This week, the phased reopening included City staff being asked to come back into the office daily. However, with COVID case numbers now surging back to the high levels seen last winter, City Council and Management should consider reimplementing staggered office schedules for staff, as we had been doing throughout the pandemic. Should an employee be COVID positive, staffing City Offices at full capacity increases the exposure risk across the organization. It would be a wise decision to return to reduced office capacity. Offices do not need to be staffed at full capacity to serve the public. Additionally, it will truly not serve the public if a significant number of employees in a division become infected and cannot work. Lastly, by requiring staff to come in daily rather than allowing remote work, staff will now likely take leave if they need to stay home to care for family members, rather than working from home as was afforded to them previously. This results in reduced productivity. I encourage you to consider returning City offices to staggered scheduling for employees, to not only protect employees, but to ensure that you’ll actually have employees healthy enough to continue serving the public.
Lina Portolese
City Hall Employee
RBPSA Board Member
This week, the phased reopening included City staff being asked to come back into the office daily. However, with COVID case numbers now surging back to the high levels seen last winter, City Council and Management should consider reimplementing staggered office schedules for staff, as we had been doing throughout the pandemic. Should an employee be COVID positive, staffing City Offices at full capacity increases the exposure risk across the organization. It would be a wise decision to return to reduced office capacity. Offices do not need to be staffed at full capacity to serve the public. Additionally, it will truly not serve the public if a significant number of employees in a division become infected and cannot work. Lastly, by requiring staff to come in daily rather than allowing remote work, staff will now likely take leave if they need to stay home to care for family members, rather than working from home as was afforded to them previously. This results in reduced productivity. I encourage you to consider returning City offices to staggered scheduling for employees, to not only protect employees, but to ensure that you’ll actually have employees healthy enough to continue serving the public.
Lina Portolese
City Hall Employee
RBPSA Board Member