Besides the events above, several initiatives during the fifteen months of Covid will be retained.  One such initiative will be the continuation of “Fireside Chats” with Kevin.  Currently, he is on his second such set of chats through his participating in the Diversity and Inclusivity sessions led by Herman Lloyd.  Whether telecommuting or working remotely, the average person saves one hour a day in commuting time.  This time can be used by Office Managers to hold more frequent meetings with the staff in their offices.  Team leaders can use this time for more frequent meetings with their direct reports.  These meetings and Fireside Chats can be used to not only address current items, but in the big picture discuss where the company is going. 

Likewise, to paraphrase JFK, “Ask not what TPD can do for you to maintain connectivity with those working remotely, ask what those working remotely can do to maintain connectivity with TPD.”  With the extra hour or so each day when not commuting, individual employees also need to take advantage of this time to maintain connectivity to fellow team members and office members. 

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.