What types of support are the colleagues expected to offer?
Colleagues offering support draw from their own experiences to point out available resources, empathize, offer strategies for coping and thriving, and (if they choose) share insights from their own journey. Colleagues offering support are not experts in counseling and no training is required before participating in this role.
Some example topics that participants may wish to meet to discuss include, but are not limited to the following:
- adoption
- aging parents
- co-parenting
- divorce
- empty nesting
- grief/loss of a loved one
- incarceration of a spouse/loved one
- medical diagnosis of a spouse
- medical diagnosis of oneself
- medical diagnosis of a child
- parenting young children
- pregnancy
- pregnancy loss
- retirement (of spouse or self)
We view this list as not exhaustive and encourage participants to bring up new topics not included here.
What type of support is *not* included?
- Professional Counseling: Lute FASSN is not a professional counseling program. All PLU employees have access to professional counseling through the PLU’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) The EAP should be a first stop when seeking professional help.
- Workplace Grievances: Workplace grievances and other work-place related issues are not within the scope of Lute FASSN. Learn more at PLU Grievance Policies and Procedures.
- Questions about Leaves of Absence and Benefits: Lute FASSN asks that participants avoid discussions of details and specifics about leaves of absence and benefits, as these change frequently. Questions about leaves of absence or benefits should be directed to HR. (All conversations with HR are confidential, meaning the information is only disclosed to those who have a legitimate need to know.)