Let's improve access to teleworking / Working from home

I had no problem setting it up as it suited my employer to not have to find a physical space for me and I have reliable highspeed internet access. Most universities have quite a number of sessional academic and research support staff who work from home, and it appears to be allowed at the discretion of the employing academic. One has to complete all the usual mandatory online training (fire and safety, workplace relations and communication, etc.) If you know anyone working in a university they would probably be able to be of assistance.

I have worked from home for a number of years and find it to be a two-edged sword to be honest. However, I'm aware that that's not what you are looking at at the moment. I am happy to discuss the problems I have faced at a later time if it is an area of interest.

Thanks for your response @oldtrauma. Interesting to hear that it's so common in academia. It sounds like they've set up some systems so that they are compliant within the legislation. In my own field I've had access to homeworking at times but more from a 'let's pretend there isn't relevant legislation so we don't have to comply' perspective.

I'd be interested to hear about your experiences even if it's not directly related to our advocacy work.

I'm pleased to hear that there are bosses like this out there @Former-Member. Ideally we would like to have access to these sorts of arrangements become more normalised and supported so that it's not so hit and miss.

Can I ask, was it a response to disclosing your struggles or something that was widely accessed throughout the organisation?

Thanks Suzanne. I'm happy to discuss it with you. Is this forum the appropriate place, or would email or phone be better?

And there's the rub @Former-Member. It's currently all down to individual advocacy and decision making. I'm a manager myself so I really do understand that there are all sorts of operational issues to be considered. But when a team member has valuable skills but is struggling to maintain their workload, it's both smart and compassionate to be more accommodating. Without that there is the potential to lose those skills entirely. This is what we're seeking to change.

Thanks for joining the discussion 🙂

Either here or by email @oldtrauma. Whichever you'd prefer. If it's via email can you send it to team@saneforums.org and address it to me.

Thank you.

I decided to email and have just sent it.