Butler County Community College will continue its ‘Lunch and Learn’ series this week with a program focusing on grief in the workplace.
The forum will take a look at an employee’s common reactions following the death of a loved one; and what supervisors and colleagues should- and should not- do following the death of an employee’s loved one.
The program is set for Wednesday at ConnectWork on Main, which is located at 220 South Main Street in Butler.
The ‘Lunch and Learn’ series are 90-minute professional skills workshops held in downtown Butler as part of the first open programming in the city by BC3’s Workforce Development division.
BC3’s “Grief in the Workplace” theme is unique in that it focuses on a subject not normally included in a professional skills workshop, said Kelly McKissick, BC3’s coordinator of professional education and certificate programs.
“But it’s beneficial because it’s a topic a lot of people don’t talk about,” McKissick said. “A lot of people just don’t address it. But there may be someone who you are working next to, who you are working with, who has just lost someone.
“You think work is just work, but everybody’s lives somehow interact with work. It’s important for people to know how to respond when these life events occur. You can’t just get back and function the way you did. Your life has totally changed. You need to have at least one person there who knows how to respond in a way that can help you to function.”
BC3’s Lunch & Learn Series follows the realization of 2017-2022 strategic plan initiatives that include the creation of a coordinator of community leadership initiatives position and, by moving that office in August to a South Main Street location, establishing BC3’s first presence in the city of Butler. The college in 2018 also launched “Reset Your Brain: A Revolutionary Approach to Opioid Addiction & Recovery,” whose three monthlong “Hope is Dope” programs in 2018 were held in downtown Butler.
Four additional Lunch & Learn Series sessions are scheduled this spring, including “Outside the Box-Creative Thinking Seminar” on March 29 at the Butler Public Library.
Christopher Yco, an instructor with BC3’s Workforce Development division, will discuss “Goal Setting” during an April 17 Lunch & Learn at The Grand Ballroom.
Kiley Cribbs, BC3’s coordinator of EMS and police training programs, will educate participants on the signs and symptoms of a person in cardiac arrest and in need of CPR, and the management of the first few minutes of a cardiac emergency, in “Hands-Only CPR – Save a Life,” scheduled for May 22 at Springhill Suites by Marriott.
Tricia Pritchard, a BC3 faculty member, will help participants develop listening practices that will help them influence others, reduce conflict and increase productivity in “Active Listening” on June 12 at The Chop Shop.
The cost for each Lunch & Learn will be $10 per person. Seating is limited, and registration is required. To register, visit bc3.edu/lunch-learn or call 724-287-8711, Ext. 8476 for corporate billing. Lunch & Learn participants interested in additional information or training on the topics can contact BC3’s Workforce Development division, McKissick said.