Videos: BU Staff Talk about the Future of Staff Work Survey

Staff Survey

Videos: BU Staff Talk about the Future of Staff Work Survey

Deadline to complete questionnaire is May 17

May 10, 2021

BU Today staff

May 10, 2021

BU Today staff

It happened so fast. One day we were coming to work at Boston University every day, fighting traffic or griping about the MBTA, spending our days in labs or offices, having spontaneous hallway conversations, and eating lunch at our desk or grabbing a quick bite with colleagues. And then, the next day, way back in March 2020, we were suddenly forced home by COVID-19. Working from home offices, or makeshift offices in kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms, fighting off distractions—and maybe even dealing with children or an elderly parent—we found ourselves on Zoom meetings or staring at the computer all day, with little or no face-to-face interactions.

It was a dramatic change to the workday. But after more than a year of working remotely, how do staff members feel about returning to campus? What should the future of work look like permanently for BU staff? Should remote work become a permanent part of the BU culture? And if so, to what degree, so that the University’s campuses still feel vibrant and populated, but people can keep some of the flexibility they found during the coronavirus pandemic. In this series of videos, staff from across the University share their thoughts and talk about why it’s important for others to complete the Future of Staff Work Survey sent to employees last week.

The survey is an opportunity for employees to have their say in what the future of work at BU should look like. The survey takes just 10 minutes, and the deadline to complete it is Monday, May 17. “We believe that getting this input is a critical step as we strive to create recommendations for remote and hybrid work that will support all of our staff, faculty, and students,” according to the Committee on the Future of Staff Work.

Take the Survey Here

Matthew Bae

Academic advisor, College of General Studies

Brian Batista

Benefits analyst, Human Resources

Barbara Foley

Director, student finance and auxiliaries, Information Services & Technology

Ira Lazic

Associate dean for administration and finance, School of Public Health

Keesa McKoy

Director of communications, Enrollment & Student Administration

Amanda Miner

Associate director of diversity outreach for research, School of Medicine

Renee Spencer

Associate dean for research and professor, School of Social Work

Bill Taylor

Assistant dean of undergraduate affairs, College of Communication

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There are 3 comments on Videos: BU Staff Talk about the Future of Staff Work Survey

This is all pretty confusing to me. Dr. Brown’s email says everyone needs to be in the office, but these staff members are saying they are hoping for a flexible work schedule? Which is it? I am hoping that BU makes a decision about this sooner than later, because I am frankly getting tired of this inconsistent communication. Working from home works for most people, so why not give people the option. People who want to commute and sit at their desk can, while others who want to work from home most of the time can as well. As long as everyone is getting their work done, I don’t understand the need to have thousands of people back on campus if they aren’t public facing offices.

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Erica Mattison

May 14, 2021 at 8:55 pm

I too was surprised to see President Brown’s email just after the survey was distributed. It sounds like the email is saying that the goal is to have half of staff back to campus by June 14 (unclear exactly what “back to campus” means because that could mean that some staff work on campus part of the time and work remotely part of the time). The next sentence in the email references a “full population of the campus before the end of August,” which again I suppose doesn’t necessarily mean all staff have to be working on campus all of the time, but I am with you, the message has been confusing. For those who can do their jobs from anywhere, it would be unreasonable for the University to force them to work on campus all the time.

Excerpt from the President Brown email: “I have asked the administrative and academic leadership to start the process of bringing our staff back to campus with the goal of achieving 50 percent staffing levels by June 14, in line with current state and city guidelines. We anticipate the public occupancy standards to be adjusted upward, allowing for more people to return to campus, with likely full population of the campus before the end of August.”

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I have no issue with letting people work from home if it’s sensible for their area of responsibility.

However, is it fair to make staff who are public facing and must come to campus pay for parking while others who previously drove to work can now pocket that difference? I pay $2,160/year to park at BUMC. I’d much rather sock that away and be a green commuter but guess what? BUMC is nowhere near a commuter rail stop (unlike the CRC).

This is going to be an interesting morale experiment, and I suspect those who are forced to come to work with no concessions or accommodations at all will quickly grow disaffected.

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Videos: BU Staff Talk about the Future of Staff Work Survey

Deadline to complete questionnaire is May 17

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