Fall 2022 hybrid work policy for FAS staff

Thursday, August 4, 2022

August 4, 2022

[Summary: This message outlines policies and guidance regarding hybrid work for staff in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. This guidance is in effect August 1, 2022 - December 22, 2022. Guidance for the spring 2023 term will be provided prior to the winter recess.]

To: FAS Staff
cc: FAS Steering, FAS Dean’s Office, FAS Department and Program Chairs

Dear colleagues:

We are grateful to each staff member in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for your dedicated work during the past two and a half years. You have made it possible for research and teaching to continue during unpredictable and challenging times.

As the pandemic comes under better control, we are adjusting work arrangements accordingly. We wrote to the faculty earlier this summer to emphasize that the shared pursuit of knowledge and exchange of ideas are central to the mission of the university. At Yale, teaching and learning take place primarily through in-person, direct encounters among faculty and students. The work of staff who support the academic mission likewise benefits from in-person interaction wherever possible. At the same time, as indicated in the policies announced last month by Vice President for Human Resources John Whelan, we wish to maintain some of the flexible practices that have been made possible by innovative uses of technology.

Rationale and process

The goal of the policies outlined here is to generate a greater sense of belonging through face-to-face interactions and to provide a more meaningful in-person university education while acknowledging much has been accomplished with hybrid work arrangements.

As outlined on the new Work Models at Yale website, the University has established minimum on-campus presence requirements for staff members and has outlined parameters for FlexTime and FlexPlace arrangements that can be implemented at the discretion of the Deans of each school. For the FAS, here are the guidelines the FAS will follow for the Fall 2022 term:

Guidance for FAS department staff for the Fall 2022 semester

  • Staff are expected to have a minimum on-campus presence of 3 days per week by September 1, 2022.
  • Note that some staff will need to be on-campus 5 days per week based on the nature of their work and the needs of their unit.
  • If an individual has received approval to work from campus offices for fewer than 3 days a week they can expect to be asked to share an on-campus office or desk.
  • All offices must be open 5 days per week. Staff members who are not working from their campus offices should arrange to have their phone calls or voicemails forwarded so that they may be answered during normal business hours. This can be accomplished by either forwarding calls to a phone at their off-site work location or setting up voicemail to email forwarding so that voicemails received on a staff member’s office phone are also sent to their email. Instructions for forwarding voicemail to email are available on the ITS website.
  • Staff who are not working on campus must be available during their regularly scheduled hours, must provide suitable facilities from which to conduct their work, and should be “office ready” (e.g., on-camera for virtual meetings as requested). Staff are responsible for maintaining an off-campus workspace in a safe, professional, and secure manner with sufficient internet access to effectively perform their work. Instructions for assessing the quality of home internet connections are available on the ITS website.
  • Staff on a hybrid schedule may be asked to come to campus for meetings or events on days when they are not regularly scheduled to be on campus. Managers should try to provide as much notice as possible so staff can make suitable arrangements. Staff members are responsible for the costs associated with their travel to and from campus.
  • The University will fund, upon request, an additional technology set-up for hybrid staff. Staff can have a total of 2 monitors, a docking station, headset, webcam (if needed) and a keyboard/mouse in both locations. Staff may request equipment by contacting their business office.
  • Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the FAS Dean’s office.
  • The policies outlined above do not supersede any individual accommodations that may have been granted through the Office of Institutional Equity & Accessibility (OIEA). Information on the Accommodation Program for Employees with Disabilities is available on the OIEA website.

Looking ahead

The guidance outlined above is in effect for the Fall 2022 term. In December 2022, we will review these policies. As the university’s needs and the public health situation continue to change, we may alter our current guidance for hybrid schedules. We will provide guidance for the spring 2023 semester prior to the winter recess.

Closing thoughts

Thank you for all that you do for our departments and programs, our faculty, and our students. We are looking forward to joining all of you on campus this fall and to continuing to work together to foster teaching, research, and the pursuit of new knowledge.

Tamar, Mary, and Cathy

Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Mary Magri
Senior Director of Financial Operations, FAS

Cathy Vellucci
Senior Director of Business Operations, FAS