Units within the University of Oregon will distribute a return-to-campus survey to officers of administration and classified employees to help with planning at a department level as the university moves to some on-campus activities. The survey, coordinated by Human Resources, provides information about employee needs for remote work or flexible on-campus work arrangements.
“Units and departments have unique operational needs and staffing resources, and their return to campus timelines vary,” said Mark Schmelz, chief human resources officer. “Distributing the employee survey in alignment with unit-led, department-based planning processes ensures that departments inform their decisions with timely and accurate information from their employees.”
Officers of administration and classified employees will be notified directly by unit leaders when the survey is available. Human resources will receive and manage the information collected from the survey.
Submissions will be treated privately, maintained securely and made accessible only to those with a need to know to perform their work, Schmelz said. Employees requesting remote work or flexible work arrangements will be protected from retaliation based on their work request.
Visit the HR website for more information about the employee outreach efforts and the survey.
The university’s return to campus will be slow and methodical, as outlined in a message from André Le Duc, chief resilience officer, and on the UO website, with student, faculty and staff health and safety at the forefront.
“Our return to campus planning is expected to be gradual and extend over time,” Schmelz said. “It is not expected or intended to be a sudden shift. In fact, we expect a large number of employees who are already working remotely to continue to do so. Remote work is an essential approach to our planning and will allow us to provide for the safety of those employees who want or need to return to campus for their work.”
Employee input will help the university make the right decisions for the safety of the community, Schmelz said.
“We hope to align employee preferences with operational and safety planning whenever possible,” he said.