Remote Work Arrangement Guidelines | NJIT Human Resources

Purpose

New Jersey Institute of Technology (“NJIT”) strives to foster a culture to deliver best in class service and policies that empower NJIT’s most valued asset, our people, to lead our pursuit in becoming a preeminent public polytechnic university.

NJIT recognizes that its current and prospective staff value work-life balance through flexible work practices. These flexible work practices support a variety of goals related to productivity, staff engagement and well-being, recruitment and retention, sustainability, service excellence, cost savings, space utilization and the overall enhancement of the employee experience. NJIT seeks to strike the balance between maintaining an unwavering focus on University mission in support of our students with our strategic commitment to being an employer of choice. Accordingly, NJIT is providing Remote Work Arrangement guidelines (“RWA”).

The RWA has five key objectives:

Increase the ability of the University to operate virtually at any time, respond quickly to unexpected future events and promote post-pandemic health and safety;
Increase employee engagement and retention;
Increase opportunities to attract top talent as the modern workforce prioritizes work life balance;
Enhance sustainable ways of working that reduce office footprint and expenses; and
Maintain student centricity focus.

Eligibility

The RWA applies to all staff positions that are eligible according to job descriptions, interaction with colleagues and other departments on campus, and the needs of key stakeholders including students and faculty. Employees are not entitled to, or guaranteed the opportunity to, use a remote work arrangement. RWA are at the discretion of each Vice President or Dean. Disputes regarding the existence or terms of a remote work arrangement may be referred to a designated representative within the Office of Human Resources for final resolution. The RWA does not apply to faculty or instructional staff.

Requests for a remote work arrangement should not be considered when:

Key duties require ongoing access to equipment, materials, and documents that can only be accessed on NJIT property.
Key duties require extensive face-to-face contact with students, employees, or other individuals on NJIT property.
Key duties require extensive time in meetings or performing work on NJIT property.
Key duties require access to and use of confidential information that cannot be adequately safeguarded at an alternate workplace.
On-site staffing requirements cannot accommodate employees working remotely.
The employee's performance is not in good standing, or not meeting all performance expectations.

Approval of a remote work arrangement should be considered when:

The employee has sustained high performance, and when the manager believes that the employee has demonstrated the ability to meet expected quantity and quality of work while on a remote work arrangement;
Quality of service to students, faculty, staff and other individuals can be achieved and maintained;
A newly hired candidate must first successfully complete the initial orientation requirements before the remote work arrangement can begin.

Remote Work Request

Eligible staff members may request to work remotely by completing an electronic Remote Work Request Form.

The RWA is not a term of employment and no employee should have any expectation that this benefit will continue for their position for any particular period of time. The RWA status for a position can be changed at any time and for any reason.

Expectations

When working off campus, employees are expected to maintain the same productivity and performance as if they were working in an NJIT work location. Specifically, employees must perform all the duties set forth in their position description, as well as those additional duties that the Department or their manager may assign from time to time.

Managers must clearly communicate and document expectations, including objectives, work assignments and frequency and mode of check-ins. Specifically, managers and employees should consider the following topics:

Frequency and type of in-person and virtual meetings;
Responsiveness expectations (e.g., via email, telephone, WebEx, Google Meets, and other communication platforms);
The telecommuter must remain accessible during work hours (phone, email and video) and should establish effective communication and workflow. Managers should establish expected response time and employees should be accessible through means such instant messaging.

Employees are expected to be video-ready at all times during their scheduled workday. Video calls may be initiated at any time, and employees are generally expected to be present on camera.

Other communication expectations with team members, internal stakeholders and external contacts; and
Core hours during which all or most employees are required to be on campus.

Schedules and Timekeeping

The schedule and timekeeping guidelines remain in effect for RWA employees. Employees must discuss specific scheduling arrangements with their manager and obtain their manager's approval of such arrangements in advance. Employees who are paid hourly must accurately report in the Time Management system all time worked regardless of their work location. A remote work arrangement for an hourly employee should not result in overtime work without the prior written approval of their manager. If you’re overtime eligible you will need to get prior written approval from your manager.

Remote Work Area

RWA employees must ensure they have a suitable work area in their off-campus work location. In particular, employees must ensure they have the proper IT systems and technology to perform their job duties from the off-campus location.

It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. When possible, the employee’s work area should be limited to a separate area of the employee’s home.

In addition to NJIT-issued work equipment (e.g., computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, headphones, docking station), internet and telephone expenses incurred by employees when working remotely are not eligible for reimbursement. Employees may not submit mileage and/or meal charges in connection with travel to/from an off-campus work location to the NJIT campus.

Safety and Security

While working off campus, employees shall be subject to the same accident, sickness and absence reporting requirements as they would be if they were working on campus.

Employment-related accidents or injuries must be reported immediately to the employee’s manager and the Division of Human Resources. NJIT is not responsible for any injury to employees outside their course of work or work hours.

Employees must protect NJIT’s data and information from unauthorized access, disclosure, or damage, and comply with University policies and procedures regarding access, disclosure and/or destruction of official University records. Employees must observe NJIT’s Information Security Policy and other policies concerning protection, storage and retention of NJIT’ records

Further Questions

Employees should direct all questions concerning the RWA to the Division of Human Resources at a skTOD@njit.edu.