If you are returning to the office but still plan on telecommuting throughout the summer, then you would need to bring your equipment back to the office. However, it is expected that all employees that intend to telecommute also have an adequate set up at home, that must be purchased by you, so they can remain productive. If needed, you can keep one monitor at home, but the IT Department needs to be notified. TPD is asking to have all borrowed IT equipment back by September 7, 2021.

If you have questions about what equipment needs to be returned or would like to talk to IT about purchasing the equipment you have, please reach out to Information Technology in advance so you will have a more seamless transition back to the office.

TPD’s IT Department created a Telecommuting and Remote Work IT Procedure so employees and managers can understand the IT equipment that TPD will provide under various scenarios. Please read the procedure carefully and contact Todd Lanphear with any questions.

As stated in the policy, if you want to telecommute on a regular basis, please talk to your manager for approval per the Telecommuting and Remote Work policy. If your office has enough workstations for all your coworkers plus enough workstations for visitors, you might not need to share a workstation. If your office is reaching capacity, the utilization of the workstations in your office will need to be evaluated and you might need to share a workstation with another employee or be reclassified as a remote employee.

You are considered a remote employee when you do not have a dedicated workstation in a TPD office.

TPD has always placed work/life balance at the top of the list when it comes to employee benefits, because it fosters a healthier and less stressful workplace, and improves employee health and well-being while increasing productivity. We want to make sure employees feel comfortable returning to the office and therefore, as recently communicated, employees have the option to continue telecommuting and working remotely through the summer months, with the provision that the employee’s schedule is coordinated and agreed upon between the employee and their direct manager.

TPD has revised its Telecommuting policy to a new Telecommuting and Remote Work policy. Every employee that wishes to telecommute (your primary office is a TPD office, but you have the capability to work from home) or work remotely (your primary office is your home because you work from home or an office provided by “others”), should read this policy carefully. If you are interested in working remotely and changing your primary office to your home after the summer, or would like to telecommute on a regular schedule, please speak to your manager at any time to discuss your eligibility. For an employee proposing to change their work schedule relative to pre-pandemic conditions, the summer months can be utilized for discussing the proposed change with your manager, to make sure it is appropriate, and your work responsibilities can be fully satisfied under the proposed schedule (as outlined in the Telecommuting and Remote Work policy).

If the change that is agreed upon is a remote work arrangement, it can be documented by your manager by filling out the Employee Change Notification Form to change your primary office to remote. Please note, this form is for a manager to document an agreed-upon change, not a form for an employee to request a change. For employees who wish to continue to work remotely after the summer months, the deadline for the manager to complete this form is September 7, 2021. However, this policy and process will remain active so that employees can continue to propose changes in their work schedules as life situations evolve.