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 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER

December 18, 2024

ALL STAFF AT UC SAN DIEGO (excluding UC San Diego Health and Health Sciences) 

People Leaders:  For staff without ready access to email, please print and post a copy of this email. 

Many of you might be working on new year's resolutions this time of the year. If you’re like me - or 91% of Americans who don’t keep their resolutions throughout the year - you know that come February, that clothes hanger you initially bought to do exercise with will end up hanging more clothing than your walk-in closet (ask me how I know).

So instead, I want to suggest a different approach - what I like to call the Saving Grace Method. At the foundation of it is finding your joy. Start by asking yourself, “what is it going to take to find my joy in 2025?” Once you’ve identified that, keep these five anchors handy:

Give. Give yourself credit for giving of your heart, empathy, compassion, kindness, and time. For giving to others and how you give of yourself. I want you all to recognize and honor all that you do and how important that is to those you support. 

Responsibility. Ask yourself, is whatever you’re over-marinating on actually your responsibility? Are you being responsible with prioritizing your well-being? Are you being responsible by planning and taking your vacation time? 

Aspiration. What are your aspirations for next year? Who do you aspire to be known as and to show up as? How are you preparing for your next step if you have next-step aspirations? Aspire in order for things to transpire. Otherwise your goals will expire - and with them, so will your joy and your ability to become the best version of yourself.

Control. There is one person in this world who you can control - YOU. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to it. We can control what we give our energy to, and whether that energy is happiness or anger. This is one of your greatest super powers: your ability to control how you show up and respond. Tap into it, especially when things seem to be falling apart. 

Empowerment. How can you be impactful and empower others? Accomplishing goals is one of the most satisfying feelings that exist. But even more satisfying is when you are able to empower others in the process.

Did you catch what those anchors spell? G.R.A.C.E., as in the Saving Grace Method - give, responsibility, aspire, control, empower. 

When you combine actionable items to find your joy along with these five anchors, you’ll amaze yourself and hopefully inspire others to follow suit, creating a domino effect of joy. As one of my favorite African proverbs says, “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.”

So now tell me, what will it take for you to find your joy in 2025?

Lead with grace and courage,

Terri S. Winbush  

Campus Chief Human Resources Officer 

Please review this flyer from UCPath for important year-end dates and deadlines related to pay, taxes, and benefits. Be sure to review your information in UCPath and complete any actions required on your part as necessary. 

Our third annual Celebration of Cultures took place earlier this month, and I’m officially counting down the days for next year’s event! Huge shout-out to everyone involved in making this event possible. Learn more in this lovely recap in UC San Diego Today.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, UC will revise leave policies for staff and academic personnel to expand eligibility for paid sick leave. UC also plans to expand paid leave options for sick leave purposes for represented staff employees and academic appointees, subject to applicable collective bargaining requirements. Learn more at UCNet, and stay tuned for information sessions in January.

 Did you know that UC has a UC Immigrant Legal Services Center that has information and many resources for mixed-status families, undocumented and immigrant students, and staff and their immediate family members?

The Office of the President expects to roll out an updated version of the General Compliance Briefing training in late January or early February 2025. To assist with the transition, the training assignment in the UC Learning Center has been removed for all active employees, and the course is not available to new users. We will share more details regarding rollout timing as they become available. If you have questions or concerns about this training, please contact the UC Learning Center support team through the Employee Center.

Important changes are coming to how holidays are handled during Pay for Family Care and Bonding (PFCB) leave. Effective Jan. 1, 2025, employees using PFCB who encounter a university holiday during their leave period will receive holiday pay for that day (if otherwise eligible) instead of PFCB pay. Additionally, these holiday dates will not count against the employee's PFCB balance of eight workweeks per calendar year. For example, if an employee is on PFCB leave during June, and the Juneteenth holiday occurs during their leave, they will receive holiday pay for that day, and it won't reduce their PFCB balance. This change also applies to Postdoctoral Paid Family Leave. For complete details about the PFCB program, including this update, visit theUCnet PFCB website.

People Leaders, save the date for our upcoming People Leader Summit on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 from 10 – 11:30 a.m. Register and submit questions in advance through Zoom. This session will focus on empowering People Leaders with strategic communication tools and strategies, with speakers including yours truly; Faculty and Staff Assistance Program Counselors; and more subject matter experts.

Join Enrollment Management and College Access Outreach Programs at UC San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, for an engaging event designed to support pathways into higher education. The event will feature informative sessions on various higher education pathways; the college admissions process; financial aid and scholarships; and preparing for success in college. Interested? Complete the interest form to secure your spot.

Join us for the first Staff Town Hall of 2025 on Tuesday, Feb. 4 from 1:30 – 3 p.m., highlighting timely topics and featuring updates from HR, Staff Association, wellness and more. Register and submit questions in advance through Zoom.

During the 2024 holiday season, UC San Diego (excluding the hospitals and clinics) will officially close for seven (7) days between Tuesday, December 24, 2024, and Wednesday, January 1, 2025. The closure period includes four (4) university paid holidays (December 24, 25, 31 and January 1, 2025). Learn more in this recent campus notice. 

As outlined in the UC Payroll Policy (see pages 2 and 3 regarding holiday payroll schedules), the first payroll for both monthly and biweekly schedules will be processed on Jan. 2, 2025. Some employees may expect payments to be made on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1, 2025); however, as outlined in the UC Policy, payments will be issued on the next banking day, which is Jan. 2, 2025. For a complete list of 2025 payroll dates, visit Blink. For questions, submit an inquiry to UCPath.