CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Large state agencies aren’t yet ready to bring all of their workers back to the office at pre-pandemic levels and it appears likely some workers may be able to work from home on a permanent basis.
Gov. Jim JusticeGov. Jim Justice announced last week there are guidelines now in place to allow state office buildings to bring back more workers but Justice is giving his cabinet secretaries a lot of flexibility.
“Many people have worked from home and they have done terrific work, I don’t think we’ve skipped a beat,” Gov. Justice said. “I want our state workers to know that their safety is paramount and our highest concern.”
MORE Read return guidelines here
MetroNews spoke with four large departments about their “return to work plans.”
Department of Administration
The state Department of Administration is made up of 16 agencies with 800 workers. The department is in charge of things like the capitol grounds, personnel, fleet management, real estate, health insurance and retirement benefits. Cabinet Secretary Allen McVey said he’s thankful for the flexibility Gov. Justice has made available.
Allan McVey“A lot of people will keep working at home,” McVey said. “Each department will be different. It will be a commonsense approach.”
The agencies have used a variety of work plans since mid-March. Many workers have worked from home, others have come in a few days a week and others have alternated weeks. McVey said the agencies have continued to do their work and have been productive.
One department that is scheduled to return to the capitol complex in larger numbers beginning Monday is the General Services division. McVey said the are some maintenance projects that need to be completed.
Division of Highways
State Deputy Commissioner of Highways Jimmy Wriston would like to have all 600 workers return to Building 5 on the state capitol complex but he knows that’s not realistic at the present time so a phased-in approach will also be used at DOH.
Jimmy WristonHe said they’ll bring back those who work in operations, construction and planning. They’ll join workers who have continued to work on site, including Wriston, since the pandemic began. He said telework will continue for designers and engineers.
“if you’re a roadway designer or bridge designer most of that work is right in front of your computer and actually you can be more productive working at home because you don’t have as many meetings or distractions,” Wriston said.
State Transportation Secretary Byrd White and Wriston formed a task force not long after the pandemic started to work on a number of issues including testing protocols. Wriston said those reporting to work at Building 5 currently have to complete a brief medical screening and have their temperatures taken.
Department of Education
Approximately 255 state Department of Education workers occupied Building 6 at the capitol complex when the pandemic began. Since then, there’s been only essential staff, most of the time fewer than 10 workers in the building with the rest working remotely but that’s scheduled to change beginning Monday.
Christy Day“We will begin the process of employees returning to the building in larger quantities, however, our goal is to have only 25-30 percent of our employees in the building on any given day,” Communications Director Christy Day told MetroNews. “Using Microsoft Teams, we have been able to work well remotely and ensure the integrity of the work. Employees have remained engaged and on task throughout.”
Department of Health and Human Resources
The state DHHR has approximately 1,500 workers between the Diamond building and One Davis Square in downtown Charleston, only a skeleton staff has been working on-site since the pandemic began with other employees working from home.
Bill CrouchDHHR Secretary Bill Crouch is currently working on a plan that will allow staff to be phased back into their on-site work locations.
“He is currently evaluating the working environment for each of the bureaus to determine whether additional barriers, spacing in conference rooms, etc. are needed before staff return,” a DHHR statement to MetroNews said. “If a job can be done remotely, and effectively, the Secretary may allow workers to continue to work at home for the time being. The health and safety of both employees and customers are of the utmost importance as DHHR develops its plans.”
Moving forward
McVey said a total return of all workers in the 16 Department of administration agencies could create an unnecessary risk, especially if that happens at the capitol complex where 4,000 to 5,000 people a day come and go. He said a phased-in approach appears the safest route for all concerned.
“If we bring a few thousand people back and they’re working on campus and we have no outbreaks of COVID-19, I would imagine that over the next month, next month and a half we may be able bring more people back,” McVey said.
McVey said a vaccine for COVID-19 would be even better.
“If we had a vaccine available we could bring everyone back but we do not,” McVey said. “That’s why we want to do things slowly and come up with ways to do things differently.”
Long-term McVey predicts the pandemic will change the way the state does business.
“I think we’re going to see a lot of working remotely and when we have that I think we’re going to probably need less office space and hopefully reduce some expenses in that area,” McVey said.
The state spends several millions of dollars a year on rental space.
The DOH has learned new ways to do business during the past three months including holding two large bid openings remotely instead of in person at the capitol complex like has always been done. Wriston predicts more changes.
“They’ll be policies coming out for teleworking to accommodate folks no matter what happens,” Wriston said. “But, in general, I honestly like to have my organization around me so we can more responsive.”
Wriston said a national organization of state transportation departments has complimented the WVDOT for how it’s handled the pandemic. He said the department was the first to reopen its rest areas and the first to split its hourly workforce into one week at home and and one week in the field schedules.
Justice said state government has continued to operate and provide services during a trying time.
“Our people have done a terrific job. They’ve kept us running in the most essential way; they kept our government up and going,” he said. “We congratulate them on that and, as we bring them back, we just want them to feel like we’re bringing them back in a very safe atmosphere.”
"bring" - Google News
June 14, 2020 at 05:53PM
https://ift.tt/2XZB3Kp
Large state agencies not ready to bring everyone back to the office - WV MetroNews - West Virginia MetroNews
"bring" - Google News
https://ift.tt/38Bquje
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Large state agencies not ready to bring everyone back to the office - WV MetroNews - West Virginia MetroNews"
Post a Comment