St. Thomas receives Compassionate Employer Award
The University of St. Thomas was one of three Minnesota recipients of a 2009 Compassionate Employer Award. The award was given by The Compassionate Friends, a national, nonprofit organization that assists “families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.”
Tom Murphy, Information Resources and Technology, nominated St. Thomas after one of his siblings referred him the TCF Web site, where he found a posting for the award. “I felt moved to submit UST's name, having just felt a strong sense of support and reaching out from members of the UST community,” he said.
The award was presented to Murphy’s supervisor, Sam Levy, vice president of Information Resources and Technologies, yesterday.
Through its Compassionate Employer Recognition program, TCF seeks to recognize those caring companies and other organizations whose workplace policies and practices go above and beyond the norm in providing a caring workplace for employees who have suffered the death of a child, sibling or grandchild.
The criteria for Compassionate Employer Recognition include:
- Allowing additional time off without loss of benefits.
- Allowing flexible work schedules and assignments.
- Allowing leeway in job performance standards.
- Fostering an environment of mutual support among coworkers.
- Providing professional grief counseling, human resources support or information regarding self-help bereavement organizations.
- Other policies and practices that go beyond what is normal in the community.
In 2009, 141 organizations across the United States received a Compassionate Employer Award. The Cambridge Isanti School District/Community Education in Cambridge and USG Interiors Inc. in Red Wing were the other award recipients from Minnesota.
