Staff Work Designations Policy

Policy Summary

The establishment of a positive and flexible work environment is essential to attracting and retaining a diverse and talented staff to support the university’s academic and research mission. Certain staff support the university’s mission through direct interaction with students, faculty, and other university stakeholders in-person and on-site. Others, by the nature of their positions, can provide support in either a remote or hybrid work environment.

This policy defines the various staff work designations and associated work environments. This policy also provides resources for supervisors making staff work designations and expectations for managing each staff work designation.

Who is Governed by this Policy

Staff

Policy

Staff members are provided a designation based on their specific modes of work. These work designations have been developed by the university to support workforce planning, balance operational needs, and provide flexibility in units where support for the university’s mission can be performed remotely.

Supervisors collaborate with HR Business Partners to ensure that staff are assigned one of four work designations. Work designations should support the business needs of the school or unit, roles’ interaction with students or constituents, roles’ job duties, and should closely align to the definitions below. Work designations should be made in a consistent manner within and across units.

In the event of a disruption to normal campus operations (e.g., due to a public health emergency or weather-related event), in-person, hybrid, and full-time remote employees may be asked to work remotely for a period until normal campus operations can resume. Staff designated on-site will typically be expected to report to work in-person in order to support operations in the event of a disruption.

Staff roles should receive a work designation at posting and work designations should be reaffirmed annually by school or unit leadership in coordination with Human Resource Management and Development. The four work designations are defined below. Please note that employees who are a member of a union should follow the terms of their collective bargaining agreements.

Definitions

Essential On-Site Staff	Full-time: scheduled 5 days/week on-campus Job functions that are essential to safety and operations that must be performed at an on-campus location even when access to campus is restricted.	Examples include select positions in: GW Police Department Residence Life Housekeeping Maintenance
In-Person Staff	Full-time: scheduled 5 days/week on-campus Job functions that must be performed or are most effectively performed at an on-campus location. These roles provide student services & support, teaching & research support, welcome visitors, provide administrative support, serve in client-facing roles, among others. Staff have an assigned workspace at an on-campus site.	Examples include select positions in: Libraries Student Affairs Registrar’s Office Office Administrative Support Transportation
Hybrid Staff	Full-time: scheduled 3 days/week on-campus Job functions that can be performed effectively in a combination of on-and off-campus locations. Staff may have dedicated space, or shared space may be assigned if necessary or available to them, at an on-campus site. Staff in this category may have roles, duties, and/or responsibilities that require on-campus presence but have some flexibility to perform their work where needed. A Remote and Hybrid Work Agreement must be implemented. Unit leaders have the discretion to set the number of days on campus to 4 days/week in order to meet business needs. Other exceptions to the 3-day on-campus standard must be approved of and documented in the agreement.	Examples include select positions in: Finance Human Resources Information Technology Communications and Marketing
Full-Time Remote Staff	Full-time: scheduled 0 days/week on-campus Job functions that can be performed effectively entirely off-campus with the exception of campus-based meetings/events or business needs. Staff typically will not have a personal workspace assigned at an on-campus site. Staff in this category may be required to be on-campus for special events or meetings. A Remote and Hybrid Work Agreement must be implemented.	Examples include select positions in: Information Technology Finance

Work designations will be reviewed each academic year and a staff Remote and Hybrid Work Agreement is required for staff designated Hybrid or Full-Time Remote. Remote and Hybrid Work Agreements only apply for the academic year for which they are submitted (August 1 – July 31) and must be re-submitted each academic year.

Forms

Remote and Hybrid Work Agreement

Related Information

Contacts

Title	Phone Number	Email Address
Human Resource Management and Development	202-994-8500	[email protected]

Responsible University Official: Vice President and Chief People Officer
Responsible Office: Human Resource Management and Development

Noncompliance with this policy can be reported through this website.