Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series - Genie Giaimo: "Academic Workplace Well-Being: Searching for Wellness"

Presenter: Genie Giaimo

“Academic Workplace Well-Being: Searching for Wellness in the Neoliberal Institution and Beyond”

In this lecture, I will share the background that shaped my recent book—Unwell Writing Centers—including leading a university center during an active shooting situation, a series of local and Federal policies that negatively impacted undergraduate and graduate tutors, and the failures of a university wellness training. Curious about the impact of different kinds of stressors (e.g., punctuated crises versus everyday workplace ones) on student workers, and what ways we might address the trauma they bring into the center, I developed alternative workplace wellness interventions and surveyed engagement, attitude, and uptake, among other things. I will share findings from these data and will end with ways to imagine more ethical futures for how student workers are supported in their work, as well as what academic spaces can do to challenge neoliberal university practices.