Member Interest Articles

ASPA Member Services Officer – Reflection

Abstract

Shayne Meggs, ASPA’s Member Services Officer, shares highlights from his first few months in the role, supporting members through workplace challenges, labour relations issues, and collective bargaining preparations. His work includes attending meetings with the employer, participating in joint committees, and negotiating settlements on behalf of members and the union.

My First Few Months at ASPA

By Shayne Meggs, Member Services Officer

It’s been an amazing start to my time at ASPA. The Presidents, Executive, and members have all been incredibly welcoming and supportive. I want to extend a special thank you to Angeline, our Financial and Administrative Assistant, who has been instrumental in onboarding me to ASPA and helping me navigate the university more broadly.

What does a Membership Services Officer (MSO) do?

By Glenn Billingsley, ASPA Member Services Officer

A Membership Services Officer (MSO) plays a crucial role in resolving workplace disputes and ensuring fair employment practices. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the responsibilities of the MSO.

Benefits Reminder

It’s time to think about your “use it or lose it!” benefits!

With the end of the calendar year fast approaching, please don’t forget about the various benefits available to you that may be expiring soon. These include:

Your allotment for various medical claims through SunLife. These renew on January 1^st, and any unclaimed amounts cannot be carried over to the next calendar year. This includes paramedical benefits, like massage therapy, counselling, and chiropractor (note that vision care is a bit different, and renews on the second year following a claim). More info on your SunLife health plan.
Your Flexible Spending Program benefits (i.e., the Health Spending Account or Personal Spending Account). The annual amount ($900) carries forward for 1 calendar year, meaning if you have any ammounts left from 2022 you need to use them by December 31, 2023, and If unspent cannot be used towards eligible purchases (although you can still submit claims after January 1^st). The PSA amount can be used on a wide variety of expenses, including online music subscriptions, traditional medicines, transit passes, pet care, and even RRSP/TFSA contributions! More info on the Flexible Spending Program.
Your three (3) Personal/Family days. These are for emergent, personal or family situations, and do not roll over from one year to the next. See Section 20.9 in the ASPA Collective Agreement.

Remember also that your choice of allocation for the Flexible Spending Program needs to be made before the end of the year. This will allow you to select to place money either towards the Health Spending Account (HAS, non-taxable) or the Personal Spending Account (PSA, taxable). More info on allocating funds to your Flexible Spending account.

How to Handle Criticism in the Workplace

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Personal and professional success depends on being able to receive criticism and deal with it in a calm way. Criticism in the workplace is unavoidable since we as humans are prone to make mistakes. The goal of constructive feedback is to improve your abilities and performance. Self reflection on your flaws or mistakes and acknowledgement of the areas needing improvement will help you handle criticisms at work.

Here are some key ways to handle criticism at work:

Practicing Self-Compassion at Work

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Everyone knows the feeling that comes with making a mistake or failing to meet others’ expectations. These feelings can be heightened when we do not meet our own expectations and judge ourselves too harshly. When failures occur, this relentless self monitoring, behavior correction, negative self-talk and self-criticism can be counterproductive. We need to make room for self-compassion if we want to move beyond our mistakes and toward future successes.

Here are some key ways to practice self-compassion at work:

How to Empower Others in the Workplace

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Employees seek autonomy to take action and make decisions within their organization. They want to feel valued and contribute in a meaningful way to the company goals. Empowering employees is a culture. There must be trust and understanding in place ensuring that their actions are in line with their organization’s mission and values.

Here are some key ways to empower employees:

Job or Career: Mindset Makes a Difference

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Having a job and pursuing a career are pretty much the same thing except for the difference in mindset. How passionate are you about what you do? Do you take into account the whole spectrum of experiences and life education that comes along with your job?

Here are some key differences between the mindset of having a job vs a career:

Learning From Your Mistakes

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Have you made a mistake at work and were worried to admit it or concerned that it might affect your relationships with colleagues or your career trajectory? We’ve all been there. What’s important is to recognize that mistakes can be a learning opportunity and, most often, you can recover from them.

Consider these three ways you can turn a mistake into a stepping stone for your career:

Finding Your Passion at Work

What are you passionate about? Living each moment to the fullest and savoring life along the path to your passion is what it is all about. To open the doorway to enlightenment you must take a proactive approach, become more engaged and take action to find your passion at work and have the career that you have always dreamed of having.

Here are some practical steps to find your passion at work:

Increasing Your Self-Confidence in the Workplace

Written by Karen E. Mosier

Increasing Your Self-Confidence in the Workplace

Growing your self-confidence in the workplace can be difficult. Most people aspire to have more self-confidence not just in their job but in life. Achieving a level where we feel comfortable and confident at work takes effort and does not happen overnight.