Maine taxpayers are footing the bill for state employees to attend breathing and muscle relaxation classes, “StoryTime” sessions, as well as workshops centered around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), according to an internal email obtained by the Maine Wire.
Director of staff training and development at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Maine DHHS), Bonnie Tracy, sent an email Wednesday to all DHHS employees outlining the department’s June training programs offered by the department’s Staff Education and Training Unit (SETU).
“SETU will be offering an array of sessions throughout 2024 to help you in your professional development and growth, tips and training for daily workplace duties, and sessions to help maintain a healthy work life balance,” Tracy wrote in the department-wide email.
Included in SETU’s June programming is a series of “Wednesday Wellness” sessions, with titles such as “Breath Your Way to Better Health,” “Speaking Up for Yourself,” “StoryTime: Shifting Perspectives” and “Muscle Tension and Relaxation.”
According to Maine DHHS, the “Wednesday Wellness” sessions are each Wednesday and last half an hour.
“The purpose of these half-hour sessions hosted twice every Wednesday from 12:00-12:30 and 12:30-1:00 is to provide regular wellness, stress management, and resiliency-building practice opportunities and resources,” the department states on the session registration page.
Additionally, “Back By Populare Demand! [sic],” according to Tracy, is the SETU’s “Gifts of Imperfection Book Club,” in which state employees will read Brene Brown’s “The Gifts of Imperfection,” and will “dig deep” together to” identify the things that get in the way of us engaging with the world from a place of worthiness: shame, fear, and our resistance to vulnerability.”
Also listed in Tracy’s email is a five-hour training session entitled “CORE: A Culture of Respect and Empathy.”
“Fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical to the success of our organization,” the training description reads.
“This two-part foundational professional ethics and diversity training is grounded in fostering a respectful DHHS workplace. Participants are invited to share their experiences to connect with peers and consider life from a different perspective,” the description states.
All of the DEI training sessions, breathing and muscle relaxation classes, book club meetings and “StoryTime” meetings appear to take place during work hours on weekdays.
Perhaps before you post an article like this fueling the fire of negativity towards state employees. Some research should be completed. These info sessions Directly correlate to specific jobs and employee wellness and stressful situations. The article is misleading. I believe some research was completed. Your organization would find that most employers offer training free of charge to their employees.