The Era Of Flexible Work In Higher Education

The COVID-19 epidemic changed our communal connection with labor instantly and dramatically.

But, in the future, how will academic, staff, and administrative roles differ?

In mid-November, during the short respite between the commencement of the Delta and Omicron variations, Inside Higher Ed's The Key podcast spoke with administrators from two colleges that were ahead of the curve in addressing issues that many people and organizations are grappling with.

Natalie McKnight is the dean of Boston University's College of General Studies and co-chair of the university's Committee on the Future of Staff Work, which established a new policy that allows many staff to work from home up to two days per week. According to Bryan Garey, vice president of human resources at Virginia Tech, approximately 10% of the workforce has already qualified to work 100 percent off-site as part of the university's developing flexible work policy. (You can listen to the complete episode of the podcast here.)