July 2025 Briefs
Karen Moseley hugging a sequoia planted in 1840 in Lucca, Italy. Still standing tall (and giving the best hugs).
The Travel Issue: Recovery, Nature, and Self-Compassion
It seems that many of us are taking advantage of a few – or several – days off this summer for time away from work to travel. So I’m dedicating this July Briefs to the themes of recovery, nature and self-compassion that tend to act as good travel companions. When we take care of ourselves, we have the energy and capacity to better care for others. Read on in this issue for more on this theme.
I’m looking forward to my next trip – to Berkeley, CA for HERO’s fall meetings. Even though the trip will be work-related, I plan to take advantage of the nature exposure that the Berkeley area offers, including UC Berkeley gardens and Berkeley Marina. I’m also looking forward to connecting with my HERO family. We’ve identified several hotels around the UC Berkeley campus to meet a variety of preferences and budgets. I hope you’re making plans to join us there.
But before we begin the Fall meetings, I’m pleased to announce that the written proceedings for the Spring Think Tank are available here and provide meaningful summaries and key takeaways from the discussions on the promises and perils of AI for employer sponsored health and well-being initiatives.
One thing I enjoy when I’m not traveling is the creativity in some of the automatic email replies that arrive in my inbox. Feel free to use this one from ChatGPT when you prepare to join me in Berkeley.
I’m currently away from my inbox, attending HERO Forum/Think Tank/Healthcare Summit where the coffee is strong, the ideas are flowing, and the buzzwords are flying at lightning speed. I’m soaking up insights, connecting with brilliant minds, and probably scribbling far too many notes I’ll never read again.
I’ll get back to you once my brain returns from its deep dive into all things workforce health and well-being.
Until then, emails will be safely hibernating in my inbox, untouched and dreaming of replies.
Together,
Karen
Member Updates
Register Now: 2025 Forum II
September 17, 2025 | 8:30 AM – 5:00
“From Incivility to Kindness: The Business Imperative”
International House at UC Berkeley | Berkeley, CA
Join national leaders and peers to:
- Explore assessment tools to uncover root causes of incivility
- Learn practical strategies that foster cultures of care
- Discover evidence-based best practices from across the country
- Build a network committed to transforming workplaces for the better
Sponsored by Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive 6 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Provider ID#101039
2025 Fall Think Tank
September 16 | 1:00 – 6:30 PM
Listening as Intervention: The Practice and Power of Listening in the Workplace
International House at UC Berkeley | Berkeley, CA
(HERO Members Only)
Join this interactive think tank to learn how active listening shapes employee retention, engagement, and wellness. You’ll leave with practical strategies and real-world inspiration.
Sponsored by Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive 3.5 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Provider ID#101039
Register Now: 2025 Healthcare Summit
September 16 | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
“Promoting Human Connection in Healthcare: Addressing safety, civility, caregiving, and mental fitness to foster a more humane work environment”
International House at UC Berkeley | Berkeley, CA
Explore how civility, caregiving, and psychological safety foster trust and teamwork in healthcare. Learn how leaders are building more humane environments where both providers and patients can thrive.
Sponsored by Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive 3.5 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Provider ID#101039
2025 University Summit
October 21, 2025 | 12:00 – 4:00 PM | Virtual
Managing Change & Navigating Uncertainty in Higher Education: Organizational Strategies, Individual Support, and Collective Resilience
As higher education continues to navigate rapid and complex challenges—from funding constraints and shifting workforce expectations to growing mental health needs — institutions must find innovative ways to adapt while supporting the people at the heart of their missions.
This year’s virtual University Summit invites practitioners, leaders, and researchers from academic institutions to explore how we can respond to uncertainty with clarity, compassion, and creativity. Through research-informed insights, real-world case studies, and practical tools, we will examine how universities are fostering psychological safety, promoting well-being, building resilient systems, and strengthening a culture of trust and belonging.
Sponsored by Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive 3.5 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Provider ID#101039
HERO Committees
What’s new with HERO Committees?
Here’s the latest update on our current committee activities:
- Healthcare Summit. Wrapping up agenda for the Healthcare Summit (Sept. 16th in Berkeley, CA). Next meeting: August 25th at noon ET.
- University Summit. Wrapping up agenda for the University Summit (Oct. 21st, virtual). Next meeting: August 12th at 1:00 PM ET.
- Workforce Mental Health & Well-being. Next meeting: August 12th at 2:00 PM ET.
- RSS Workstream on VOI + People & Culture. Crafting value stories in a variety of settings around five themes:
- Mental and emotional well-being
- Physical health and workplace culture
- Financial wellness and inclusion
- Career well-being and purpose
- Social well-being and psychological safety
- RSS Workstream on Belonging. Developing a manuscript that aims to distinguish belonging from trust, mattering, and inclusion; define belonging via national-level data and existing frameworks and measurement tools; and provide an overview of programs, techniques and organizational interventions. Next meeting: October TBD.
As a HERO member, you can join a committee today! If you are interested in learning more or joining a committee, please contact Karen Moseley at Karen.Moseley@hero-health.org.
HERO Member Spotlight
HERO Opens New Membership Category for Individuals
This month, HERO launched a new Solo Expert Member Category, and we’re pleased to spotlight one of the first joiners. Welcome, Jessica!
