Hybrid Work and You
One of the positives coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic was a renewed global acceptance that employees can work from home and remain just as responsible, diligent and productive as they would if they were physically in their workplace offices. The postsecondary sector was no exception to this dynamic. Universities such as SFU soon tried to codify what was already happening here: many employees were already working from home per organization by unit and departmental leaderships. SFU’s Hybrid Work Program seems here to stay.
We also now have studies that confirm that employees working from home are often happier, less distracted and more productive than their workplace counterparts. Reports on a 9-month Stanford Study, for example, noted that working from home increased productivity by 13%, had zero effect on workers’ career advancement and dramatically boosted retention rates. Of course, the Stanford study is hardly the last word on the matter and we can expect further studies, both for and against working from home, for years to come.
So, Is Everything Rosy Here at SFU as Far as Hybrid Work Is Concerned?
It’s not always so clear. In the last few months, we’ve had an increased number of anecdotal reports that units are requiring APSA members to be in the office more days a week or give up their work-from-home days entirely. In some cases, our members are pressured to sign documents giving up some of their hybrid days, even though the operational rationale for the change is either thin, non-existent or simply some variant of “This is what President Johnson wants”. (It’s not by the way….)
While the post-COVID acceptance of hybrid has pushed back at the stigma of working from home, it still lingers in some workplaces.
What APSA Has Done for You
During the last round of bargaining, we brought forward a proposal to embed hybrid in our collective agreement. While the University refused our initiative, the issues of the inconsistent and sometimes arbitrary application of hybrid at SFU haven’t gone away. As we have pointed out to University representatives on numerous occasions, AD 10.13, article 3.03 in our collective agreement already provides significant freedom about time and location of work to individual APSA members regardless of rank:
A member of the Administrative and Professional Staff at the University is primarily self-directing and self-disciplinary concerning the functions of his/her position. He/she will exercise discretion about the time and location of work performed in support of the established job objectives.
Very unfortunately, looming over some discussions with some University representatives regarding hybrid work is some variation of “well, maybe we’ll just have to take hybrid away from everyone.” It’s a disappointing and ill-considered proposition and very unlikely to occur, given how significant hybrid work has become to APSA members' workplace satisfaction, recruitment and retention; and how significant hybrid work is to resolving office space issues, not to mention contributing to SFU’s ongoing efforts to reduce “GHG emissions by 50%... from 2007 to 2025”, per its own Strategic Sustainability and Climate Action Plan 2022-2025.
APSA’s Next Steps for You
Of course, we don’t want to rely on anecdotal reports only when considering how to improve hybrid work at SFU for APSA members. We plan to send out our survey on hybrid work early in the New Year to learn where you’re at with it, whether you’re a manager or non-manager.
Stay tuned for our hybrid survey, and, in the meantime, have a great holiday season. Take care always.