Employees who want to telecommute must have a Telecommuting Agreement approved and on file by August 23, 2021.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is committed to supporting telecommuting arrangements as much as possible when it is beneficial for both the employee and the institution. In addition, the University encourages supervisors and employees to think about flexible arrangements that can better support students and the mission of UW-Green Bay.
Telecommuting provides greater flexibility to employees in balancing work and personal obligations, allows for creative space allocation on the campuses, and may improve employee satisfaction and retention rates. The UW System has recently published an updated UW System Administrative Policy 1228: Telecommuting to guide telecommuting arrangements for UW System institutions. Effective June 28, 2021, UW-Green Bay has also published a revised Telecommuting Policy, which outlines the University’s commitment to exploring flexible work options where reasonable, provides common definitions, and communicates telecommuting employee expectations. To support communication about this revised policy, the Office of Human Resources and Workforce Diversity has created a Telecommuting website, which includes helpful information for both supervisors and employees.
While there has been a significant amount of flexibility in documentation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moving forward it is critical to ensure that any non-instructional employees who are telecommuting have the arrangement documented on a Telecommuting Agreement. Telecommuting agreements are approved on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the employee’s supervisor consistent with the student-focused mission of the university and the needs of the respective unit/department. As we move into a more normal-looking academic year this fall, supervisors are expected to have a dialogue with eligible employees to determine if a telecommuting arrangement is applicable. Employees who will be in a telecommuting arrangement after the start of the 2021-2022 academic year must have a Telecommuting Agreement approved and on file by August 23, 2021.
Faculty and instructional academic staff (IAS) inherently have flexibility in work arrangements due to their primary job responsibilities of teaching, scholarship, and/or service. Therefore, a telecommuting agreement is only necessary for faculty and IAS if an employee-generated request for extraordinary time working off-campus is being made outside of the norm for the academic unit. Faculty and IAS are still responsible for ensuring the Telecommuting Expectations (as outlined in the UW-Green Bay Telecommuting Policy) are met when working at an alternative site.
For more information about telecommuting, including instructions for requesting and approving telecommuting agreements, please see the Telecommuting website. If you have questions about the Telecommuting Policy, Telecommuting Agreement, or information on the website, please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or 920-465-2390.
