Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce the extension of the FlexWork@RU Pilot Program through August 31, 2024. Under this extension, staff employees who applied for and were granted permission for a flexible work arrangement through the FlexWork@RU Application System will have their approved applications automatically extended through August 31, 2024. You do not need to take any further action for this extension to be applied to your current flexible work arrangement. Anyone who wishes to change their existing arrangement or apply for a new flexible work arrangement may visit the FlexWork@RU Pilot Program website to view offerings, complete the Department Needs Assessment and Team Agreement with their department head or designee, and submit their application.
As part of the implementation of the Future of Work Task Force recommendations, in September 2022, Rutgers launched the FlexWork@RU Pilot Program. The program aimed to capitalize on lessons learned throughout the pandemic, enhance workplace culture, improve employee well-being, and aid in the recruitment and retention of top talent. It also sought to bring employees back to campus post-pandemic in a structured way in order to meet the needs of our students and patients.
To assess the impacts of these flexible work arrangements on our campus communities, the university launched a series of surveys for students, faculty, staff, and members of the general public. The feedback received from all surveys was overwhelmingly positive with many students noting an improved campus experience with faculty and staff available in hybrid modalities to address their student and academic service needs and managers and employees alike indicating that flexible work arrangements improved employee morale, enhanced their perception of working at Rutgers, and aided with recruitment and retention efforts in a difficult job market. Given the changing workplace landscape, we will continue to monitor the impact of flexible work arrangements on our university mission and in service to our students and patients through additional pulse surveys to inform next steps.
We encourage you to review University Policy 60.3.22, to understand the offerings available to staff employees. Although the policy is applicable to nonaligned staff, it will continue to be relaxed to allow maximum pilot participation across all staff while we continue to negotiate with a number of our labor unions over mandatorily negotiable issues related to a flexible work arrangement agreement for aligned staff.
Visit the Future of Work website to view frequently asked questions and find additional resources.
Sincerely,
Vivian Fernández
Senior Vice President Human Resources