Employee Engagement

Welcome to the home of Employee Engagement at the University of Delaware where we're working to create an environment that supports personal wellbeing, purpose-driven work and a sense of belonging for our community of Blue Hens.

Our wellbeing and recognition programs support physical and mental health, connection and community building for faculty, staff, retirees and their household members.

Chirpy Wellbeing Challenge

Boost your personal wellbeing with physical activity, gratitude and mindfulness practice sessions in this fun and easy 4-week challenge. Your progress will unlock a daily songbird, with facts, photos and a recording of each bird's “chirp.” UD employees, retirees and household members may participate at no cost to them

Get social and stay motivated by participating on a team of 4-10 and sharing progress on the Chirpy message board. Household members (family and supportive friends) are also eligible to participate with you!

Program runs from Monday, February 24 - Sunday, March 23.

Learn more >

Chripy Program Promo: https://capture.udel.edu/media/1_ezt93did/

Wellbeing

UD Mental Health First Aid Directory

These faculty and staff are certified in Mental Health First Aid, and open to connecting with members of the UD community to offer support. These individuals are trained to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person toward appropriate care if necessary.

view the directory

You may email these individuals directly at any time.

Mental health care looks different for all of us. These resources are available to UD employees at no cost, to support you in proactively protecting your mental health and finding professional care when you need it. Recovery is possible. You are not alone.

Mental Health Resource Guide

The Supporting Employees in Distress guide should be used when a situation, observance or instinct tells you to be concerned about a colleague's mental health. Please follow the decision tree steps to connect with appropriate professional help, and when in doubt, call 911 or 988.Supporting Employees in Distress

Learn more about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Learn more about supporting students in distress

Microsoft Refect is a wellbeing app that includes no-cost mental health tools including check-ins, meditations, movement videos, and more. Learn more or add to your Microsoft Teams apps to get started.

Mental Health First Aid Training teaches participants how to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges in adults ages 18 and older, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person toward appropriate care if necessary. Class schedule and registration

Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Training can help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year. Class schedule and registration

Mindfulness and meditation help to support positive mental health by increasing resilience, emotional intelligence and mind/body connection. There are many no-cost resources available to UD employees to support regular practice.

Koa Foundations App via ComPsych- Use your udel email address to get access to 100+ evidence-based programs and interventions to help with stress, feeling anxious, trouble sleeping and more.

Meditation On-Demand-Use your LinkedIn Learning UD credentials to access no-cost meditation and mindfulness videos

Viva Integration-Use Microsoft Teams to add the viva app to your sidebar for access to Headspace meditations + tools to protect your time

Meditation and Prayer Spaces on Campus

Morris Library: Reflection Space
Trabant Student Center: Interfaith Space
STAR Campus: Labyrinth

Dependent Care Resources

The University of Delaware understands that locating Child and/or Elder Care can be challenging and time consuming. Our dependent care resource list includes, community lists for camps, care centers and more.

Resource List

Nursing and Lactation

Campus Lactation Room Locations

346 Hullihen Hall
128 Perkins Student Center
214A McDowell Hall
207E Morris Library
Tower at STAR, Room 354 (100 Discovery Blvd.), 6 a.m.-6 p.m., parking available in front of building

Lactating Persons in the Workplace Policy

ComPsych Guidance Resources is the administrator for UD’s Employee Assistance Program. This program is available exclusively for UD employees and their dependents. The program offers resources to consult whenever and wherever you need them. Members will have a toll-free number at 877-527-4742 directly for 24/7 access to a GuidanceConsultant®.

ComPsych also provides access to a comprehensive website with articles, podcasts, webinars and other helpful tools. Use “State of Delaware” for the user ID.

Confidential Emotional Support
Work-Life Solutions: Child and Elder Care, Pet Care, Event Planning and more
Legal Guidance
Financial Resources
Identity Theft Services

Learn More about ComPsych

Whatever your fitness level, these resources help support the physical, emotional and social wellbeing of UD employees through movement and the mind/body connection.

Walktober: UD’s annual 6-week Fall online physical activity challeng. Travel the world virtually, as you accumulate steps/activity minutes, receive weekly wellness tips, and have access to a library filled with healthy recipes.

The Carpenter Sports Building (Lil Bob): Full-time UD employees and retirees may access the Lil Bob recreation facilities with their UD ID. Misc-wage employees, spouses, visiting scholars and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute members may access the Lil Bob for a fee.

HATCH Program: A 12-week "Health And Transformation Challenge." This program helps you achieve attainable & sustainable growth that fits into your lifestyle budget aiming towards holistic well-being with evidence based approaches and a supportive community every step of the way.

