Work arrangements to stay the course through the academic year

Dear Colleagues,

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff members have worked tirelessly to keep Yale University operating smoothly. Many of you have been working full-time on campus supporting our academic, research, and clinical operations, feeding, teaching, and protecting our students, and maintaining our buildings and property, among other critically important activities.

Other staff members performed their work from home for much of the pandemic, and many more have split their workdays between campus and home, particularly after October 4, 2021. We continue to be grateful for the heroic efforts and flexibility of our staff during this unprecedented time.

Guidance until June 30, 2022

We are nearing the completion of a highly successful fall term as faculty resumed in-classroom teaching, and many academic and administrative functions returned to campus. Given this positive outlook balanced with the continuing need for pandemic-related practices and policies, we will continue the workplace guidance that we have been following since October 4, 2021, until the end of the academic year in June 2022.

Staff currently coming to campus should continue their on-campus work arrangements. Thank you for your continued service to the university in this capacity.
Staff working currently in “hybrid” work arrangements should expect to continue through the end of the academic year in June 2022. As a reminder, these work arrangements require staff working remotely to return to campus at least two days per week.
Requests for ongoing 100% remote work based on specific criteria such as the nature of the work, unique skills required, technology considerations, and competitive market dynamics should continue to be reviewed by the committee on the “Future of Work at Yale,” led by Vice President for Human Resources John Whelan. As a reminder, the number of teams and roles approved for 100% remote work will be based on a unit’s needs, not individual employee preferences.

Vice presidents, deans, directors, or their designees will continue to determine the most appropriate work schedules for their staff members to meet their operational needs and should adjust their unit’s organizational needs as appropriate as conditions evolve.

Guidance for July 1, 2022, and beyond

It has become clear that Yale’s staff workforce does not require a “one-size-fits-all” approach to how, when, and where we perform our work. As a result, we will focus on supporting Yale’s missions through an approach we refer to as “excellence with flexibility.”

With excellence and flexibility, we can create a vital and engaged community for our students, scholars, and visitors, manage operations, and support our home community.

There is much more work ahead and lessons to be learned from your experiences as staff members and managers. In the months ahead, Human Resources will be sharing tools and guidance to help employees and supervisors work effectively in the work arrangements they implement for their teams. The University and Local 34 will bargain the terms and conditions for long-term hybrid work arrangements for Clerical & Technical staff members.

Based on the varying responsibilities and operational needs of units and departments throughout the university, we envision staff work arrangements will generally fall into four categories:

Fully on-campus: These positions require a physical presence on campus to perform their work. Clinical affairs, hospitality, security and police, and maintenance positions are some examples of this category of work.
Hybrid (steady schedule): These positions maintain a consistent balance of on-campus and remote work throughout the year.
Hybrid (tailored/seasonal): These positions have schedules that fluctuate based on the nature of their work and the time of the year. Examples may include student facing roles.
Largely remote: These positions only work on campus occasionally and require approval in advance based on unique aspects of the work.

Over the coming months, Human Resources will partner with deans, VPs, and managers to review current work arrangements and determine the most appropriate schedules for their staff members in advance of July 1, 2022.

Parking

We are pleased to announce that the university will continue to forgo parking charges through June 2022 for all faculty and staff who use on-campus parking. We anticipate resuming parking fees with the start of the new academic year in July 2022.

Thank you for your steadfast dedication during these challenging times. We will continue to work together to ensure that the future of work at Yale strikes the right balance between excellence and flexibility.

Sincerely,

Jack Callahan Jr., Senior Vice President for Operations
John Whelan, Vice President for Human Resources