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Having a hybrid work option is very important to staff.

91% of staff rated having a regular hybrid work option as very or extremely important, even among those not currently working from home.

Among those who don’t currently work from home (but whose role doesn’t preclude it), 36% still said the option was very or extremely important. Among those working one day a week at home, it’s 87%, and 96% among those working 2–4 days a week from home.

Flexibility is slightly more important than a fixed hybrid schedule.

Staff want the ability to adapt their work location to their needs, even more than a consistent hybrid pattern.

83% of respondents rate the flexibility to work from home when needed as “extremely important” and 14% as “very important.” Even among those who said zero regular in-office days was “very ideal” for them, this flexibility is still highly valued, with only 4% saying it was “not important” and 39% rating it “extremely important.”

Most staff members would be happy with a 3/2 hybrid arrangement.

Staff overwhelmingly prefer three or two days at home each week, with three days being the clear favourite. In contrast, a one-day-at-home model is unlikely to meet most staff members’ needs or expectations.

• Three days at home was the most preferred option, with 47% rating it as “very ideal,” 25% rating it “somewhat ideal,” and only 20% saying it was “not ideal”—the lowest “not ideal” ratings of all the options.
• Two days at home also had strong support, with 31% rating it “very ideal” and 30% “somewhat ideal.”
• More than half (56%) said only one day a week at home was “not ideal,” and just 9% rated one day at home as “very ideal.”
• Only 2% preferred zero days at home.

While a quarter of respondents said five days at home was “very ideal,” the vast majority of that group also expressed strong support for four or three days—indicating flexibility and openness to compromise.

Staff views are shaped by lived experience and thoughtful reflection—not resistance to change.

Many staff have spent the past five years learning how and where they work best. Their feedback reflects a deep understanding of how work environments affect their wellbeing, energy, and productivity—not just for themselves, but for their teams and the University as a whole.

Respondents emphasized that hybrid work has helped them align their work habits with their personal needs and values, leading to better outcomes across the board.

• “Having the autonomy to choose the work location that best suits my tasks and energy levels affects me positively. It’s literally changed my life by improving my wellbeing and increasing my positive feelings about myself. I learned so much about myself during lockdown, and I won’t ignore my wellbeing again.”
• “The pandemic gave me the opportunity to reevaluate my ideal work-life balance. While it's manageable to come into the office more days a week, I find it disruptive to the new balance I've established for myself in my personal life.”
• "I feel more drained after an in-office day than a WFH day. I am so appreciative of the ability to work from home, I honestly don't know if I would be able to go into the office every day."

These reflections underscore that hybrid work is not just a preference—it’s a deliberate, informed choice that supports sustainable performance and personal wellbeing.

Supporting staff autonomy could be a much-needed morale boost.

Autonomy is a low-cost, high-impact morale booster. In a time of budget constraints, preserving flexibility in response to staff feedback may be one of the most effective ways to improve satisfaction and wellbeing. An approach that empowers employees can provide a win on many levels for both staff and the University.

Our 2024 Member Survey showed that members who have a say in their work location arrangements (473 respondents) are:

• Almost three times as likely to be satisfied with those arrangements.
• About twice as likely to say they feel valued at work, productive in their job, or supported by their direct supervisor.
• Significantly more satisfied with their salary: 16% said they strongly agree that they are satisfied with their salary and 36% said they agree, vs 5.2% (strongly agree) and 20.9% (agree) of those without a say in work location.
• Significantly more likely to feel empowered to make or propose improvements at work (83% agree/strongly agree vs 50%).

In this survey, 157 of 776 comments mention morale, job satisfaction, or respect, and 66 comments speculate about resignations (their own or others’) if work-from-home options are further limited.

• “With limited offerings in terms of raises and promotions due to the budget deficit, year after year the highest positive from employee survey responses has been work flexibility. Take that away, and you’ll be taking away the most positive part of working at ��ݮ��Ƶ, and the outcome will be great people leaving.”
• “Studies have shown that autonomy plays a significant role in determining job satisfaction – some find it’s even more important than money.Give each staff member as much flexibility as possible to choose when they work from home. And ensure that managers are forthright and honest about the reasons that autonomy may need to be limited. With the current budget crisis, autonomy may be what saves UW.”
• “Mandating an increased return to [on-campus] work clearly demonstrates that the university does not care about their employees and their wellbeing.”
• “Makes me feel the institution doesn't value our perspective by not having open discussions around WFH home policy changes at a time when morale is very low.”
• “We are asked to do more with less – why put more pressure on us? Having NO work from home days creates the assumption that we cannot be trusted and must be micromanaged. Community/collaboration can still be accomplished the other three days a week. Why backtrack to a pre-covid world – aren't we an innovative school?”

Work-life balance is paramount.

