Yes, the university promotes and allows remote work/telecommuting as a standard practice and has a policy on Staff Flexible Work Arrangements. Penn State employees have a vast scope of remote and hybrid options.

The university acknowledges that Flexible Work Arrangements can promote productivity and work/life balance by creating a plan for employees who are able to complete their work outside of a university workspace and/or conventional core hours and help to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from commuting.

Penn State recognizes the opportunity for flexible work arrangements and the desire for staff employees to create a more balanced working environment. Flexible work arrangements are encouraged if the work needs of the unit can still be met, and the arrangement does not inhibit the University’s essential need for a robust university workspace or on-campus experience.

Penn State defines flexible work as an overarching term that encompasses work arrangements best suited to the needs of the University with consideration for the employee in their effort to balance the demands of work and life. Flexible work can lead to many positive outcomes, including increased retention and engagement of staff, broader and more diverse candidate pools, reduced costs, and decreased environmental impact.

All flexible work decisions for staff at Penn State are framed by several foundational principles:

  • All flexible work arrangements must be appropriate for the position and contribute to the University’s mission. Key aspects of the position include the nature of the work, customers served, and the unit, college, or campus’ standards. Flexible work may not be suited to all staff positions.
  • An individual’s flexible work arrangement must be neutral or beneficial in its effect on customers and colleagues.
  • The standards for evaluating flexible work requests are established at the level of the unit/college/campus and carried out equitably.
  • Parameters on flexible work arrangements are set by unit/college/campus leaders, and individual requests are reviewed by supervisors, HR, and a designated unit approver. Staff members must receive approval to begin a new flexible work arrangement.
  • Flexible work arrangements must be documented in Workday (cloud-based software used to manage human resources including recruiting, employee time tracking, compensation, and employee team management).
  • A flexible work arrangement can be changed or discontinued by a supervisor or unit/college/campus leader at any time.

Considerations for flexible work arrangements and details on compliance requirements, modification and discontinuation of arrangements, employee benefits, University policies, and insurance coverage are available in Policy HR107 Staff Flexible Work Arrangements.  The policy provides guidance to unit executives regarding how to create and implement Flexible Work Arrangements for staff employees if the unit executive determines that such arrangements are appropriate for their units. Policy HR107 states that flexible work arrangements include a variety of options that meet the University’s operational needs while allowing the employee to successfully balance work and life demands. The following flexible work arrangement examples is not a comprehensive list, and is not indicative of arrangements that will be viable for every employee; it is provided solely as an aid for plan development:

  • 100% remote work.
  • Hybrid Schedule – A combination of time spent working remotely, and in a university-controlled office.
  • Staggered start and end times.
  • Alternative shifts.
  • Compressed schedules, such as four 10-hour days.
  • Mid-day flex time. For example, working 8:00am-12:00pm, on break between 12:00pm-2:00pm, and then working 2:00pm-6:00pm.
  • Core hours with a variable schedule, which is where an employee must be present during specified core hours determined by the supervisor but may adjust their arrival and departure times each day (e.g., set office coverage between 10:00am-2:00pm every workday).

Prior to the pandemic, Penn State offered telecommuting options. These options were expanded and continue to evolve by recommendations drafted by Penn State’s Remote Work Task Force. This policy and practice has greatly reduced the need for commuting. 

 

Learn more about Penn State’s progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on the SDG Progress page HERE, and learn more about work on SDG 11 HERE.