Members responded to last week’s survey with a wide range of assessments of university, departmental and supervisors’ responses to Winter Storm Fern. Read members grades and comments below:
The University Stayed Open Monday Instead of Officially Closing
A: The move to fully remote was a good solution and therefore the University could stay open.
A: The University staying open seemed to work just fine, not only from my perspective as an employee, but also as the parent of a current student. Remote options were utilized and the system kept functioning.
B: Our Professors taught their classes online. So I am not sure how that was considered staying “open.”
B: I think they did the best they could under the circumstances.
C: it would have been helpful to have at least half the day off (or late open/remote) to clear up the snow and ice at home.
C: I was able to work from home, but I do miss our snow days! I have a toddler who was also home due to the snow; luckily, my husband is available to watch her, but without him I would have needed to use time off to do so.
C: Most colleges, universities, and schools across the state were closed, so the decision was confusing. What made it more confusing was the lack of an update or explanation of the decision beyond the Friday before the storm. I am sure that made manager decisions difficult, since they may not have received important information that would help them make their decisions.
C: Ended up being fine as I worked from home with power. But I believe (to use the university’s language) in the name of equity, it would have been more appropriate to close down all the way, especially since not everyone has the same circumstances.
D: t was the right call to work from home, but notification came very late on Friday.
F: My department was remote. For any essential workers, it was still difficult that morning for people to dig out their cars. It was dangerous to drive on slippery, unplowed roads, and campus roads were undoubtedly not ready to be driven on. Even on Tuesday when I returned, campus/New Brunswick roads were in bad shape. Many two-lane roads randomly became one lane due to large pileups of snow, people were struggling to get to their buildings due to large piles of snow, it was just still a mess. I also had to find local roads to get to campus due to road closures, and those inner roads were not shoveled/plowed well (not a Rutgers issue, but it was still risky driving through them to get to campus).
F: Should have closed so that we could effectively remove the snow from our driveway/sidewalks while watching our child without childcare.
F: It’s impossible for working parents to work remotely when children are home from school. I had to take a vacation day so I could take care of my two young children because school was closed.
F: Not closing on Monday gave no time to actually clear our cars and driveways until after work ended at 5:00 pm.
Was your safety prioritized by the University, your Department and your Supervisors’ decisions?
A: We were told if we were not comfortable going into the office we can work remote and we do not have to switch our in-office days.
B: I am fortunate, our supervisor is great and is very flexible. But it was crazy that we’re open.
D: My supervisor allowed the office to work remotely Monday and Tuesday. However, on Wednesday I had to come in and I take public transportation. It was freezing, the roads and some sidewalks in New Brunswick were not cleared. I had to climb over some snow and try not to fall. I also work in a basement that is freezing and it’s was very difficult to work down there with the extreme temperature last week. On Thursday, we had icicles falling off the roof of my office and falling off in the front entrance. This was very dangerous and scary but thank God no one got hurt.
F: Our department did confirm that all employees could work remote, but there was some confusion (that prompted a clarifying email from our leadership) regarding from home on Monday. It seemed due to the new guidelines/procedures for Flex Work some employees were unsure if were allowed to work from home.
Were Flexible Work Arrangements Used or Extended Effectively?
A: Yes, absolutely it was clear that flexible remote work was allowed on Monday and it was nice to actually get that information on Friday night.
B: We could have easily benefited from remote work on Tuesday.
C: I was appreciative of the flex work arrangement for Monday and my scheduled day on Tuesday.
D: Yes, but wish I had day off to clean car out, got lot of snow and ice
F: The parking lot is still not cleared of snow as of 2/2 and a lot of spots are unable to be accessed. This causes a huge problem for the already limited space and people have been resorting to parking dangerously on the streets or blocking entrances and exits. There should be more leniency to work from home at this time.
F: The new rule that says you cannot have both Monday and Friday remote is not helpful. We are a small team with the majority of us being in office Monday through Thursday, and now due to this new rule some of us will only see each other once a week. There are no students who come by our office on Fridays, so forcing someone to be there just to keep the office open does not make sense. Additionally, our building recently received threats to a professor in a neighboring department, so making us come in when often times we are alone in the building is unsafe, especially as the onus of adding security measures is on us, not the university.
F: The city of NB did a terrible job on the streets which impacted Rutgers faculty, staff and students. The safety of all was not a priority. Flex work and online classes should have been extended to keep Rutgers community off the roads so the city of New Brunswick could properly clean the streets.
F: Administrative coordinators did yes, which also makes my job harder, since I have to report to work regardless being an essential worker.