Work–life balance is the top reason staff value hybrid work—and it underpins nearly every other factor.It was the highest-ranked factor in the survey, followed closely by time savings, flexible scheduling, mental health benefits, and managing personal energy—all of which are deeply interconnected with work–life balance.

This theme was echoed in the comments: two-thirds (512 of 776) mentioned health or wellbeing, 221 specifically referencing mental health. Staff described how hybrid work helps them manage daily responsibilities, reduce stress, and preserve energy for both work and life outside of it.

These findings align with research—including from ��ݮ��Ƶ’s own Work-Learn Institute—showing that employees are no longer willing to sacrifice personal wellbeing for professional expectations. A in the Journal of Organizational Behavior reinforces this, concluding that life satisfaction has a stronger effect on job satisfaction than the reverse—and that investing in employee wellbeing is essential to workplace satisfaction.

• “I highly value my work-from-home days because they allow me to balance other responsibilities… I get to spend my weekends doing things to unwind and relax rather than cramming all my chores into two short days off.”

• “I will maintain my work-life balance and mental health by any means necessary.”
• “As a working parent, hybrid work options and flexibility are so important for my mental health and our family life. Just because others have made do historically, going into the office every day, does not mean it should be kept as the norm.”
• “It will be difficult to attend my kids' sports after school as I'll have to commute to and from the office.”
• “The ability to schedule doctor's appointments during my lunch hour is very important to me and would negatively impact me if we returned fully to office because it would no longer be feasible.”

In our 2024 Members Survey, 14% of respondents identified work–life balance or lack of flexibility as their biggest workplace challenge, reinforcing the urgency of this issue.

Time and money are major factors.

Time savings is one of the strongest drivers of support for hybrid work. It was the second-highest-ranked factor in the survey and the most common theme in written comments, with 295 responses emphasizing how reduced commuting improves work-life balance, wellbeing, and overall job satisfaction.

Research reminds us that, for employees, commuting time is part of the workday—so there must be good justification for making the workday longer with no added output. Many comments particularly highlighted the negative impact on personal wellbeing and family life of a lengthy commute—these factors are strongly interconnected.

Cost concerns also emerged clearly, with around 100 comments referencing the financial burden of commuting, parking, and childcare. While caregiving was not a highly ranked factor overall, when mentioned, it was closely tied to the cost and logistical challenges of before- and after-school care—issues that hybrid work helps mitigate. Before- and after-school care can cost around $6,000 or more a year for each child.

• “WFH has allowed me enough time to balance my life outside of work because of the amount of time I’m able to save on transportation.”
• “I don’t think people who are in the higher pay grades actually realize how much we’re struggling in the lower pay grades and how much being able to work from home helps in cost savings.”
• “I enjoy connecting with my colleagues but have found that I am my best self with more time for myself, my family and my physical health rather than spending it commuting.”
• “I will no longer be able to keep up with the exhaustion of commuting. I take transit and the hour-and-20-minute commute there and back extends my day significantly. Getting up at 5:30am every morning to make it in for 8:30am sounds like a nightmare. And getting home at 6:30pm every evening would have a significant impact on my family life with my partner and children.”
• “I would likely have to put my kids back into before school care at $35/day per child, which does matter when life is more expensive and our raises are minimal currently and for the foreseeable future."

Staff value both connection and concentration—and hybrid work helps achieve that balance.

While 82% of respondents said in-person time with coworkers is at least somewhat important, only 38% rated it as “very” or “extremely” important. Among those who value in-person time, the top reasons were team bonding and social connection—not productivity or meeting efficiency.

At the same time, productivity was the third-most common theme in survey comments, with 282 responses highlighting concerns about reduced productivity if at-home days are cut. Staff emphasized the importance of being able to focus without distractions and to control their work environment—conditions many often find easier to achieve at home.

Many respondents noted that working from home a few days a week actually improves their in-office experience, allowing them to be more present, collaborative, and energized when on campus.

• “I’m glad that I’m given the flexibility to work from home when I need to so that I can “recharge” my social batteries and bring my best self to my work every day.”

• “I spent the first year of my job working almost entirely in-person and got burned out, but once I started to use the WFH days available, I felt more ready and present when going into the office since I could strategically plan my workload each day.”

• “Working from home several days per week makes me more eager to see my co-workers and find ways to collaborate and connect on my in-office days.”

• “Weeks where I work from office 3 or more days I find myself working after hours to get things done because I cannot get it done in office.”
• “My productivity increases so much when I WFH because I can control the conditions of my work environment and have uninterrupted work time. This is VERY hard to do when in-person.”
• Remote work allows me to be authentically myself, manage sensory and social demands, and contribute at a higher level. In-person expectations without purpose are draining and severely reduce my sense of belonging. I feel more engaged and connected when I can choose when being on campus makes sense for my work and relationships.

