When facility managers are asked about hybrid work situations, the discussion typically involves how managers are adapting institutional and commercial facilities to accommodate the changing workplace due to the increasing number of office employees working from home, either exclusively or in a hybrid schedule format.
Given the nature of their positions, it would seem extremely rare that facility managers and other facility staffers can work from home often, much less exclusively, because buildings typically need hands-on care for maintenance, construction, inspections, and other job responsibilities.
But COVID-19 did send many employees home, including some facility workers, for at least a while, but the nature of the job does not allow working from home on a regular basis. FacilitiesNet asked Advisory Board members from Building Operating Management and Facility Maintenance Decisions for their thoughts about hybrid or work-from-home work settings for their employees.
Of four respondents, two managers indicated that remote or hybrid work was not or has not been part of the plan for their employees, citing job duties and coverage area.
One manager, Brian Cowperthwaite, the senior director, FS operations and maintenance, The University of Chicago, says the hybrid or work-from-home setup can cause a “mixed bag” of responses from employees, some of whom are appreciative of the freedom and “thrilled to be treated like responsible adults,” he says. But another faction of the staff who don’t have the option to be hybrid are often, “frustrated because not enough people are present, and their role requires them to be onsite every day while others seem to have freedom to come and go,” Cowperthwaite says.
One manager found that the hybrid setup has benefited his staff. Doug Diaz, the director of facility optimization for the Clark County School District in Henderson, Nevada, an area that includes Las Vegas, routinely allows managers on staff under him to work at home if they need to tend to situations such as an ill family member or for other reasons.
“This effort has had a positive influence on our staff, boosting their motivation and providing them with the opportunity to develop their potential,” Diaz says. “It has allowed them to work on projects with minimal interruptions, resulting in increased productivity."
In return for the flexibility, Diaz says his employees have shown their appreciation.
“By allowing our managers to work remotely in certain instances, we have demonstrated our ability to be flexible and accommodating, while also prioritizing the well-being of our employees,” he says. “As a result, we have been able to maintain a strong level of engagement and commitment from our staff, which has positively impacted our organizational goals.”
Dave Lubach is executive editor for the facilities market.
