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In a recent Cornell survey of working families, staff, faculty, and academics indicated the most essential support they need to successfully manage their work and personal lives through the COVID pandemic is scheduling/workload flexibility.
These practices were encouraged in a recent message from Mary Opperman, Vice President and CHRO, and Avery August, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. As a manager, understanding these challenges and collaborating with working parents/caregivers will be critical to supporting those you supervise and achieving essential work goals.
Explore this page or view this 30-minute training to learn about best practices and options. Contact your HR Representative, Medical Leaves Administration (benefits@cornell.edu), and/or Work/Life in Human Resources (worklife@cornell.edu) for additional guidance.
There are no one-size-fits-all recommendations to address every caregiving need. However, these strategies will greatly support working parents throughout this crisis.
The following approaches may be used (individually or in combination) to accommodate working families with their schedule. Although not all options will be appropriate for all positions, managers are encouraged to be as creative and supportive as possible.
Please note: Per the Cornell Flexibility in the Workplace Policy, a manager must consult with the HR representative prior to denying a request for workplace flexibility.
Focus on chunks of time based on availability, utilizing the entire seven-day week if necessary. Schedules can be very creative, such as:
Monday-Thursday, 9:30 am-1 pm, 2-5 pm, and Saturdays 6 am-1:30 pm (40 hours)
If an employee does not have the capacity to work non-traditional hours, consider a reduction to part-time if the department workload allows.
Ideal for hourly employees in customer service or facilities roles, compressed schedules (such as four 10-hour workdays) may give the employee one full day/week to address a caregiving gap.
In situations where an employee must return to on-campus work, consider whether there is a portion of work that can still be conducted remotely - create a hybrid schedule to support this.
Use in increments of hours, half days, or full-days. Note: Exempt employees are also eligible to use small increments of hours, which may be ideal if time off is needed.
Reduce the employee’s hours with a subsequent reduction in pay – hours must be at least 20 per week to sustain health benefits. Exempt positions may have to become non-exempt positions per Federal FLSA laws. Retirement contributions and time away from work accruals may be impacted. Check with your HR partner to better understand any implications of a change in hours worked.
Hourly employees may informally and occasionally report fewer hours worked than normal without using HAP/Vacation time. The employee will not be paid for these hours. Time away from work accruals may be impacted. Discuss frequency and expectations with your supervisor and/or HR representative in advance.
Employees who perform similar work may wish to provide coverage for each other. Note: union rules related to this process, overtime, and seniority must take precedent, so consult with your manager, HR Lead, and/or Cornell Labor Relations in advance.
For staff/non-academic employees caring for children with disabilities, or to provide care to children with a serious health condition.
Up to 3-month duration.