UW Tacoma telework guidance - clarifying expectations

We understand there may still be some confusion related to current telework expectations. Hopefully the following will help provide further clarification:

• Offices are expected to be open and adequately staffed for in-person services Monday through Friday during regular business hours. Information about office hours and access should be available on department websites and clearly posted at office entrances.
  
   
• It is particularly important for student-facing positions to be on campus and available in order to support student success. With more students on campus, we will need more staff available in-person to ensure students are adequately served.
  
   
• We are moving away from a blanket, campus-wide, telework schedule and back to pre-COVID expectations where telework requests are considered on an individual basis while ensuring appropriate office coverage in order to serve students and meet business needs.
  
   
• As we transition back to more individualized telework agreements, for this academic year telework-eligible staff are currently permitted to work from home one day per week across all telework-eligible positions on campus, utilizing the appropriate telework agreement form and following the approval process in the telework policy. Other telework agreements that vary from the one-day-per-week work-from-home schedule are also allowable if approved by the individual's supervisor and Vice Chancellor, as long as those agreements are in accordance with the first three bullets, above.
  
   
• Following this academic year, telework requests will be considered on an individual basis and hybrid telework agreements must be approved by the individual's supervisor and Vice Chancellor. There may be individual telework agreements that allow for more than one day of telework per week, and there may also be situations where telework is not approved because it will impact the ability of the unit to adequately serve students and meet business needs.
  
   
• Determinations related to telework requests should be made in a consistent, fair and transparent way that prioritizes equity and employee engagement.
  
   
• As stated previously, Library staff will continue to operate per UW Libraries agreements and expectations.

I wish you all a great start to the new quarter!