Group Fitness Classes: Unlimited access to group classes like yoga, Pilates and cycling are available to faculty and staff with the purchase of a Campus Recreation Fitness Package ($75 or wellness dollars per year).

Private group fitness class: schedule a private fitness class for your team through Campus Recreation’s Fitness2U program

Exercise Counseling: UD’s clinic offers exercise programs that are developed and supervised by Clinical Exercise Physiologists who specialize in developing safe and effective exercise programs.

Fitness Discounts: Exercise equipment, gym memberships and virtual fitness programs are available to all UD faculty and staff.

Pickleball Games: Faculty, staff and retirees are invited to drop in for regular pickleball games on Mon., Wed., and Fri. from 11:30am-1:00pm in the Little Bob Gym 2. All levels are welcome!

Mental Health Resources

Mental Health Resource Guide

Learn more about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Learn more about supporting students in distress

Mindfulness and Meditation

Koa Foundations App via ComPsych- Use your udel email address to get access to 100+ evidence-based programs and interventions to help with stress, feeling anxious, trouble sleeping and more.

Meditation On-Demand-Use your LinkedIn Learning UD credentials to access no-cost meditation and mindfulness videos

Viva Integration-Use Microsoft Teams to add the viva app to your sidebar for access to Headspace meditations + tools to protect your time

Meditation and Prayer Spaces on Campus

Morris Library: Reflection Space
Trabant Student Center: Interfaith Space
STAR Campus: Labyrinth

Family and Caregiving

Dependent Care Resources

Nursing and Lactation

Campus Lactation Room Locations

346 Hullihen Hall
128 Perkins Student Center
214A McDowell Hall
207E Morris Library
Tower at STAR, Room 354 (100 Discovery Blvd.), 6 a.m.-6 p.m., parking available in front of building

Lactating Persons in the Workplace Policy

Employee Assistance Program

ComPsych also provides access to a comprehensive website with articles, podcasts, webinars and other helpful tools. Use “State of Delaware” for the user ID.

Confidential Emotional Support
Work-Life Solutions: Child and Elder Care, Pet Care, Event Planning and more
Legal Guidance
Financial Resources
Identity Theft Services

Learn More about ComPsych

Fitness Resources

Whatever your fitness level, these resources help support the physical, emotional and social wellbeing of UD employees through movement and the mind/body connection.

Private group fitness class: schedule a private fitness class for your team through Campus Recreation’s Fitness2U program

Exercise Counseling: UD’s clinic offers exercise programs that are developed and supervised by Clinical Exercise Physiologists who specialize in developing safe and effective exercise programs.

Fitness Discounts: Exercise equipment, gym memberships and virtual fitness programs are available to all UD faculty and staff.

Pickleball Games: Faculty, staff and retirees are invited to drop in for regular pickleball games on Mon., Wed., and Fri. from 11:30am-1:00pm in the Little Bob Gym 2. All levels are welcome!

recognition

Hen High Five

Up high, down low – it's never too late to show your appreciation with a Hen High Five. Why a high five? The high five, which is often used as a gesture of greeting and celebration, is an instantaneous way of telling a person that they are important and deserve to be recognized, which can strengthen connections between colleagues, improve workplace engagement and boost wellbeing for both the giver and recipient. So, what are you waiting for?

Send a Hen High Five

Take five to share your appreciation of a colleague!

Congratulations Raffle Winners!

Hen High Five recipients are entered into a monthly raffle for a chance to win $100 (pre-tax). Congrats to these Blue Hens!

View our High Five Winners

January 2025: Liz Wilson, Academic Advisor II, CAS Student Success Center, was High Fived by Michele Divosevic

February 2025: Matt DeEmilio, Accomodation Coordinator, Disability Support Services, was High Fived by Abby McCabe

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Service Recognition

The Service Recognition Program honors employee service to the University of Delaware at five year intervals. Employees may select from a special gift collection.

The University honors our recent retirees with a gift from the Retirement Collection.

Visit Service Recognition

Staff Excellence Awards

The Staff Excellence Award program recognizes staff members' contributions to the University of Delaware community with monetary awards. Three individual awards of $2,000 and one team award of $4,000 will be distributed each Fall and Spring to staff who exemplify UD values.

Monetary award levels, a careful selection process and community recognition activities have been developed with consideration of peer institution and UD faculty award best practices in mind. The program will be supported by a diverse committee of UD community members.

Visit Staff Excellence Awards