Source: University of Otago
Cath Logan: “If I see people and I’ve made a difference, that’s what I like.”
Occupational Health Nurse Cath Logan is as close to a campus legend as it gets, according to a review report on her area, but now she has left to take care of her own health.
When reminded about the report, Cath says “that’s a flattering thing to have said about you. I guess it’s just because I’ve been out and about.”
While spreading her warmth and kindness around our campuses – during 27 years working in the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Office – her joyous laugh often preceded her.
Maybe that is because “I’ve always enjoyed working with people in their own environment, rather than people coming to see me in a clinic.”.
“If I see people and I’ve made a difference, that’s what I like. It’s amazing. It’s wonderful. People are really important.
“I think it’s been an absolute privilege to work here and meet everyone. When people talk about the University, I don’t think they realise the depth and breadth of the people that work here and how many things they do to keep the place going – there’s such variety,” Cath says.
It’s the people
While she will miss the people the most, she will also have more time to catch up with more people in retirement because she can do her 18 to 20 hours of at-home dialysis a week in the early mornings, creating more time in her day, “I plug myself in and sit on my throne [lay-z-boy armchair].
Cath is hoping to increase her exercise as well, to strengthen muscles weakened when the condition pyomyositis struck suddenly for no known reason about Christmastime in 2019: “I couldn’t lift my hands to hang my clothes up”.
She was in hospital for 10 days, off work for many more, and back to work only part-time. Then just when Cath thought she was starting to pull through that, in August 2020 she had to start dialysis.
“I have to thank everyone for supporting me.”
Supporting people
It has usually been the other way around, as she navigates staff’s problems ranging from illnesses, accidents, and deaths to corrosive personality clashes, setting up workstations correctly and vaccinating staff.
Someone asked the other day how many vaccinations she has given over the years, Cath says with a chuckle. She could not hazard a guess, but it would have to be in the high thousands at least.
She used to help vaccinate about 300 staff a year in her early days, while also recording the names on a spread sheet to charge their departments, then having to provide refunds if people did not turn up.
Now, immunisations are available for all employees because our University covers the cost centrally and about 2500 staff are vaccinated annually on the Dunedin campus, including a record-setting occasion when two or three vaccinators got through 700 people in a day.
“It’s awesome to see everybody,” Cath says, then adds with a chuckle, “but you don’t get time to have a chat. People say ‘I know you. You gave me an injection.’ I say, ‘I’ve seen your arm’.”
Setting yourself up
Vaccinations have also increased massively because of the pandemic.
As it drives more people to work from home, Cath hopes they remember how to set up their workstations to avoid pain and that resolving pain might not be solely about changing the height of a monitor but pushing back on demanding jobs to take make time to move around more.
She has also discovered over the years that gentle questions about physical pain can reveal a wider emotional pain is causing the tension, including problems at home or work – “it can be multifactorial. Other things happening can reflect in someone having a sore neck.”
When Cath started at Otago, staff sat at wooden desks and used chairs with fixed metal legs, so she spent a fair chunk of the first few years setting up workstations correctly. She has seen trends flow through, from flat computer screens to multiple screens, and corner desks to standing desks.
“None of it is a magic pill. It’s about making things comfortable then having a management plan going forward,” she says.
Home v work
When working from home, that includes being wary of how easy it is to keep checking emails rather than switching off, because the boundaries between work and home can get fuzzy.
And when people no long need to work from home, Cath would like to remind them how good it is to actually go to their workplace, see other people and create space from home: “It’s good for your mental health. Meeting your colleagues on Zoom just doesn’t do it.”
Hard times
The hardest times for Cath have been supporting staff when they are unhappy in their role or distressed by interpersonal issues that have become entrenched – she could often see both points of view but untangling the conflict and moving to a solution was fraught.
Sudden deaths of staff have also been tough: “It’s so hard to fathom isn’t it? Whether its medical or an accident, it’s just really hard for staff. It’s a-day-at-a-time stuff,” she says.
“I also think people need to remember anniversaries can be really important. People still need support and sometimes it’s just being there.”
Wider support
Cath is grateful the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) started about the same time she did.
It has been “really fantastic” to have the option of referring staff to a confidential service they do not pay for which can help them manage all aspects of their life – physical, mental, social, and financial.
EAP is particularly good for helping staff avoid the pitfalls of continually bringing up home problems at work and vice-versa, because it gives them an independent place to discuss the issues.
Cath’s always advises staff feeling overwhelmed by a work problem not to overburden their home life by continuously venting – “I say to people, ‘turn the oven timer on for 10 minutes and once that’s done, it’s finished’”.
“If things aren’t going well, people keep regurgitating and thinking, and over thinking. One of my favourite sayings is ‘we can’t change history, we can look forward”.
Not Cath
Sometimes staff out and about on campus have approached Cath only to find out it is not actually her, it is her identical twin sister Barbara Logan, a research technician in the Department of Psychology.
When staff wave and call out their name, both sisters reply with a smile even if it’s the wrong name and they do not know the person, it’s easier that way. Some staff go years without knowing there are two of them, but when a conversation breaks out, Cath or Barbara let people know.
Cath has retired to a home she shares with Barbara, “we’re good mates”. Barbara is already working part-time and will be retiring about June.
Cath’s support
At work, Cath has found support purely by being in the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Office. “We’ve got a really nice, good team atmosphere here and we’ve got some good banter in the team – it keeps everyone going.”
Dr John Heydon has also been an invaluable source of knowledge and support, while Health, Safety and Wellbeing Office Director Andrea McMillan has had the vision and driving force to focus people on our University’s legal responsibilities for health and safety.
Because a lot of Cath’s work has been responsive, going where staff need her – including to our other campuses – having two Occupational Health Nurses for the past four years has “made life a lot easier. Prior to that, it was predominantly me on my own”.
“Judy Currie has been great support since she started and took over the reins when I was sick. Leisa Barron and Chris O’Sullivan are the new occupational health nurses.”
Adding Occupational Mental Health and Wellbeing Advisor Carina Perner to the team five years ago has also made a significant difference, particularly in increasing understanding of mental health issues and how to support people facing challenges.
Parting thoughts
As Cath leaves, she hopes everyone remembers “people do need respect and dignity”.
“I think it’s important for people to be able to stand tall, and if things aren’t going well, that they know where to go. How people are treated makes such a difference to their health,” Cath says.
