Page 10 - BusinessWest March, 21, 2022

Jennifer Murphy
says the 100 employees working at the offices of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation will be returning
on April 4 and working hybrid schedules.
employers that are offering hybrid arrangements that you could eas- ily lose people if you put your foot down and say, ‘I need you here five days a week.’ Those workers can easily find someone who will be flex- ible and more accommodating.”
Balance Sheet
Those we spoke with said there have been a number of fits and starts when it comes to returning employees to the workplace. Most were ready to start the process last spring or last fall, but Delta and then Omicron ultimately pushed back those timetables.
Now, most are looking at later this month or early next month as a return date, although it appears the vast majority of workers will still be working remotely at least a few days a week.
At Health New England, Sarah Morgan, director of Human Resourc- es and Organizational Development, said all but a handful of the company’s 385 employees are currently working remotely, and there is no set date for a return. As for a plan, it involves being flexible, giving employees an opportunity to “volunteer” to return if they should desire to do so and if the conditions with regard to the pandemic warrant
“What COVID has taught us is that, given the nature of our work, we can operate our business successfully remotely. But we also feel it’s important for our culture that we work together and collaborate together; there’s real value in those face-to-face interactions.”
such a return.
For many reasons, she said, returning everyone to the office full-
time — essentially turning back the clock to early March 2020 — is not practical. For starters, even with COVID subsiding in many respects, the company is no rush for a return to pre-pandemic density levels in its office space in Monarch Place. But over the past two years, employ- ees have shown they can effectively work remotely, she went on, which more than justifies flexible or hybrid work schedules.
“Our associates have proven that they’re capable of working remote- ly for quite some time; they’re meeting the standards and expectations and doing very, very well,” she told BusinessWest. “They’re meeting all the needs of our members, and so we’ve said that people like to work at home, we understand that, and we’re going to enable a certain amount of flexibility within teams and a hybrid approach.”
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Like others, she said such flexibility
is becoming ever-more critical when it comes to attracting and retaining employ- ees, but also widening the pool of talent
Return
Continued on page 53
10 MARCH 21, 2022
FEATURE
BusinessWest
NOITPECER SREDAEL EKOYLOH