Flexible Work FAQs

For many of us, a flexible approach to where and when we work has enhanced our productivity and our work-life balance. Tufts is committed to preserving these flexible work opportunities in an equitable way for staff, while also maintaining the benefits of time spent working on campus.

Over the spring and summer of 2021, the Flexible Work at Tufts project team, led by VP for human resources Kim Ryan, gathered employee input and feedback to clarify and distill the lessons we have already learned. Using our community’s collective wisdom and best practices from our peer institutions, we created a new, durable framework for Flexible Work at Tufts moving forward. This framework offers policies, guidelines, and tools for managers to use as needed and appropriate to support their teams and advance their unit’s strategic goals.

In December 2021, managers started having conversations with staff about work locations, schedules, and department norms that will support strategic priorities while continuing to provide flexible opportunities to team members. Additionally, HR is offering two training workshops designed to support managers as they navigate in a multi-location work environment.

Over the summer and fall of 2021, senior leadership in central administration divisions and the schools worked closely with their HR Business Partners to review all the jobs held by the staff on their teams and categorize them as on-site, remote, or hybrid. These decisions were based on objective criteria, including specific job functions, and on business needs—not on individual or personal preference.

The standard definitions used are:

• On-site: Role requires on-site presence for essential job duties
• Hybrid: Must be within the commuting distance of Tufts and ready to commute on a scheduled basis and/or as needed; role is flexible in work location
• Remote: Role is flexible in work locations, fully remote and is rarely required for on-site activities, if at all.

Using standard job classification definitions, and in partnership with their department’s HR Business Partner, managers assessed work that can be performed fully remotely, work that must be performed on-campus, and work that might be suitable for a hybrid model. Using several legitimate, non-discriminatory, and objective criteria, managers determined if work has responsibilities that can only be performed on campus because of business needs (e.g., requiring access to certain tools, technology, or equipment that is only available on campus; interacting in client-facing roles such as student services; and so on) or has responsibilities that can be performed successfully off-campus.

When you are working on projects that you and your manager decide can be completed anywhere, it is up to you both where you complete that work, whether that is at a desk on campus or at home. We also acknowledge that there are certain tasks that can only be performed on campus or are enhanced by being on campus. Your manager and you will develop a schedule that supports you and the business needs of your department. If you are asked to be on campus with reasonable notice, you are responsible for getting there when required. 

The term Flexible Work Options encompasses alternative work schedules outside of the standard core work hours within the department, school, or division, as well as remote work at locations other than the department location on campus. It may include where an employee works as well as when and how, e.g., job sharing, flexible schedules, and reduced hours. For more information, see the current Flexible Work Options policy.

Unless your work requires you to be outside of the country, you are expected to work within the United States. At this time, you may live and work in any state, except Hawaii, as long as this arrangement is approved by your manager and division or school leadership. Your manager will discuss your work location, schedule, and other expectations with you. 

If you are a hiring manager or supervisor of an employee who is currently working, or will be working, on a Tufts-sponsored visa, including H-1B and J-1 visas, please contact the International Center for guidance on the implications of flexible work assignments for visa related compliance.

This will depend on your job responsibilities and what may be required of you at different times during the week or month or throughout the year. For example, you may have assignments and projects that require your presence on campus at specific times. Also, managers may, with advance notice and with a frequency that is appropriate for their group, schedule meetings that require in-person attendance. Beyond that, expectations about your on-campus time will be determined in coordination with your manager with the goal of maximizing your unit’s effectiveness. If this represents a change to your current work schedule or location, you will be given reasonable notice to make this change. 

Managers worked with their unit’s HR Business Partner to conduct an objective assessment of each job in the department. The flexibility for a job to be hybrid or remote is based on the unit’s business and/or clients’ needs and service delivery expectations. To ensure equity, job assessments were based on objective criteria and the job’s functions, not on the person in the role or individual preferences. It was determined that your job requires in-person availability to effectively support faculty, staff, students and/or other business clients or in-person care and/or presence in a lab or clinic setting.

How often you come back to campus will be determined by you and your manager and based on legitimate, non-discriminatory, and objective factors that include the needs of your department, division, or school.

Managers worked with their unit’s HR Business Partner to conduct an objective assessment of each job in the department. The flexibility for a job to be hybrid or remote is based on the unit’s business and/or clients’ needs and service delivery expectations. To ensure equity, job assessments were based on objective criteria and the job’s functions, not on the person in the role or individual preferences. It was determined that your core job responsibilities could be done remotely or with an occasional need for working on campus.

While continuing to provide staff with flexible work options, we also recognize that many of you also want the connection and community you had when you interacted with colleagues on-campus. Senior leadership is committed to balancing the benefits of being part of a vibrant campus community with those of having flexible work options as much as possible. We will be gathering input from you about how to do this.

Workplace space optimization planning will not begin until early summer 2022, after all jobs have been categorized as on-site, hybrid, or remote and it is determined how many and how often employees will be working on-campus. The campus planning team in Operations will work closely with business unit leaders to create university workplace space guidelines and determine future office space needs.

