ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – In honor of Human Performance Optimization Month, the Commander’s Ready and Resilient Council, or CR2C, is raising awareness of HPO.
APG’s CR2C Integrator Sean A. Green describes HPO as “implementing strategies, interventions, knowledge and even technology to support and improve one’s best self on a daily basis.” This can be demonstrated through education, awareness and the application of various injury prevention, nutrition, and fitness (physical/emotional) strategies, he said.
Green said implementing HPO strategies can apply to the APG workforce as well as parents, teachers, musicians, athletes and more. Setting work-life balance goals, for instance, can help an employee avoid burnout.
Building resiliency
Fred Thompson is a laboratory operations-APG site manager from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory. He has more than 30 years of experience with DEVCOM ARL and serves as a liaison between the organization and the installation.
Thompson said last year it was part of his job to ensure his colleagues made a smooth transition to telework due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, Thompson said he was not a proponent of telework because he preferred face-to-face communication. Last year, he said, his colleagues were forced to learn how to be successful in a new environment. With the introduction of the collaboration platform Microsoft Teams, he said, his teammates learned how to communicate effectively and meet mission requirements in a virtual setting. He described the process as “eye-opening.”
“I was learning how to be successful in a different area that I was not comfortable with,” he said.
Thompson said individually and as an organization, teleworking has been successful. These challenges have presented an opportunity for growth.
“[Being able to adapt to a new environment] is a testament to the organization and your resiliency as well,” Green added.
Maintaining work-life balance
To avoid burnout from telework, it is important to maintain a work-life balance, Thompson said.
“We are noticing that people are putting in many more hours now that they can telework, than when they were working onsite,” he said. “We are getting a lot more emails, a lot more phone calls. There are pluses and minuses [to telework].”
According to Thompson, having a strong team can build resilience, which is beneficial when challenges arise.
Mission-focused
Thompson said he frequently reminds his colleagues of their purpose, they are working to support the Warfighter, he said.
“We are a tight family,” he said. “You know these people and most of them are not just here for the 9-5 [paycheck] they really believe the products we are coming up with will help the Warfighter, even if it is just a system of a system.”
To learn more about HPO, Green recommends the Human Performance Resources by the Consortium for Health and Military Performance, or CHAMP, www.hprc-online.org.
According to the website, “HPRC is a team of scientists, specialists, and support staff who translate research into evidence-based resources to help Warfighters and their families achieve total fitness and optimize performance, whether at home, in the office, or in theater.”
This site provides a wealth of information on topics like injury prevention, COVID-19 resilience, mental health, stress and healthy sleeping habits.
“Optimal performance is more than just being physically active and eating well; it’s a combination of psychological, social, familial, behavioral, nutritional, spiritual and physical fitness—or Total Force Fitness,” the website states.
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