# Culture

**Source**: https://grad.illinois.edu/faculty-staff/toolkits-guides/supporting-student-success/supporting-student-wellbeing/culture
**Parent**: https://grad.illinois.edu/faculty-staff/toolkits-guides

[Graduate College](https://grad.illinois.edu/)
[Faculty & Staff](https://grad.illinois.edu/faculty-staff)
[Toolkits and Guides](https://grad.illinois.edu/faculty-staff/toolkits-guides)
[Supporting Student Success](https://grad.illinois.edu/faculty-staff/toolkits-guides/supporting-student-success)
[Supporting Student Wellbeing](https://grad.illinois.edu/faculty-staff/toolkits-guides/supporting-student-success/supporting-student-wellbeing)
Culture

# Culture

*Understanding that the wellbeing culture for graduate students exists in interplay with the culture for undergraduate students, faculty, and staff, supporting a wellbeing culture for all members of the university community is our foundational goal.* 

Ideas we have about what graduate school "should" be like shape our cultural norms. What are the beliefs, values, and norms that characterize your department? *What does it mean to be a good graduate student? What are the norms of graduate education? How do our research groups/cohorts/programs run? What does success look like? How do we build the tools (skills, attitudes, mindsets, resources, supports) we need to be successful? How and when do we give feedback?*

Human connection is the underpinning to wellbeing. As we think about and build culture, we want to prioritize facilitating community and connection as a foundation. We cannot control the experience of each individual, but we can work to build a setting for wellbeing, which creates the best conditions for pursuing rigorous and exciting graduate education.

In the same way that a systems approach to health isn’t preventing all illness, but creating the conditions for health, a systems approach to culture works to create the conditions for wellbeing in your department. As the people creating the program, we have an opportunity to create a setting where people can thrive. 

## Ways to support a culture of holistic wellbeing:

- **Support the infrastructure of community.** This could look like support (structure, funding, etc.) for grad student groups or creating semi-regular times for connections – lunches, tea and cookies, seminars, or symposia.
- **Create common experiences.** In a highly specialized educational setting, creating spaces for shared experiences creates connection. Don’t be afraid to require attendance at a few things – an orientation, cohort meetings, seminars.
- **Model the behavior you want to see.** Kindness. Learning people’s names. Remembering that everyone has a life outside of work with many things happening. Let students see glimpses of your life outside of work – let them know you take time for hobbies, caring for family, rest.
- **Reflect on your current culture.** The [eight dimensions of wellness](https://campusrec.illinois.edu/wellness/dimensions) (*Environmental – Financial – Spiritual – Vocational/Occupational – Emotional – Social – Physical – Intellectual)* can be a helpful rubric. How are students as a cohort doing in each of these wellness areas? Where do you see strengths or challenges?
- **Embrace the importance of casual conversation.** Even 30 seconds of discussing the weather works to establish openness to other conversations.
- **Use the frameworks that already exist.** Seminars, symposia, mentoring meetings are opportunities to create cultural norms by including things like conversations about what healthy behavior looks like, sharing campus resources regularly or expressing appreciation and publicly celebrating accomplishments.

## More on creating culture:

- Recording of a Illinois systemwide presentation on [Advancing Student and Employee Health and Well-Being as a Health Promoting University](https://www.vpaa.uillinois.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=420456&pageId=2299552)
- Reports from the 21st Surgeon General's Office on [Social Connection](https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/connection/index.html) and [Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being](https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/workplace-well-being/index.html) and a zine-style [Recipes for Connection](https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/recipes/index.html).
- Two articles on building psychological safety as a key to team effectiveness. [A Guide to Building Psychological Safety on Your Team](https://hbr.org/2022/12/a-guide-to-building-psychological-safety-on-your-team)  and [Understand team effectiveness](https://rework.withgoogle.com/en/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness#introduction).