Survey of staff begins in August

The quality of the work/life experiences of Ohio State staff will be the subject of a comprehensive survey conducted in August. The Presidential Commission on Staff Development and Work/Life, under the auspices of the University Staff Advisory Committee and the Office of Human Resources, is directing a study of staff that will be similar in scope to the work conducted by the Commission on Faculty Development and Careers, and the CUE, G-QUE and I-QUE studies of students.

"The purpose of the study is to establish a base line for staff work/life and development issues so the administration can effectively guide the University's improvement efforts for staff," said Jamie Mathews-Mead, co-chair of the commission and the 1999-2000 chair of USAC. Gabrielle Reinicke, consultant/project leader for human resources administration, is the commission's co-chair.

The survey will be conducted on the Web from Aug. 8-24 for 6,500 nonbargaining unit staff randomly chosen as a statistical sample of the University.

Medical Center employees will not be included in the survey at this time due to the unique business needs of a hospital. The Medical Center generally undertakes these kinds of studies on a separate schedule and in a way that is significantly customized to the health care industry, Reinicke said.

The survey will seek information from participants on a number of subjects.

"We'll be asking how satisfied they are with aspects of their professional development and work/life. There are questions on how the University or work unit's policies facilitate or serve as a barrier on their ability to balance work and personal life responsibilities," Reinicke said.

Staff selected to participate will be notified via a postcard a few days before the survey begins. Incentives are being offered, on a lottery basis, for participation.

Participants will be able to log in and complete the 20- to 30-minute survey at any point during the 16-day window.

President Brit Kirwan said the survey would be valuable to him. "I think we always benefit from hearing from faculty and staff. The administration exists to serve the interests of the University," he said. "Understanding the views of the staff, one of our most valued constituencies, is vital if we in the administration are to respond to their needs effectively."

Maintaining staff morale is always a priority, said Larry M. Lewellen, associate vice president for human resources, but becomes even more important when the University is experiencing a budget crunch.

"In times of low raises, it is important to focus on things we can do to support staff. If we can survey staff, and find reasonable work/life and development needs that we can support, we will help our climate," Lewellen said. "In addition, effective work/life practices stimulate productivity and aid in retaining talented staff, including women and minority staff."

The Commission on Staff Development and Work/Life has created the survey with the assistance of the national consulting firm WFD. The firm helped to design the survey, and will assist in administering it and analyzing the data. David Greenberger, associate professor and chair of management and human resources at the Fisher College of Business, has also served in a consulting capacity.

A report detailing the survey results will be prepared and presented to Kirwan, Lewellen and Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray by January 2002. "We would also hope that the Board of Trustees would be interested in the results," Mathews-Mead said.

The survey is intended to have a positive impact on recruitment and retention of Ohio State staff, Reinicke said.

"I think the issues we're dealing with in the survey are key issues in attracting and retaining staff at the University. For Human Resources, it will make our jobs easier by hearing directly from staff what they need so we can provide policies supportive of those needs," she said.

In early 2000, 30 staff members were named to the commission, which has its roots in a small working group within USAC. At USAC's request, Kirwan sent letters to the vice presidents and deans asking that they nominate three to four staff members to be considered. From those nominations, the work group selected the 30 staff.

At present, no plans are in place to repeat the survey, but Mathews-Mead said it will remain a possibility.

"It is our hope that this will be a study the University can replicate in the future. Having the data available will help us to benchmark the progress Ohio State is making to improve the work/life environment for staff," she said.

OSU professor plays key role in mind-body network group

A decade's worth of research has brought scientists closer to understanding how our attitudes control our physical health.

A team of 12 researchers and physicians from institutions including Ohio State participated in the MacArthur Foundation's Network on Mind-Body Interactions. The group looked at how psychological states affect health.

"We have made significant progress in the last decade in understanding how the brain informs the body and how the body informs the brain," said John Sheridan, a professor of oral biology and molecular virology/immunology at Ohio State and a network participant. "The network was established in order to look at the mechanisms by which the mind and the body communicate."

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports networks -- or teams of scientists from a variety of disciplines -- that address different social and health issues, such as drug abuse and violence. The mind-body network culminated earlier this year with the MacArthur Research Network on Mind-Body Interactions conference in Bethesda, Md. Each network can convene for a maximum of 10 years, and is required to either present or publish its findings.

The mind-body network found that individuals with an extensive social network seem to be better able to weather illness than their socially isolated counterparts. In other words, social support is very important in maintaining health, as socially isolated individuals are more likely to get sick and also have a tougher time overcoming an illness, Sheridan said.

"People with little social support are more likely to develop a cold when challenged with an infectious virus," he said. "Stress influences the immune system, making a person susceptible to infections."

The effects of social interactions reach even the molecular level.

"We've taken the effects of social interactions to the level of gene expression in our animal models," he said. "We have shown how specific social interactions influence the expression of individual genes."

In separate research, Sheridan found that stress reactivates an otherwise latent herpes simplex virus in some college students during exam time.

"There's something about the stress response that reactivates the latent virus," he said.

The group also reported that sleep deprivation takes a serious toll on the immune system. Researchers deprived about two dozen people of sleep, and vaccinated half of them during the sleep deprivation period. The others were vaccinated after paying back their sleep debt.

"The people vaccinated during sleep deprivation made half the amount of antibody than did those who were allowed to sleep off the debt," Sheridan said. "Chronically stressed people respond less well to vaccination."

The National Institutes of Health co-sponsored the MacArthur Mind-Body Network conference.

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