From Melody's Desk

Dear Team,

As vaccines are becoming prevalent, I wanted to pass along initial guidance regarding remote vs. in-person work with UVAFinance, with a focus over the summer months. While we are still waiting for official UVA guidance, we expect flexibility will be provided to departments and schools to determine the best way forward.

We know that some employees have really grown to like remote work, while others are eager to return back to “normal” and in-person interactions. We know that there are some great benefits to remote work (no commute!), but we aren’t clear on the long-term impact on effective onboarding, mentoring, professional development, and employee satisfaction. 

Check it out:  Melody recorded a video version of this edition of From Melody's Desk!

For years it has been reported on Gallup surveys that the happiest employees have a “best friend” at work. How does that shift when random interactions in the hallway, the pre-and post-meeting conversations in Carr-1 and Carr-2, grabbing lunch or coffee at Greenberry’s or Zoe’s are gone and it is harder to make those connections? How do we replace impromptu brainstorming sessions? Do we need to? 

The work with Bird Guess and the Racial Equity Group has helped us to understand the positive impact that working, talking with, having lunch with a diverse group of work colleagues can have in improving racial equity. How will a more long-term shift to more remote work impact the racial equity efforts that we are working hard to advance?

Since many of these questions remain unresolved, I do see that our initial approach for this summer and the next year as an ongoing experiment to make sure that we strike the right balance. For now, this is the approach we will take (click to read more after the jump):

1. We will extend telework agreements through Aug 31 for anyone who desires to work from home for the summer, understanding there will be childcare needs until school resumes in August. We are still determining the best way to do this formally, but for now, consider it informally in place.

2. We will work with anyone ready to return to the office, for the summer, on a full or part-time basis. As a reminder of University guidance regarding vaccines and masking/social distancing: for vaccinated individuals (including contractors), restrictions have been lifted. However, for those who are not vaccinated and on-grounds, masking/distancing restrictions will still be in force; unvaccinated employees who come on-grounds will be required to document their vaccination in Workday and take weekly saliva testing. To come back to Grounds, just let your manager know so that we can coordinate with the Business Services group on the return. We do miss your smiling faces. :-)

3. We will continue to offer remote options for all meetings at least through the summer, but will begin to have in-person options as well. Zoom will be the meeting standard for hybrid meetings, as the Carruthers Hall conference rooms have been set up as Zoom rooms. Thanks to the Business Services team on this!

4. We are working on a building access plan as well.

We will continue to develop a plan for fall and beyond. This will likely be determined on a case-by-case basis, related to work requirements and assignments. While the past year of remote work has been unavoidable and emergency response to the pandemic, ongoing remote work will include standards and requirements that weren’t in place during the pandemic/emergency remote work situation. For example, remote work will likely require the following in order to have consistent availability and engagement between those who are remote and those who are in the office:

a. If an employee is working remotely for a majority of the time, the office space on grounds will be hoteling. There will need to be a conversion of some current office space and, perhaps, a reservation system.

b. Stable, reliable, and secure internet access is a job requirement for us all. If there are consistent issues with internet reliability that do not allow an employee to fully engage and work, there may be an expectation that the primary place of work is on-grounds. If there is a temporary internet issue, there would be an expectation that the employee can find a place with secure and stable service (in Carruthers, etc. ) or take a vacation day

c. For a full-time employee, it is not possible to also be a full-time caregiver.

d. For hybrid meetings, employees will have cameras on and be visibly engaged in meetings. This is similar to if you were in person attending a meeting in a conference room.

e. Zoom will be the standard tool for meetings of more than 2 people to provide flexibility of hybrid meetings, utilizing our Carruthers conference rooms.

f. MSTeams should be up and running for a response unless an employee is at lunch or on a break. This is similar to being available in your office for someone to stop by to ask a quick question. MSTeams can also be used for 1:1 meetings if preferred.

g. Outlook Calendar will be the standard for indicating in/out of office, in meeting/unavailable, etc. Calendar details should be available to office colleagues, but you can always use the “private” function for personal meetings.

h. While an employee is away from the office, his/her office phone should be forwarded to a phone (cell, home, or other) that you will access regularly while working off-site.

i. While remote work can provide greater flexibility on standard working hours, significant deviations from the normal workday should be discussed and approved by the manager.

j. There may be occasional all-hands meetings, retreats, or celebrations where we ask employees to attend in person. Some departments may establish a regular in-person meeting schedule.

We will continue to learn and adapt to a new working environment, so these initial items may be adjusted, improved, or supplemented. This and other guidance (such as the provision of University purchased and owned equipment) will be further adjusted as more is distributed by UVA HR.

I hope this information is helpful as we move back to “normal.” Again – I am so in awe of and appreciative of every adjustment and flexibility that each of you has endured over this past year. THANK YOU!!! and I hope to see you all soon!

Best,