university admin

[cappuccinoandcats]

Please anyone in the know? when is it likely they will go back to the offices ?
really strained at home. The WFH has gone on for too long now

You need to speak to the specific university in question.

It depends on the University.

My DS works in his Uni's admin department and when he was living in a shared house, it was difficult so they told him and one or two others they could go into work.

He's just moved into a 2 bed apartment now with his GF and has chosen to go back to working from home.

All Universities will be different.

I work in Uni admin and we had an email a few weeks back saying that it is likely to be June when we go back although our manager doesn't think that it will be. I am assuming that we won't be told anything until it is known what is happening (or not happening!) after 21st June.

My Dad has been giving lectures face-to-face for a few weeks now. He is at Exeter University.

September for my DH and even then it’s a hybrid model.

As others have already said, it depends on the Uni. Our admin staff will be moving to blended working (some WFH and some campus working) from September. There's already bookable desks for those who need work on campus due to personal circumstances.

They aren't going back full time at all here. It will be hybrid for those who need to occasionally head in and WFH permanently for others

Already gone back - strong encouragement since the May relaxations, as so many other supporting roles could not wfh. Many feel quite uneasy. Office now takes 3 max, instead of the previous 8, on a H&S assessment, so it is all on a 'book your seat' basis though, and this is likely to mean that working elsewhere, wherever there is capacity, will have to become the norm.

It depends on the university, the physical office environment and how it can be made safe, and the role

BUT many universities have bookable working spaces for people who can't work from home or whose mental health would benefit from being in the campus environment. Speak to your manager

It's unlikely that my team (not student facing, pokey shared offices that we've outgrown) will be a priority for speedy return in June or July and we intend to continue hybrid to the extent that individuals want because our roles don't need to be done on campus

How long is a piece of string? All universities have very different policies and even within the admin section different departments have very different ways of working. Some departments are more customer facing than others who literally never deal with people face to face so have no reason to rush back. With all this said, from what I’ve heard people in admin they are not expected to be back until autumn at the earliest and looking like 1 day a week at that.

At my daughter's it might be never or hybrid from now on.

Yup I think it depends on the university and whether your role is student facing or not. Ours is currently only having student facing people in until August then I think it will be a mixture of WFH and in office.

We are being consulted now on models, mostly hybrid, and pilots will be ongoing until April next year.

I work in uni admin and we’re in! Though many are still WFH where it’s possible. Annoyingly almost all of the academics are still off campus for the foreseeable, bit of a pain getting hold of them sometimes.

Ours has been open since 17th May. They will go to a hybrid model once everyone is back but they have acknowledged and made available provision for people who want to work in the office full time - and have done for months.

Ours are getting everyone back between now and September, and the plan is to basically go back to 'normal' for the next academic year, which I am happy with. I do know that some colleagues have gone back earlier than planned due to their wish to work from campus, so if you are struggling then could you ask to do that?

I'm here now! I'm still in the minority, tbh, but I couldn't stay at home all week either.

We're heading towards a hybrid model and I hope to work 2 out of 4 on campus.

@bardlion - same here! Very few academics are back.

My friend has her first day back in the office today. She will be working one day a week in the office and four at home for the foreseeable future.

Going back 2/5ths of time but no idea when. Maybe September, maybe earlier, maybe later!

I think I'll be in for Clearing and then September on a hybrid basis. Who knows though - I was saying the same this time last year!

New year for us (with flexible working encouraged). That said front facing staff are doing a few days a week in the office.

@cappuccinoandcats

Please anyone in the know? when is it likely they will go back to the offices ? really strained at home. The WFH has gone on for too long now

Who are you talking about? If you're pissed with yourself or someone in your household wfh you need to ask the specific uni what their plans are. Like any other office some people can wfh and others can't.

I’m uni HR and I’ve been doing two days a week on campus since feb on welfare grounds.

Please talk to them if you’re struggling - campuses are open now.

I'm uni admin but in a face to face role so have been back since September with a short WFH window in the post Xmas lockdown. I get the frustration as we have been dealing with increasingly agitated students not getting the support as quickly as they need. All comms has been via Teams and email which is still slow and getting staff to pick up the phone is incredibly difficult. It's a long old slog to help the student's with the simplest of enquiries. I feel for them.

We are back! I am an academic but some on campus PS support has been in place throughout as some courses have never stopped being F2F. This ramped up after March 8th as more practice based subjs came back and again after 17th May.

Vast majority are not back FT but most are in on a rota system and our buildings and learning spaces are open normal working hours, 8-6 min and extended for some areas like library.