MU remote staff members to return to campus following policy change
Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The University of Missouri has notified staff of a policy change to push for in-person work, with staff who are currently working in fully remote or hybrid arrangements expecting to return to on-site work by Aug. 3.
According to MU spokesman Christopher Ave, employees were notified Tuesday morning by an email from System President Mun Choi, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Matthew Martens and Chief Human Resources Officer Marsha Fischer.
“As a public university, it is also important for our employees to be visibly present to demonstrate stewardship of the resources our state and community invest in us. To meet these objectives, we are prioritizing in-person work across the university,” according to the email.
The email added the move to in-person work aims to increase timely services for students and build trust and connections with the public. Ave said 2021 was the last time the university’s in-person work policy was changed.
University departments will have until March 16 to review current fully remote and hybrid arrangements. From March 16-April 17, managers will open applications for staff to apply for an exception to in-person work. Managers will decide on applications in mid-May. The University plans to have all non-exempt staff to return to in-person work by Aug. 3.
“We have at the University of Missouri, in total, about 17,000 plus employees,” Ave said. “We expect that these changes will affect fewer than 1,000 of those.”
Andrew Hutchinson, Representative for area labor union LiUNA Local 955, in a statement, called the move a “tragic misstep.”
“We expect that this, in addition to their cuts to accrued leave through their PTO cuts, will lead to further talent and brain drain,” Hutchinson said in a statement.
According to the school’s website, exceptions to in-person work must “demonstrate that remote work directly advances the university’s mission, cannot reasonably be performed in-person and clearly benefits the institution.”
Possible exceptions include more niche positions that are difficult to fill, roles with specialized skills, positions with in-person space limits, positions that require collaboration with non-local partners and positions with temporary or short-term needs.
“Anyone who feels that they have a good case as to why they should be granted an exception and be allowed to work in a hybrid or a remote arrangement, all those folks are free to talk to their supervisors about applying for an exemption,” Ave said.
MU Health Care is also participating in the initiative, claiming that in-person work is essential to patient care.
“The impact is expected to be minimal, as about 90% of employees already work on-site,” MU Health Care spokesperson Eric Maze said. “Each position will be reviewed individually to determine whether an exception is warranted, taking into account labor market challenges and space constraints.”
Maze adds that staff were notified on Tuesday, and MU Health Care has the same Aug. 3 deadline; however, their exception review is different.
Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale
