lea Truttmann, and Barb Tomashek-Ditter had the highest number of steps.  Keep exercising and enjoying this mild fall weather!