The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors approved a future policy and procedures for telecommuting and remote work. As the spread of COVID-19 cases has decreased in the area, employees have started returning to the office. However, those who don’t want to work onsite will now have the possibility to fill out a form and proceed through an approval process to work remotely.
During the past year and the early months of 2021, most employees kept working from home. However, now that the cases have been reduced, returning to the office is a realistic possibility. In Jefferson County, the cases have drastically decreased. As a result, offices have re-open, and employees are encouraged to work full-time onsite.
Jefferson’s County Remote Work Policy
Country Administrator Ben Wehmheir has recommended employees return to the office, as cases have reduced and it’s safe to do so. However, those who want to continue work from home – or remotely – will have to fill out a special form and do it through an approval process.
According to the county’s executive summary, remote work is beneficial to the employee and the county in some cases. For example, when employees work on a dedicated project, they don’t necessarily have to be onsite. Additionally, remote work productivity hasn’t been harmed, and in some cases, the physical space at the county facility is limited, making remote work a more comfortable option.
We are updating the process of remote work. Employees need to understand the commitment and procedures for working remotely.Ben Wehmheir, Country Administrator
The new policies formalize the rules from the emergency policies that took place during 2020. Last week, they were reviewed in the committee and had constantly gained feedback from employees.
We had discussed a flexible work environment and had done work prior to the pandemic. The pandemic pushed the need for the policy changes. We looked at how to maintain and monitor those schedules in certain departments, the ability of employees to remote in and how work was going to be monitored.Ben Wehmheir, Country Administrator