A few comments noted the benefits of more presence on campus, such as building community and improving connections with colleagues, but highlighted that there will need to be deliberate planning and changes in order to rebuild a vibrant on-campus community.

Managers are worried about overtime, workload, and sick days.

Several managers noted that hybrid work supports both team productivity and individual wellbeing. Without it, they anticipate increased overtime, more frequent sick days, and greater strain on already stretched teams.

Some managers reported relying on extra hours to compensate for lost productivity during in-office days, citing distractions and reduced focus. Others warned that rigid return-to-office mandates could lead to burnout, scheduling challenges, and diminished service levels—especially in roles with high client or student-facing demands.

• “As a manager, my staff will be disengaged and productivity will significantly decrease. I have run metrics and the productivity on work from home is 20-30% higher than in office due to the distractions. As an employee, this will limit my ability to perform focus tasks and will increase my requirement to work additional hours to make up for the lost productivity. This will also reduce the ability to keep the current level of customer service and processing times.”
• “I have direct reports and when we are in office, we have an open-door policy to foster collaboration and low barrier access to your supervisor… Weeks where I work from office 3 or more days, I find myself working after hours to get things done because I cannot get it done in office.”
• “I think there will be an increase in sick days and leaves for an already stretched staff that I manage...which will mean more strain and stress and diminished productivity for the rest of the team, overall.”

• “My work productivity will drop alongside my energy and health. I will use more sick days as it will be harder to go to appointments over lunch or straight from work as my household only has one vehicle that stays with my partner. Overall, scheduling will become a lot more difficult.”
• “We would be less competitive to hire and retain talent if we don't have flexible options. It will require managers to have to make judgement calls on a case-by-case basis instead of allowing the same flexibility for all.”

Rigid in-office mandates risk exclusion and inequity.

Without a universal design approach, more staff may be forced into formal accommodations or feel unsupported in managing health and accessibility needs.

Flexibility and hybrid work are a form of universal design, avoiding the need for formal accommodations. Hybrid work allows employees to work at least some of the time in an environment that enables them to concentrate and be productive (for example, avoiding temperatures, allergens, or audio and visual stimuli that can make work difficult), removes the barrier of a difficult or time-consuming commute, and reduces social anxiety, among other benefits.

While accommodations are an important option, expecting staff to get a formal accommodation if they ‘really need’ remote work fails to acknowledge how difficult (and expensive) it can be to get accommodations and have them respected. It also disadvantages those who don’t have a diagnosis but are nonetheless disabled by the demands of in-office work—there are far more comments discussing being disabled by the office environment than there are responses specifically naming this as disability management or mentioning formal accommodations.

• “As a person on an accommodation plan, I would be alienated from the other members of my team and have to explain why I wasn't in the office constantly to folks who didn't know. This outs my accommodation against my will or risks resentment building with the team.”
• “My health will suffer. I haven’t filled out an accommodation request and prefer to keep my health conditions private.”
• “I'm an incredibly productive employee, both on campus and at home, but I'm a much happier employee when I have the option to be in spaces that support my health needs—at no cost to my employer.”
• “Mental health issues. Currently our space is hoteling. Not having the same workspace each time you come into the office is very difficult.”
• “Severe impacts on my mental health and energy. Office spaces are not set up for my success.”
• “I often find working in the office more uncomfortable and draining than working from home and it therefore takes a lot out of me. Working from home where I can better control my comfort (such as temperature, clothing, or seating) is much better, especially when the same work can be done from home as when I'm in the office. I do like to see my co-workers sometimes though!”

There are certainly other equity concerns regarding on-campus requirements; we just didn't receive enough data in this survey to report on them extensively here. But we know that restrictions on remote and flexible work have the potential to particularly affect and disadvantage women (who are more likely to bear caregiving responsibilities), immunocompromised staff (who are more at risk of contracting serious illnesses from others), lower-income staff (who are disproportionately affected by the costs of commuting and childcare), and racialized, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized staff (who are more likely to experience microaggressions and hostile work environments).

We are asking administration for details on how the guidelines and resources will ensure fairness and equity (not equality) for everyone, and what measures will be taken to ensure a healthy, supportive, and safe work environment where everyone can thrive.

We have also heard concerns from staff, particularly within Area Reps Council, about the sustainability implications of commuting, and will be raising this as well.

Finally, we recognize that some members value more time on campus and the sense of community it can foster. We hear you, too. There are real benefits to working together in person, and we hope the University will invest in making on-campus experiences meaningful and supportive. At the same time, it’s essential that staff are empowered to work in ways that support their wellbeing, productivity, and personal circumstances. A truly inclusive workplace is one that makes space for both.