It is important that the core hours of business, as determined by your manager or department/unit director, are covered to ensure the needs of your clients and department are met. Depending on what these needs are, there may be an opportunity for you to make alternative work schedule arrangements with your manager. Your HR Business Partner is a resource to discuss some of the options employees may have.

The Flexible Work Arrangement is developed by you and your manager together and is designed to support the unit’s business needs while preserving the benefits of work flexibility. If something changes with the requirements of the job or unit’s priorities that affects the work arrangement, your manager will work closely with you to make needed changes.  Additionally, if the arrangement is not working as intended, i.e., you are not meeting your responsibilities as agreed, the arrangement may be amended or terminated by your supervisor consistent with other university policies.

The Flexible Work Arrangement is developed by you and your manager together and is designed to support the unit’s business needs while also preserving the benefits of work flexibility. Your work schedule is determined by you and your manager based on the needs of your department and where and when you are able to fulfill the functions and responsibilities of your job.

Your work schedule is determined by you and your manager based on the needs of your department and where and when you are able to fulfill the functions and responsibilities of your job. If you are unable to come to campus on the days your manager has determined you need to be there, it is your responsibility to let your manager know and work with them to come up with an alternate work arrangement or other solution.

Tufts, like other organizations, determines compensation based on such factors as a job’s responsibilities and salaries for comparable jobs in the labor market, not on whether a position is categorized as on-site, hybrid, or remote. Each employee’s expenses related to their flex work category are different based on an array of individual circumstances, including where they live and whether they commute daily to campus or work from home every day. It would be difficult to level-set such varying expenses for all positions as a consideration in determining compensation.

All employees should be using a Tufts-owned and managed device, which is important as it ensures work is secure within our network and that employees are equipped with the proper technology to support working remotely. The use of personal laptops and other computers/tablets should be limited to personal documents and email. If there are rare instances where an employee’s only option is to log onto the Tufts network via a personal computer or device, they must use the TTS virtual desktop service to keep documents secure. Read more on computer requirements and security guidelines.

Tufts Technology Services (TTS) provides several technology tools that enable you to be productive while working remotely.

In September 2021, TTS surveyed approximately 3,500 staff across Tufts to find out if you have the technology tools, support, and resources you need to be successful, productive, and connected to your teams regardless of where you work. See the results of this survey.

In addition, TTS offers training related to the recommended and supported tools shown on the working remotely page and provides access to our 24/7 TTS Service desk by emailing it@tufts.edu or calling (617) 627-3376.

New or updated information will be provided on this Flexible Work at Tufts website as it becomes available. You may also receive email updates from Kim Ryan or your department, division, or school leadership depending on the nature of the update and what may be required.

In addition to the nature of the work being performed, there are other interdependencies, such as HR policies, technology, training, and space planning needs. You will find links to policies, technology support, and training workshops on this website. Space optimization planning will not start until early summer 2022, and we will let you know what to expect as we get closer to the date.

Will the university provide training for managers and staff regarding flexible work? 

HR is offering a virtual, interactive workshop called Flexible Work Conversations to provide managers with an understanding of the Flexible Work at Tufts model, how to apply the framework to support their business unit, and how to communicate about it effectively with their staff.

HR is also offering a second workshop, Leading in a Flexible Work Environment, to give managers an opportunity to share, learn, and practice effective strategies and tools for managing teams across multiple locations.

Human Resources also offers a wide variety of instructor-led and self-paced online training programs to help managers develop the skills and competencies they need to be effective leaders in any environment. HR will continue to develop programs to meet the evolving needs of managers and staff in a flexible workplace. Browse available courses. 

Department norms refer to all the logistical issues and agreed upon processes that all team members follow to help ensure that the group operates efficiently, and staff members receive equitable treatment and opportunities. For example, how we hold meetings, how teams communicate, and the shared technology and tools we use. Managers will define their department norms with the help of their leadership and HR Business Partner. Doing this will also be a process of trial and error; and we will learn and improve as we go. 

University leadership is deeply committed to ensuring that all Tufts employees have equitable opportunities for advancement. One of the guiding principles of the Flexible Work at Tufts initiative is to provide equitable opportunities for staff, regardless of where they are working. This means that department leaders and managers need to ensure development of department norms and standards that provide performance development plans and progress for staff to eliminate potential biases that may result from who does or does not have in-person face time with their manager or other members of leadership. These concerns will be addressed in the HR training workshops available to supervisors.

Tufts employees have shown that some types of work can be performed effectively on different schedules, from different locations, and virtually.  We now have a unique opportunity to build on the lessons we have learned and to expand flexible work considerations as part of a long-term strategy for the university.

Tufts' flexible work initiative contributes to our competitive ability to meet the demands of today's workforce, such as providing employees with innovative benefits programs, improving work-life balance, and attracting, recruiting, and retaining diverse talent irrespective of their location. 

There is no set implementation deadline, although there are certain steps, like job categorization that occurred in 2021 and conversations managers have had or will have with their staff about work location, schedules, and department norms.

Our goal is to create a flexible framework, and the tools and processes to support it, so that leadership across the university can apply to best meet the needs of their schools and departments. We expect that what we put in place will evolve over time as we apply lessons learned to continually improve the model.