Fall 2026 Well-Being Days
About well-being days
What are well-being days?
For 2026, three well-being days will be observed during Fall Break in addition to the designated holidays of Nov. 23 – 25. This will give faculty and staff without essential duties the entire week off. The well-being days are Nov. 23 through Nov. 25.
These days are designed to provide individual employees time to unplug from work and recharge. Taking time off is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life integration and we are happy to provide this opportunity to our employees. These well-being days reflect what have been called Professional Development Days in previous years.
Will offices close during the fall well-being days? Most offices are expected to close or adjust hours as appropriate in observance of well-being days. In instances when a unit provides essential services and employees are required to work during these days, managers are expected to schedule alternate well-being days prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Who can participate
Who is eligible to participate in the well-being days?
Individuals in most ‘regular’ employee types (including faculty, state classified, administrative professional, postdoctoral fellow, and graduate assistant) who are actively at work when well-being days are observed are eligible to participate.
Non-student hourly and student employees are not eligible for leave and should consult with their supervisors to determine if they are required to work on observed well-being days.
Are administrative professional hourly and state classified hourly employees eligible?
Given the advance notice of scheduled closures for most offices, hourly employees would not typically be expected to work on well-being days and would not, therefore, receive leave on those days. If required to work on a well-being day, both state classified and administrative professional employees should be granted alternate well-being days (equal to the hours worked on the observed dates) prior to the end of the fiscal year.
If an administrative professional or state classified hourly employee is considered essential for business during the Fall Break and unable to take the well-being days as observed, they are eligible for ‘well-being admin leave’ equivalent to the number of hours worked on the designated dates to use at a later time.
Administrative professionals or state classified hourly employees who are not scheduled to work on these designated days are not eligible to participate.
What if the governor grants governor’s holiday(s) either during fall break or later this year? CSU designates well-being days for the three days of fall break immediately preceding the official CSU holidays to provide a full week of time away for most faculty and staff. If the governor grants additional holiday(s) to be observed on or before December 31, 2026, the university will observe those days in place of one or more of the planned well-being days. If that occurs, further communication will be shared with the university at the time those are announced.
If I am on FAMLI, am I eligible for the well-being days? If you are using FAMLI leave in increments of less than one week, the well-being days will not count against your FAMLI entitlement and you will not receive FAMLI wage replacement benefits for that time; you will receive the well-being leave.
If you are on continuous FAMLI leave for the full week, you will receive FAMLI wage replacement benefits and the well-being days will count towards your FAMLI entitlement; you will not receive the well-being leave and they will not be available to use at a later time.
Leave, entering leave codes, Workday
How will time off be reflected in Workday?
For salaried employees, Human Resources will create already-approved “Well-Being Day” entries according to the employee’s full-time equivalent:
- 8 hours each day for a 40 hour work week employee
- 6 hours each day for a 30 hour workweek employee, etc.
Workday department human resources users are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of those entries, particularly if the employee’s full-time equivalent changes prior to the actual date of the designated well-being days, if they work an alternative schedule, or if they will be working on the scheduled well-being days.
Human Resources can edit and add hours, or delete them entirely. Well-Being Day accruals and taken entries will be created in November.
If you are a absence partner for a department that cannot be closed all of fall break, please create a Workday ticket directed to the Benefits team. These departments’ employees will see their well-being leave accruals on July 1 and can use the leave at any approved time through June 30, 2027. Well-Being Days can be requested and approved through Workday.
I have already submitted a leave day that coincides with scheduled well-being days. Can I participate in these well-being days instead of taking my leave?
If an employee wants to participate in these specified well-being days, it is permissible to rescind their leave request.
Will payroll deadlines be impacted?
No, payroll deadlines will not be impacted for 2026.
Alternatives for employees who cannot observe well-being days
I am an employee with essential or critical duties. I cannot participate in the scheduled time off for well-being days. What are my options?
Employees with essential duties who are unable to take well-being days during the week of Fall Break should coordinate with their supervisor to schedule their well-being days before June 30.
If an employee works on one or more scheduled well-being days, time must be recorded in Workday for the dates actually observed.
Employees can request alternate time off through Workday (as “Well Being Day”). These days do not need to be taken consecutively.
These well-being days are not eligible for payout or rollover at the end of the fiscal year.
My role and department are not considered essential and we are planning to work during these days; is this allowable?
Talk with your supervisor to determine if your role is required to support the university on the designated well-being days. If there is a business need requiring you to work these days, consult with your supervisor to identify future dates for you to observe the equivalent of well-being days during this fiscal year, which is from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
If the business need does not dictate your role is essential on the designated well-being days and you are being asked to work, you may consult with your unit’s human resources representative to determine options.
CEMML & CNHP Employees
Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) and Colorado National Heritage Program (CNHP) employees follow their own floating well-being days program.
The ‘floating’ well-being days can be used any time before June 30, 2026 (any well-being leave remaining will expire on that day and will no longer be usable nor be paid out). Well-being days do not have to be taken concurrently (employees can take 1 to 3 or all 3 days off at a time) but the leave must be taken in full-day increments.
For CEMML and CNHP employees, the days must be scheduled with the onsite supervisor and approved by the PI of the award in advance.
Well-being days are designed to provide CEMML and CNHP staff the benefit of additional time off, as other university employees are afforded, while at the same time allowing for flexibility in when those days are observed.