(Radio Iowa) – Studies find ten-percent of us feel like we have -no- friends at work, while 70-percent say workplace friendships are crucial to their overall happiness. University of Iowa researchers are studying the importance of our work relationships and how to improve them, especially post-pandemic. Beth Livingston, a U-I professor of management and entrepreneurship, says we all feel the need to connect with others, particularly if we’re spending eight, ten or 12-hours a day at work. “When we don’t feel like we can connect with other people in our workplace, it leaves us with a kind of gaping hole in terms of our connection with other people,” Livingston says, “and that is especially true for people who may not have those extended connections outside of work, and so connecting with other people at work becomes increasingly important.”

These connections were key before COVID-19, but it’s even more vital now as so many people who began working from home during the pandemic have made the change permanent. “I have not run across a company yet who is not concerned about the wellbeing of their employees and the burnout that so many employees are talking about now,” Livingston says. “The social affiliation and connection can really fill your cup. It can make you feel more energized. It can provide you a sense of connection and meaning in the workplace.”

Workers who feel friendless and isolated may be more likely to quit, she says, further contributing to the continued plague of turnover. Livingston says Iowans can make it a goal to seek out new friendships at work. “You don’t have to wait and be passive recipients of connections. You can go out and say, ‘I’m going to ask people about their lives,'” Livingston says. “‘I’m going to take notes and remember things about them. I’m going to try to strike up conversations that demonstrate that I have an interest in who they are and what they’re doing.’ And you can practice those things. They are skills that you can do.”

Studies find people with plenty of friendly social connections at work tend to be more engaged, they’ll produce higher quality work, and they’re less likely to quit. Employers are taking note, she says, as the company can save money by not having to hire and train new people.  “A lot of times I think people feel like, ‘Well, I’m just not a good people person, I’m not someone who is naturally able to connect,’ and the good news is, those are absolutely things that you can practice and plan to do better.”

Livingston calls loneliness a “critical social issue,” as loneliness is linked to an increased likelihood of depression, it impacts mortality rates, and it can erode physical and mental well-being.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that’s expected to offer child care assistance to more Iowans. It raises the income limit for families to qualify and increases government payments to facilities that care for the kids from those families. Reynolds says it’s been about 15 years since the state raised the income limit for state child care assistance. Parents have had to work at least 28 hours a week to qualify, but the new law raises that to 32 hours a week.

“It’s just minimal and I think we’re just really doing whatever we can to really help families, but to encourage them,” Reynolds says. “We have such a workforce shortage in the state of Iowa.” Tammy McNeil is the owner and director of Childcare Discovery Center in Fort Dodge, where Reynolds signed the bill into law. She says the higher payments to providers will help her center a lot, as the parents of nearly half the kids are getting government-funded child care assistance.

“I have been in child care for almost 40 years and to watch it slowly crumble has been heartbreaking,” she said. “Thank you for recognizing the importance of child care and working directly with us to address our concerns and take action.” Reynolds was surrounded by children enrolled in McNeil’s center as she signed the bill into law.

The Legislative Services Agency estimates nearly 27-hundred more children will be enrolled in the state’s child care assistance program due to the hike in income eligibility for parents.

(Reporting by Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – A southeast Iowa city has hired an independent law firm to investigate its fire department. Ottumwa’s City Council unanimously approved the hiring of Des Moines-based Dentons Davis Brown PC in a closed session. The session was held to review possible personnel concerns within the Ottumwa Fire Department.

City officials did not discuss any reasons why the fire department has fallen under scrutiny, however, Ottumwa Mayor Rick Johnson did mention two firefighters are on paid administrative leave and will remain so for the duration of the investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – A woman pulled from a burning garage in Cedar Rapids early this (Thursday) morning has died. According to the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, the garage was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, but due the intensity of the fire and a high level of debris in the garage, it took several minutes for firefighters to get inside and find the trapped woman. She was treated at the scene, then transferred to a hospital, but did not survive. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

A woman died in this Cedar Rapids garage fire. (CRFD photo)

(Radio Iowa) – State officials say more than three-thousand Iowans are on track to lose their Medicaid coverage by June 1st. During the pandemic, the state was forbidden from dis-enrolling anyone from Medicaid except in limited circumstances. That rule ended last month, which is when Iowa Health and Human Services officials started mailing out Medicaid eligibility re-determination forms. State Medicaid Director Elizabeth Matney says the state is trying multiple approaches to reach people.

“We’re following up via phone, phone call, text message,” Matney says, “and in some circumstances, especially for more vulnerable populations we are going out and knocking door to door.” About half of the forms have not yet been returned. Matney says that may be because the state is first targeting members who are most likely to no longer qualify.

“When we did a look at the 150,000-ish that we had flagged for maintaining eligibility due to the public health emergency, over 100,000 of those have other health insurance,” she says. State officials expect this Medicaid unwinding process to take about a year.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)