After teams define their hybrid/remote work models, employees who plan to work remotely have many factors to consider.
- Technology and Equipment: Technology, accessibility, and responsiveness are critical to productivity when working remotely. Some employees may be provided basic equipment by their departments to enable telework. Pending further guidance from the University, each school will continue to manage its technology and office equipment directly, and local HR can assist employees and managers should they need to discuss different approaches or equipment that may be needed to telework successfully on a long-term basis. There are several online collaboration tools for teams to stay connected, and teams should be clear about which tools they will use and for which purposes. See the Communication Tools section for more information.
- Information Technology Security: Whether working from home or the office, protecting Harvard’s information is the responsibility of every employee. HUIT’s security website offers guides, policies, and tools to help employees work securely everywhere. All employees must follow Harvard’s information security policy; to do that, the best place to start is the HUIT website.
- Ergonomics: In some cases, telework presents unique ergonomic challenges. As some employees settle into their remote workspaces for the long term, or as they return to campus sharing a single workstation with another employee on alternate days, now is a good time to consider how the physical environment affects their concentration, comfort, and health. See Harvard’s Environmental Health and Safety ergonomics page for self-assessment tools to improve ergonomic habits and learn how to make simple, free, or low-cost adjustments. Some employees may be provided basic equipment by their departments to enable remote work. Each School will continue to manage its technology and office equipment directly, and local HR can assist employees and managers with related concerns. Harvard’s Strategic Procurement Office has relationships with a wide array of vendors that allow employees to get the best value possible for a range of services and products, including office furniture. Employees should explore these resources, no matter where they work, to ensure safe ergonomic practices and workspaces for long and healthy careers.
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Non-Harvard Work, Including Dependent Care, when Teleworking: When teleworking, employees are expected to attend to their Harvard work only and should not anticipate handling non-Harvard projects. In general, teleworkers should attempt to replicate the working conditions of a Harvard-provided office. Therefore, the following conditions apply University-wide:
- Employees may not work on any non-Harvard project during paid work hours when teleworking or working remotely.
- Employees may not care for children and/or adults when teleworking or working remotely.
Major activities that wouldn’t be a normal part of the on-campus workday (such as full-time care for an infant, or intensive work on a personal project) are not appropriate while teleworking. On the other hand, activities that might normally be interspersed throughout the day at the office, such as brief check-ins from a caregiver or dependent, are acceptable as long as they do not interfere with expected routines and deliverables.
Questions about these issues should be directed to Human Resources.
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Wellbeing: The sustainability of long-term remote and hybrid work will depend in part on employees’ wellbeing. Managers are asked to consider specific ways to support employee wellbeing when establishing their work model and check in with employees regularly. Managers are expected to be familiar with a rich array of University resources that support personal and family needs around mental health, child and adult care, resilience, finances, schooling, illness, and disability. These resources are available from a range of sources, including the Office of Work/Life and Harvard’s monthly faculty and staff wellbeing newsletter; they are referenced throughout this policy and can also be found here.
- Remote Work Locations: For information regarding working out-of-state visit Out of State Employment.
Next section: Communication
