August 2025 Briefs
The Connection Issue
As we were preparing this month’s newsletter to publish, we were also preparing to see some of you next month at the HERO Think Tank & Forum & Healthcare Summit. The first introduction I had written spoke of Forum in the Fall of 2019:
Six years ago, I was making similar preparations, which included the think tank meeting on loneliness and reflecting on my own loneliness during my husband’s deployment (Blog). And I was so excited that I would soon see my HERO family.
“Connection is when we feel known, seen, understood, valued, remembered, and cared for” (Stanford University). That’s exactly how I would describe that Fall 2019 convening, and every other HERO convening I’ve ever attended.
I now understand that I have felt that way in every HERO convening, both virtual and in person.
You are likely now realizing that there has been a shift in our original plans for our September events. Many of you have reached out to let us know your disappointment at having to miss the in-person convenings, citing organizational tension around budgets and bandwidth. Some of you are fighting to prove the value of your job stewarding the well-being of your workforce. We realize that these, and other personal factors, make it difficult for many of our members to attend conferences that require travel expenses and time away from work and home.
So, yes, we’ve made the difficult decision to shift all of the September convenings to a virtual platform. While I’m disappointed at missing the chance to connect in person, I’m also hopeful that many more of you will now have a renewed opportunity to connect with each other and to advance your well-being knowledge through these expert sessions.
If you’ve already registered for the September convenings, watch for a separate email from us with details about the virtual event. If you have not yet registered due to expense or time concerns, now is your opportunity to learn from our experts and sponsors, and reconnect with your peers–with the added flexibility of a virtual event and without the travel expenses.
I hope to ‘see’ you in September.
Together,
Karen
Feeling disconnected? There’s an app for that
Even when we’re surrounded by people, it’s easy to feel disconnected. But when we nurture the relationships that lift us up, we don’t just feel better—we think more clearly, collaborate more easily, and show up more fully for the moments that matter.
If you’re looking to feel more connected—in life and at work—there’s an app for that. We were recently introduced to Sunny, an app designed to help you recharge your social energy and invest in the relationships that matter most.
Whether it’s deepening a friendship, reconnecting with family, or building trust with a teammate or manager, Sunny offers simple, practical steps to support connection. If that resonates, give it a try—it’s our small way of saying thank you to the HERO community.
CTA: Download the Sunny app for free
Member Updates
Fully Virtual. Lower Cost. 2025 Forum II, Healthcare Summit & 2025 Fall Think Tank – HERO
September 16 | Healthcare Summit | 10:00 AM CDT
September 16 | Fall Think Tank | 1:00 – 4:00 PM CDT
September 17 | HERO Forum From Incivility to Kindness: The Business Imperative | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM CDT
A Virtual Meeting
Incivility has become pervasive across our society and, chances are, you’ve experienced this yourself. In fact, according to the latest SHRM poll, nearly 76% of employees say they have directly experienced or witnessed workplace incivility firsthand, which has led to their taking nearly two sick days monthly to escape the workplace slights and disappointments.
The September HERO Forum II, featuring the Healthcare Summit and HERO Think Tank, will explore this topic and what well-being professionals, human resources teams, and business leaders can do to address it.
New conference format. Same great content. We’ve heard from many people that travel budgets and corporate travel protocols—coupled with busy personal and family schedules—are making it difficult to attend professional development events away from the office. That’s why we have decided to convert our September events from an in-person format to a fully virtual conference.
That means you can now attend our September meetings from the comfort of your office and at a reduced cost. No worry about travel budgets or missing multiple days of work.
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 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
Proceedings from HERO Forum I on Mental Health
The proceedings from our 2025 HERO Forum I on “From Stigma & Silence to Solutions: Addressing Workforce Mental Health through Systemic Change” have been published. Many of the sessions from the convening have been summarized to provide easy access to these success stories and lessons learned from the workplace policies, environmental supports, culture, and climate initiatives that have been shown to improve the mental health of employees.
View the proceedings here.
HERO Committees
What’s new with HERO Committees?
Interested in staying ahead of industry trends, contributing to published reports, and building strong connections with fellow professionals? HERO members are encouraged to participate in one or more committees for the additional value accrued in the people you meet, the insights you gain, and the ability to contribute to published articles, white papers, case studies, webinars and other tools.
Here’s the latest update on our current committee activities:
- University Summit. Wrapping up final details for the University Summit (Oct. 21st, virtual). Next meeting: September 9th at 1:00 PM ET.
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’s spotlight is on Dr. Bruce Sherman. Welcome, Bruce!
