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.

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Article

Returning to (tele)work: Is the public sector ready for a more permanent work-from-home policy?

Returning to (tele)work: Is the public sector ready for a more permanent work-from-home policy?

  • Written by Jennifer Dowd
  • 5th August 2020

Employers across the public and private sector are assessing the return-to-work situation while still in the throes of the pandemic. Should things return to normal? If so, when? What should the transition look like? Can we adopt some of the flexibly we learned during quarantine in the long term?

There’s no manual to consult and guidelines don’t always provide insight into every unique scenario, so, why not ask the employees?

The State of Maine did recently and “found 82 percent were satisfied with their current remote work situations.” Further, the survey found that among “workers who remain in the office, however, 93 percent said they were satisfied, and a similar percentage said they were able to get their jobs done with fewer co-workers.”

Working from home has a stigma. It’s more of a perception problem, really. However, the perception that an employee who’s not seated at their chair in the office is less productive has never been supported by data. That’s not to say it isn’t happening with some employees, but there are typically other signs to indicate that an employee’s lack of productivity is due to more than just the fact they are working from home.

As governments evaluate re-opening their buildings, the possibility of expanding and normalizing telework just got real.

“This experience has showed us that we can get work done at home and that we can meet people’s needs, the public’s needs, by doing so,” says Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR).

Public servants whose primary responsibilities have proven to be accomplishable in a remote setting are now asking, Why should I rush to go back? It’s a valid question.

Even prior to the pandemic, remote work was beginning to provide a positive alternative to the typical five days spent in the office. Neil Reichenberg, former executive director at IPMA-HR, provides several compelling examples in this excerpt from Being Present, a book published in 2019 by The Workforce Institute. For instance, Reichenberg describes how flexible working arrangements can show a commitment by an employer to the wellness of their employees, just as telecommuting can have a positive impact on the environment by reducing the number of people who are commuting to work. In fact, when Travis County, Texas, announced plans to allow permanent remote work for 75 percent of its workforce, Commissioner Brigid Shea cited “air pollution (which is the second highest cause of greenhouse gas emissions county-wide) as a primary consideration.

Expanding telework to become a more permanent part of the work environment has many short- and long-term benefits. To determine if this is a viable option for their organization, leaders and managers would do well to consider how they might answer these three critical questions:

  1. Can a job be performed at the same service level, whether remote or in the office? There is a big difference between working at home temporarily and working at home on a more permanent basis. Managers need to determine if the role, not the employee, can achieve the same results regardless of the setting. Determining the employee’s ability to work remotely is a separate issue and should be done on an individual basis.
  2. Are telework policies in place—and are they easy for employees to follow? Without rules we are setting managers and employees up for failure. Parameters need to be set so employees are clear on what is expected of them. In addition to equipment, technology, and security, providing policies around regular check-ins, email or voicemail response time, and proper attire for video conferences, just to name a few, can all be part of the expectations.
  3. How is workforce productivity measured? This is a big one. Perception has no place here. What was expected from an employee in the office should still be expected from them while they are working from home. If extra measures are needed, now is the time to implement those changes. More frequent 1:1 check-ins between a manager and their employees might be all that is needed to ensure work is still being done at the same capacity.

We have already learned (perhaps not by choice) that governments can indeed sustain with remote workers. But to determine whether or not it’s necessary to bring the workforce back to the physical workplace full-time – or whether a hybrid approach is most appropriate – it is incumbent on leaders to continue listening to employees and evaluating options for optimal workforce arrangements.

Jennifer Dowd is senior manager of the public sector practice group at Kronos Incorporated, a provider of workforce management and HCM cloud software solutions.

 

Tags: Administration News Hybrid Work Administration News 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.