UC Berkeley offers a wide array of work arrangements. Our People and Culture team provides a campus Flexible Work Arrangement Guide as a resource to explore the possibilities.  Within Haas, the standard is that staff who have a full-time appointment will work on campus at least three days a week.  Read below for process and details, including the process for requesting exceptions to that standard.

Process

All Haas staff who wish to work on campus for less than 100% of their appointment must:

  • Engage in conversation with their manager, including approval of a schedule that meets operational needs.
  • Complete the Flexible Work Agreement form.

For those who wish to work less than three days on campus, a request for an exception to the Haas hybrid work standard should be first approved by the unit manager, then by the Dean’s Office.  The unit manager is responsible for submitting a Flexible Work Agreement Exception Request  if they approve the proposed remote schedule.  If the exception request is approved, the unit manager will be informed, and then the Flexible Work Agreement form that is linked above will also need to be completed and signed.

Fundamentals of Flexible Work at Haas

Berkeley Haas strives for consistency across the school for hybrid work practices.

  1. All staff who are on campus less than 100% of their appointment should have a flexible work agreement on file.
  2. Hybrid work is a privilege and not a right. So, for example, if meetings occur on someone’s remote day and they need to attend in person, there is no automatic “replacement” of the day.

Our intent in supporting hybrid work schedules is to align our policy with our mission at Haas and UC Berkeley, which includes coming together to foster collaboration, collegiality, respect, and trust. Our top-ranked Haas programs create a high-touch, high-quality, and highly curated transformative experience for our students to become future principled business leaders. An important way we achieve this is by working closely together with colleagues within and across teams to provide creative and responsive solutions that meet the expectations of our students, faculty, and alumni. Our distinctive culture, which is strengthened through strong interpersonal relationships, makes Haas special.

Note that:

  • Unit leaders have the autonomy to allow for additional flexibility within their units with short-term fluctuations in staff schedules. For example, degree program teams may choose to work more days a week remotely during academic breaks when students are not on campus.  As long as these are short-term fluctuations (no more than a month at max and not involving closure of student-facing offices), these do not require approval and are at the discretion of the respective unit heads.
  • Employees who wish to change their schedules, even temporarily, need to request this of their supervisor.  Remote work flexibility needs to be balanced with operational needs via coordination with and approval from each individual’s supervisor.
  • While equity is a goal, the reality is that the suitability of different activities for flexible work arrangements falls across a continuum. Because of this, we give serious consideration to exception requests; approvals are balanced against both operational needs, space needs, and the goal of supporting staff belonging.
  • Proposals to be in the office less than three days a week are reviewed by the Personnel Committee.  Approvals consider the unit manager’s description of operational needs, including how reduced time on campus will affect student-facing responsibilities, on-site support needs (e.g., instructional, faculty, facilities, front-office, etc.), coverage of normal business hours, and impact on outcomes of work.  Unit managers are also responsible for articulating a plan for collaborating within and across teams and making adjustments to that plan as group needs evolve.
  • We strongly encourage all teams to come to campus during Town Halls and other community activities (e.g. Engage events) and to intentionally schedule time in person together for regular collaborative work.
  • Remote work does not automatically mean flexible schedules.  Schedules should be coordinated by supervisors so that there is a common understanding within a unit as to when each individual is working and shared expectations for reasonable response/collaboration times.
  • Staff with less than a 100% appointment can pro-rate the three-day-a-week standard, working on campus 60% of their appointment time.
  • Staff who work less than three full days on-site may not have a dedicated on-site workspace assigned; instead, there will be “hoteling” spaces set up for reservation and use.

We believe that this model ensures that we protect and strengthen Haas’ distinctive culture, deliver a transformational experience for our students, and retain the benefits of flexible work for our employees.