Jessica Grossmeier
Author, Speaker, Advisor
Jessica Grossmeier Consulting
“I’ve always looked to HERO to identify the latest thinking on emerging topics in the field of workplace health promotion. I joined to network with like-minded professionals, seeking to advance best practices approaches to workforce well-being.”
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgrossmeier/
Solo Expert Member Benefits Include:
- Free Attendance at all virtual HERO Think Tanks
- Discounted Forum registration
- No Cost CEUs for HERO webinars, and access to all recordings
- Exclusive access to an extensive compilation of resources through the HERO Hub
- Opportunity to engage in HERO research and author publications
- Networking with employers and others from the HERO community
- Exposure for your own work and expertise
- Steer the wellness industry through service and leadership on HERO committees
Cost: $500 investment per year
Learn more: Individual-Solo Expert Membership – HERO
Webinars
Kindness by Design: How Active Listening Disrupts the Cycle of Incivility
August 13, at 12:00 PM CDT | Register
Guest Panelists:
Incivility in the workplace is on the rise, and it hurts all of us. Whether it’s hurtful dismissals or plain disrespect, incivility spreads beyond the perpetrator-victim relationship and undermines the psychological safety of witnesses as well. To combat this toxicity, we need an antidote that not only elevates the quality of our interactions but also spreads quickly and widely. That antidote is kindness. But how can we transition from incivility to kindness in one fell swoop? The active ingredient that bridges this gap is active listening. When we listen to understand rather than to respond, it becomes nearly impossible to act with incivility. In a world where few seem to have time to truly listen anymore, authentic listening is a precious gift.
Join HERO President & CEO Karen Moseley, as we explore these transformative concepts with HERO Senior Education Fellows Wendy Lynch and MJ Shaar. This interactive webinar will give you the opportunity to ask your questions live!
Sponsored by Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive 1 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Provider ID#101039
HERO Hub
A keyword search of this newsletter’s themes around nature and recovery produced few listings, but here are a couple. An opportunity for more research?
Webinar: Shifting Perspective Using National and Natural Resources to Enhance Well-Being
Presentation: Resilience and You – How to Stay in the Thriver’s Seat
HERO Scorecard
Has your company completed the HERO Health and Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer(c) (HERO Scorecard)? Do you ever wonder which companies are using it? Every year, we update the list of companies that agree to be named in the completers list posted on the website. This information can be especially valuable if you’re interested in benchmarking. HERO’s benchmark reports provide data in aggregate form by industry group, employer size and region, OR customized against up to 10 organizations. Learn more about the HERO Scorecard Benchmark Reports here.
HERO RECOMMENDS
Resources and Readings
Recommended Resources
On Recovery, Nature & Self-Compassion:
- Zheng, Y, et al. A good rest makes a caring doctor: Linking physicians’ nonwork time recovery to patient-centered communication with nonwork-to-work enrichment and empathy. Social Science & Medicine. Volume 383, October 2025; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118432
- Soga, M, and Gaston, KJ. Health benefits of viewing nature through windows: A meta-analysis. BioScience. July 4, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf089.
- HBR Podcast: Finding Joy When You Have Limited Free Time. Convenient format that emphasizes the importance of small doses of joy.
- Lin, D, Zhu, T, Wang, Y. Emotion contagion and physiological synchrony: The more intimate relationships, the more contagion of positive emotions. Physiology & Behavior. Volume 275, 1 March 2024;https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114434.
In preparation for Forum II:
- MIT Sloan Management Review: Find Your Phrase in Important Moments. A little practice can go a long way to prevent fight or flight response when faced with workplace disrespect.
- SHRM: Incivility Takes a Hit on Worker Mental Health. June 2, 2025. Insights from the SHRM Q2 2025 Civility Index.
On Brain Health:
- HBR: Age Inclusion is Your Company’s Next Competitive Advantage. July 23, 2025. Authors Schurman and Wong recommend talent strategies that design for the full life course.
- Baker, LD, Espeland, MA, Whitmer, RA, et al. Structured vs Self-Guided Multidomain Lifestyle Interventions for Global Cognitive Function: The US POINTER Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. Published online July 28, 2025; doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.12923
AHP: Boosting Business and Health: The Case for Workplace Physical Activity. HERO’s Mary Imboden and Karen Moseley co-author this editorial and special section of Knowing Well, Being Well in the latest issue of American Journal of Health Promotion. Accompanying articles by Ablah and colleagues discuss the benefits of supplementing GLP-1 RAs with physical activity, and Matjasko et al. estimate healthcare expenditures associated with inadequate physical activity.
Truth, Opinions and Beliefs. Can They Be Harmonized? An Interview with Dr. Thomas Green. HERO Senior Fellow Paul Terry interviewed Dr. Thomas Green on ways to harmonize truth and opinions in an era where disinformation seems to be slipping us into a post truth world. The Editorial is HERE and a GoogleNotesLM Podcast is HERE. Keep in mind that these are Bots, not humans, reviewing the editorial. We think AI did a good job of summarizing in this instance but we’re finding that is not always the case. Careful review is needed when turning the narrative of experts over to Bots.
Gallup: Addressing the Barriers Blocking Employee Development. July 22, 2025. Authors Tatel and Mulherin lead with data that 59% of CHROs name employee development as a source of struggle, while the World Economic Forum estimates that 59% of the workforce will need to upskill by 2030.
Gallup: Fully Remote Work Least Popular With Gen Z. July 23, 2025. Authors Pendell and Agrawal lay out the case for leaders to review their hybrid work policies.
