Administrative Services: Flexwork

Flexible Work Arrangement requests may be submitted by any library staff member and approved based on a number of factors including work history and work style, communication, and accountability. Most important, the arrangement must support the unit or department’s goals, including productivity, cost effectiveness, and service to internal and external clients. For example, it should be achieved without curtailing normal library service hours, incurring overtime costs, impairing the unit’s or department’s effectiveness in carrying out its function(s), placing undue burden on other team members, or creating problems of safety, security, or supervision.

There are two types of flexible work:

• Occasional – one-time or intermittent situations requiring schedule flexibility or arrangements of a duration of less than 90 days
• Formal – an ongoing change to one’s regular way of working; requires a formal proposal

The following resources were developed for the FlexWork Pilot involving the ITDD staff.  These are living documents that will be reviewed and adapted as needed.  And they will apply to all flexible work arrangements in the Libraries:

• Guiding Principles for MIT Libraries IT Team FlexWork Implementation Process
• Communication Norms for ITDD FlexWork Pilot
• Flexibility Proposal Form

There is information about MIT’s job flexibility policy and guidelines, as well as helpful resources on MIT Human Resources website, including:

• Job Flexibility at MIT – The Role of the Employee (also includes sample of a completed flexible schedule proposal at bottom of page)
• Job Flexibility at MIT – The Role of the Manager-Supervisor