https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Hybrid Work


Work is not where you go. It’s what you do. In today’s hybrid work world, it is no longer enough to solve for the challenges of remote work or support a safe office re-entry. It’s about finding solutions to not just recover in the face of change, but to thrive and innovate. Empower your workers at home, in the office, or anywhere.

Image via Unsplash

Article

Adapting to the “new normal”:  Lessons learned and best practices for a post-COVID 19 workplace

Adapting to the “new normal”: Lessons learned and best practices for a post-COVID 19 workplace

  • Written by Oliver Yee, Alysha Stein-Manes
  • 13th July 2020

Pre-COVID-19, public sector employers generally took a more cautious approach to remote work arrangements, especially when compared to their private sector counterparts.  Budget limitations, management structures and service obligations may have played a role in this reluctance.  However, as COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we live and work, remote work has become an immediate operational reality for all employers, including public agencies.

Even as public agencies begin to return their employees to agency worksites over the coming weeks and months, they should expect work-from-home arrangements to endure as the “new normal.” The recent proliferation of remote work highlights the need for public agencies to adopt formal remote work programs and corresponding policies and protocols that support an efficient, flexible and safe work environment.

 

The Benefits of Remote Work Arrangements

Although many public agencies have expressed philosophical and fiscal reservations with the concept of a remote workforce, there is now data and research that illustrates positive impacts of remote work arrangements on workplace operations.  Gallup polling has found that remote work programs can improve employee productivity, performance and engagement; provide desired workplace flexibility; positively impact retention rates; lower absenteeism; lower employers’ environmental impact, including by reducing energy use, solid waste disposal and the employer’s carbon footprint; and attract and retain a broader swath of workers (e.g., millennials).  A 2017 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) by researchers at Princeton and Harvard universities also found that employees may be willing to take pay cuts in exchange for workplace flexibility.

 

Operating in the New Normal

The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding government-mandated restrictions compelled many public agencies to immediately shut down entire departments and facilities.  As a result, legions of employees were directed to work remotely.  Understandably, there was little time to strategically consider all of the operational impacts.

Now, as stay-at-home orders are or will be slowly lifted, and public agencies begin to invite employees back to worksites, agencies will need to adapt to a “new normal” at the worksite. This will not only include maintaining work and public spaces that allow for social distancing, but also consideration of the continuation of remote work for certain employees.  In addition, it may be efficient and effective for agencies to consider adopting permanent telework or remote work programs that survive beyond the conclusion of the current public health emergency.

As we look back, and also ahead, there are important lessons to take away from this extraordinary operational shift that may, in turn, help better equip agencies for the challenges that lay ahead in this new remote work reality.

  • Not All Jobs Are Conducive To Remote Work.  During the stay-at-home orders, some agencies were able to arrange for front office staff to work remotely by, for example, forwarding calls to the staff members’ cell phones.  Some police departments permitted detectives or investigators to work remotely by conducting interviews via Zoom.  While such arrangements may be manageable on a short-term basis, certain job duties are generally not conducive to permanent remote work.  As agencies consider whether to continue to permit certain classes of employees to work remotely, they must examine the full scope of employees’ job duties to determine if remote work is feasible and effective as a permanent or long-term option.
  • Remote Workspaces Must Be Conducive To Working.  While stay-at-home orders effectively forced agencies to permit employees who could work remotely to do so, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) temporary regulations concerning the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) clarified that even during the current public health emergency, a remote work arrangement is not intended to be a substitute for childcare.   Specifically, the regulations explain that the FFCRA’s leave provisions are only available to employees if they are unable to work or “telework.”  Furthermore, a bed, couch or a workspace that is so small or cluttered that it constitutes a fire hazard, are not proper workspaces.  Instead, such workspaces invite “workplace” injuries and workers’ compensation claims.  Employers that continue to permit employees to work remotely should remind employees that they are expected to be productive when working remotely and should also strongly consider requiring safety inspections of remote workspaces.  Employees should provide a description and photograph of their workspace, or an agency representative can conduct a safety compliance inspection via videoconference.  Employers should also develop safety compliance checklists for remote workspaces.  Such practices will not only help employee productivity, but also enforce safety standards.
  • Telework And Remote Work Policies And Agreements Are Necessary.  Almost immediately following the closure of facilities and worksites, many public agencies implemented telecommuting/remote work policies and agreements.

