As we quickly approach a more normal fall semester, various units have begun to bring faculty and staff who have worked partially or fully remotely back to campuses. While the pandemic created a need for most faculty and staff to work remotely for the past 15 months, with more students returning to our campus locations this fall, we will need to redensify faculty and staff on our campuses to better meet student needs.
At the same time, planning unit leaders are embracing flexible workplace options in a variety of functional areas, and University stakeholders are reviewing the concept of flexible work as part of a larger Flexible Workplace Project , embracing a model for the future Ohio University workplace that enables more flexibility, adapts to evolving team and University needs, and optimizes collaborative work.
“Some early adopter groups are moving to more streamlined offices this summer, with more collaborative work spaces and opportunities for remote work or work in spaces distributed across campus,” Chief Strategy and Information Officer Brad Cohen said. “These early adopter groups have studied University operations, student needs, and national employment trends to better support productivity and work satisfaction of our employees. Our first priority is to ensure a quality educational experience for all OHIO students.”
The Flexible Workplace Project teams are exploring necessary policy changes, legal and tax implications, space design and access, technology, budget implications and more with plans to finalize recommendations by Oct. 1, 2021.
As that project continues, planning unit leaders are working with University Human Resources to embrace workplace flexibility in appropriate areas. University Human Resources has provided an online portal , including policies, guidelines, and tools to help employees and supervisors better manage flex arrangements.
“We have always offered options for managers to provide flexibility for OHIO employees, recognizing the positive impact flexibility in the workplace has on recruitment, retention, morale, engagement, and productivity,” Chief Human Resource Officer Colleen Bendl said. “It is important for staff moving forward to work with their supervisors to understand expectations related to work schedules.”
Staff and faculty who have questions about their particular unit’s re-densification plan should reach out to their supervisor. Unit and division leaders who need guidance about providing flexible work options should reach out to their HR liaison.