Bruce Sherman, MD
“passion-driven wannabe gentleman scientist”
Sherman Consulting LLC
“Why I joined HERO? For me, joining HERO fuels my passions by providing access to a rich array of resources, and especially like-minded members. HERO is well aligned with my intellectual objectives – to be at the forefront of rigorous, data-driven exploration of factors that equitably impact individual well-being, along with the interventions that yield lasting systemic change.”
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
Why Is Everyone So Damn Grumpy?
September 4, at 12:00 PM CDT | Register
Guest Panelist:
Ron Goetzel, PhD,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
We are bombarded with stories about war, famine, crime, climate disaster, social unrest, disease, lack of civility, and political divisiveness – delivered ad infinitum via Tik Tok, Instagram, X, Facebook, and other social media.
It turns out that doom scrolling is not good for one’s mental health and well-being. Not only that, money, power, fame, stuff, and more stuff can’t buy happiness (beyond a minimum threshold, of course). Just look at Elon, Jeff, Mark, and Donald.
So, what can make us happy? Friends, family, faith — and wait for it — work. Work can be a happy place when there is an intentional culture promoting mental health and well-being. What does it take?
Psychosocially, instilling positive emotions, creating “flow,” highlighting organizational support, building bonding relationships, and communicating a sense of purpose. Add fun, and work becomes a fulfilling life experience, and of course, a way to pay bills.
The session will not just wax poetic. It will present findings from recent studies and literature reviews uncovering the sources and impacts of toxic work environments that cause distress and burnout. On the bright side, it will also offer solutions that extend beyond telling employees to “grin and bear it.” The session builds upon traditional psychosocial interventions aimed at enhancing resilience by introducing organizational and environmental stressors and solutions to improve the workplace. The session will recall a case study of protective factors shown to be effective in ameliorating stressors experienced by front-line hospital food service workers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finally, the session will conclude by answering the question, “what is Ron Goetzel thinking about and what are his solutions to the world’s problems?”
Learning Objectives
- Articulate factors causing stress arising from psychosocial, organizational, and environmental sources.
- Describe possible solutions to distress by drawing from research unearthed in recent literature reviews on mental health and well-being in the workplace.
- Articulate a basic framework for “calming the waters” on stress and anxiety on a societal level.
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
NEW! Access to American Journal of Health Promotion
The American Journal of Health Promotion is now the official journal of HERO, which provides free subscription access to HERO organizational members only.
Organizational members can access the journal by logging into their membership account under the HERO Hub and navigating to the journal information located on the home page. There, you will find a password and link to access the journal.
August Theme: Connection
A keyword search of this newsletter’s themes around connection and loneliness produced more than 20 resources:
HERO Scorecard
Why should my organization complete the HERO Health and Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer(c) (HERO Scorecard)? There are many reasons that companies receive value from completing the free HERO Scorecard and the free results report that they receive. Check out the Scorecard Case Studies for ideas.
HERO RECOMMENDS
Resources and Readings
Recommended Resources
On Connection:
- How human connection drives innovation in the age of AI. Carrie Varoquiers, 2025. Fast Company.
- Social Connections in the Workplace. Wendy C. Birmingham, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Raphael M. Herr, Abigail Barth, 2024. American Journal of Health Promotion.
- Our Favorite Management Tips on Leading Effective Meetings. HBR Editors, August 21, 2025.
On Kindness:
- Why Kindness Isn’t a Nice to Have. HBR, July 29, 2025. Amy Edmondson and fellow co-authors face kindness head-on, including the stark reality that neglecting it can lead to employee turnover, absenteeism, eroded trust, poor communication, and customer dissatisfaction. It also includes ways to measure. THIS is why you should join us at HERO Forum II on September 17th!
- A Management Anti-Fad That Will Last Forever. The Atlantic, August 12, 2025. Arthur Brooks offers this advice for managers: just be human.
Measures and Measurement Tools for Studying Total Worker Health(R). Julianne Payne et al, JOEM, June 4, 2025.
Beyond Benefits: Building A Brain-Smart Company In An AI-Powered World. Forbes, August 12, 2025. HERO’s Brain Health Partner Kelly O’Brien and the Business Collaborative for Brain Health published this insightful article bringing together brain health and AI, two hot topics at HERO.
Anemic Employee Engagement Points to Leadership Challenges. Gallup, August 5, 2025. Jim Harter provides a sobering mid-year assessment on employee engagement and offers leadership insights along with this morsel: “Hope Is Strategic.”
