School of Law, Manav Rachna University, launched the ‘Go Fresh Come Fresh’ initiative with the intention of eliminating stress related ill effects.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised serious questions over the global right to health in the last two years. The pandemic has significantly increased the level of anxiety and stress prevailing among people. Poor sleep, anxiety, and the stress of meeting deadlines have a worrying effect on teachers’ mental health. This hampers their relationships and interactions with colleagues and students, their productivity, and overall achievements. The ‘Go Fresh Come Fresh’ initiative has been launched to counter balance all these negative factors.

Main objective of the ‘Go Fresh Come Fresh’ initiative is to help faculties to break free of professional commitments and have interactions with colleagues to share their experiences. Teachers can discuss their best and worst moments of the day with a cup of tea with other colleagues. This will ensure that staff feel fresh and leave for home with a smile on their faces. When they leave the institution fresh, then they will naturally be fresh when they come to work the next morning. This small step can help to create a peaceful space for the teaching community.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Som Dutt Bhardwaj, Head of Department, School of Law, provided insights on the reason for launching this initiative. He shared that in his past experience he has noticed that attrition rate is directly proportional to increased stress. Thus, this initiative aims to reduce work related stress by providing staff a safe space to share their thoughts and ideas. Thereby contributing not only to individual wellbeing but also overall departmental wellbeing.

Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor Dr. I.K. Bhat lauded the initiative and shared his own experience of benefiting from exchange of communication. He shared an anecdote from his Ph.D. days wherein an interaction on an unexpected front led to resolution of a problem which otherwise would have taken 6 months to resolve. He remarked that a smile is one’s best tool – one who keeps smiling even in tough situations develops the natural ability to absorb high pressure seamlessly.

Hon’ble Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr. D.S. Sengar also praised the initiative and compared it to the European concept of brown bag lunches. He shared the ‘Law of Attraction’ which suggests that positive thoughts bring positive results into a person’s life. He was of the opinion that ‘Go Fresh Come Fresh’ will allow staff to leave their stress behind at the workplace and give wholesome time to their families. When staff leave the University fresh, they will be more productive the next morning as they would also arrive fresh the next morning.

With these remarks, the initiative was inaugurated by Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Dr. I. K. Bhat in the presence of Hon’ble Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr. D. S. Sengar, Respected Dean Academics, Dr. Sangeeta Banga, Respected Dean Research, Dr. Pradeep K. Varshney, Respected Dean Education, Dr. Babita Parashar, Respected Dean Engineering and Examinations, Dr.Shruti Vashisht and the Registrar, Dr. Kameshwar Singh.