April 2024
Virtual Event

Open Discussion Series #1

Hybrid work arrangements and flexible work schedules in access services units

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Forty-two individuals registered for the virtual webinar on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 to discuss hybrid work arrangements and flexible work schedules in access services units, including related impacts on staffing, operations, morale, and work/life balance. Attendees shared and heard what other access services colleagues are experiencing and implementing, as well as tips for successfully managing these elements of post-pandemic life in the workplace. 

 

Goals for the discussion included:

 

• Onsite Role Importance: Emphasizing the critical need for access services staff to be onsite to support the library's mission

• Celebrating Onsite Benefits: Highlighting the positives of onsite work for access services employees

• Understanding Offsite Impacts: Educating leaders on how the lack of onsite presence affects users and staff

• Remote Work Strategies: Investigating flexible work options for access services across libraries

• Remote Work Possibilities: Assessing when and how access services employees might work remotely in certain conditions

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Resources

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View slides from the webinar here.  While the webinar recording and chat transcripts are not available for sharing, below are some outputs reflecting attendee engagement during the session.

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• Jamboard 1: What access services tasks can only be done (or most effectively be done) onsite?

• Jamboard 2: What benefits or positive outcomes result from access services’ presence onsite?

• Jamboard 3: What factors or dependencies play into whether access services employees might be able to work remotely some of the time?

• Word Cloud: If remote work were available to access services employees, what tasks could successfully be accomplished remotely?

• Polls: Approximately what percentage of your job do you believe can be done successfully off-site?​