Implementing telework and remote work policies and agreements are critical to ensure that employees understand work expectations in a remote work environment.  Through such policies and agreements, employees acknowledge and consent from the outset of their remote work arrangements that they have the same job responsibilities and are subject to the same workplace standards as if they were at the worksite, including but not limited to codes of conduct, anti-harassment policies and protocols governing communications with supervisors, reporting of hours worked, meal and rest breaks, approval of overtime, and reporting of work-related injuries.  Policies and agreements are also critical to ensuring that standards for remote work are applied consistently across the agency. It’s also important to keep in mind that state labor laws may require that public agencies negotiate with labor unions over the adoption of telework policies during the public health emergency, or at the very least negotiate the impacts/effects following adoption of those policies.

  • Remote Work Arrangements Are A Privilege That Should Generally Not Be Afforded To All Employees. Pre-COVID-19, employers may have thought of remote work arrangements to be a privilege, not a right.  Often, this meant that employers conditioned remote work agreements on an employee’s continued productivity and a recent history of satisfactory performance.  During the current public health crisis, although many employees working remotely were on notice that they were expected to maintain productivity and comply with agency policies and protocols, some employees with past performance issues continued to manifest those same issues in remote work environments.  As remote work transitions from an operational necessity to an agency preference, agencies may establish eligibility requirements for remote work based on performance.  For example, remote work may be limited to those employees who had two cycles of a “meets expectations” overall rating or at least one cycle of an “exceeds expectations” overall rating.
  • Establishing Employee Accountability Measures And Protocols Are Critical To Success.  Agencies should implement measures to ensure that employees are held accountable for their work performance.  Performance expectations should be clearly communicated and agencies should require supervisors and subordinates to participate in regular check-ins.  Such oversight and communication are essential to continuity of effective operations.

 

Oliver Yee is a Partner and Alysha Stein-Manes is an Associate at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, one of the largest public sector and non-profit employment and labor law firms in California. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.

Tags: homepage-featured-4 Administration News Hybrid Work Administration Article

Most Recent


  • How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient
    This article first appeared on Urgent Communication. It’s a scenario we’ve all experienced: an ambulance with a blaring siren racing against time to get a person in medical distress to a hospital through traffic. What we don’t see is 5G connectivity enabling paramedics to communicate with hospital staff via video conference and coordinate care in […]
  • Shifting city demographics present an opportunity to build coalitions, address inequality
    Minority-majority cities are driving American growth. New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, for example, combined for an estimated 16% of the nation’s total gross domestic product in 2021—future projections anticipate a continuation of this trend, and an opportunity to create coalitions to address injustices. Between 2015 and 2020, 22% of U.S. cities were majority-minority, […]
  • ARPA funds
    Spending American Rescue Plan Act funds: A primer for municipalities
    The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 is a $1.9 trillion legislative package that includes funding for states, local governments and tribal nations to respond to the economic and public health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While initially restricted, subsequent guidance from the federal government has expanded what those funds can be used for. […]
  • New York City, New York
    Report: While remote work is causing offices to empty out, walkable cities are still in high demand
    Given the reliance on vehicular transportation in the United States, some American cities historically haven’t prioritized being walkable in past planning and or design. But amid an unprecedented shift in the economy toward remote work, those that have are increasingly desirable for prospective residents. A new report from Smart Growth American and Places Platform, “Foot Traffic […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Lessons from your friendly neighborhood public service employees
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery

WHITE PAPERS


Modernizing government services for today’s resident expectations

24th January 2023

Preparing Your Community Now for the Next Generation of Older Adults

18th October 2022

Helping Government Fleets Achieve Their Goals

30th September 2022
view all

Webinars


How To: Evaluate Digital Government Service Delivery Technologies

23rd January 2023

Using Technology to Enhance Communications

29th November 2022

Learn the benefits of transforming and automating your Contract Management process

4th November 2022
view all

Podcast


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Report: While remote work is causing offices to empty out, walkable cities are still in high demand

26th January 2023

10 American cities with a great downtown

24th January 2023

Miami leads the way in FT-Nikkei ranking of best U.S. cities for foreign companies

20th January 2023
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient dlvr.it/ShYNcx

27th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Shifting city demographics present an opportunity to build coalitions, address inequality dlvr.it/ShYMMm

27th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Spending American Rescue Plan Act funds: A primer for municipalities dlvr.it/ShXzvl

27th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: While remote work is causing offices to empty out, walkable cities are still in high demand dlvr.it/ShVhBW

26th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Managing landslides along road corridors using remote sensing dlvr.it/ShTpL6

26th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: Prioritizing neighborhood infill, expanding transit options increases neighborhood resilience dlvr.it/ShRrFM

25th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

10 American cities with a great downtown dlvr.it/ShNxXH

24th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

With a few strategies and tools, public procurement directors can recruit new, diverse staffers dlvr.it/ShNnj4

24th January 2023

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.