Ask SLT

“Ask John” is now “Ask SLT,” and IT staff are invited to anonymously share a question, challenge, or opportunity with IT’s Senior Leadership Team. Responses to recently submitted questions appear below:

Hi John! I haven’t worked *in* the office since lockdown first began over three years ago. I want to come back. I know this might sounds insignificant to many people, but the lack of gender-neutral restrooms is my biggest (only, really) roadblock. I know there’s one in the lobby, but it’s really far from our workspace and also always in use. Is there any chance of updated restrooms as part of our workspace modernization project? It would be a huge game changer for a handful of us. 

As you mention, one gender-neutral bathroom is available at 25 Science Park in the lobby. We appreciate that this is inconvenient, and we have contacted Facilities and Human Resources colleagues to discuss the request for additional gender-neutral bathrooms. It is important that you feel welcome and included, and we will work through building management to understand how this request fits into the overall design requirements for the building. In the interim, please contact your Human Resources Generalist to receive additional support with this concern. 

I was recently hired <1 year, and feel like I am still missing certain things that happen in ITS. A recent example being that my boss has to constantly forward calendar invites that come from high-up in ITS. The first few months that this happened it was okay, but as it continues it has created a sense of being unwanted at and unwelcome to these meetings, especially when co-workers at the same position receive those emails.

Thanks for sharing your feedback. To address this concern, processes, and handoffs between recruiting, human resources, and team administration have been adjusted to capture all incoming staff better and align them to the appropriate distribution lists. If you have any concerns, please raise them through your manager to ensure we get it right. Distribution list management and Microsoft Teams permissions continue to be challenging given all the different groups, teams, and projects, so please speak up if something seems amiss.