In her president’s report last week, Lisa shared what we know about potential changes to remote work guidelines and invited members to complete a survey on hybrid and flexible work. Here's what we've learned since then.
What we know: The University is working to update the current guidelines to make them clearer for managers and staff and apply more evenly across campus. We don’t expect new guidelines to be implemented any sooner than winter 2026 and are urging early communication so you have time to prepare for any possible adjustments to your own arrangements.
What we’re doing: Although we haven’t seen the new guidelines yet, we’re actively providing feedback to ensure staff voices are heard. We’ve already shared preliminary survey results—745 responses in just a few days, a record that highlights how much this matters to you.
We believe that a progressive and supportive work environment must be grounded in accessibility, respect, and . Survey responses show there’s work to do to remove barriers to healthy, productive work on campus for many members, and this needs to be a priority.
What you can do: Over 900 of you have responded so far—thank you. If you haven’t yet, the survey is open again until July 11.
You may want to start thinking now about what arrangements you would need in place if you have to commute more frequently in the coming months.
Please note that formal disability accommodations involving working from home should not be affected by hybrid and flexible work guidelines. If you have concerns about your accommodations, please contact Gail Spencer.
Preliminary survey results
Here are some of the key insights we shared with admin based on 745 responses as of 4:30 p.m. on June 24:
- Having a hybrid work option is very important to staff—but flexibility when needed is even more important.
- 77% of respondents rated regular remote work as “extremely important;” only 4% said it was “not important” to them.
- 83% of respondents rated the flexibility to work from home when needed as “extremely important.” Even among those who prefer zero in-office days, flexibility is still highly valued (35% each rating it as “very” and “extremely” important).
- Most staff would be satisfied with a balanced hybrid week.
- 46% of respondents rated 3 days a week as “very ideal” for them, 36% gave 4 days at home a “very ideal” rating, and 32% for 2 days at home (respondents could choose more than one “very ideal” option).
- Supporting staff autonomy could be a much-needed morale boost right now.
- Our 2024 Member Survey showed that members who have a say in their work location arrangements are about twice as likely to say they feel valued at work, significantly more satisfied with their salary, and significantly more likely to feel empowered to make or propose improvements at work (83% agree/strongly agree vs 50%).
- In this survey, 95 of 580 comments (as of June 24) mentioned morale or job satisfaction.
- Work-life balance is paramount.
- The top-ranked factor in this survey for why staff value hybrid work is work-life balance. The next four top factors are time savings, flexible scheduling, mental health benefits, and managing personal energy—all related to work-life balance. More than 210 of the 580 survey comments so far mention health or well-being, and 160 specifically note mental health.
- Time and money are major factors.
- “Time savings” was the second-highest factor for wanting hybrid work, and the top theme among comments (225 comments so far).
- Caregiving was not ranked very high; when it came up in the comments, it was almost exclusively linked to the cost of before/after-school care, or time savings/flexibility from not commuting.
- Staff value time with coworkers—and they need time to focus in a controlled environment.
- 83% of survey respondents said in-person time with coworkers is at least somewhat important to them. Among those respondents, team bonding and social connection were the top reasons that people value in-person time.
- Productivity was the second-most common theme in the comments, with 217 comments; the ability to focus without distractions and control over one’s work environment are key factors in both quantitative results and comments.