Work/Life Balance @ UST
Work/Life Balance @ UST
The University of St. Thomas recognizes the need to support its employees as they work to reconcile often-competing commitments both to family and career and the demand for their time that typically follows. Here at St. Thomas, we are committed to helping our employees find a balance between work and life responsibilities by offering a variety of programs designed for this purpose. Our Work/Life Balance Program offers an array of services and programs ranging from taking a few days off with or without pay, to working a modified or compressed work schedule, to providing for retirement, to keeping your job skills current, St. Thomas has programs, resources, or tools that can help you with each of these.
Hourly Employee Purchase Leave Time Program
The Hourly Employee Purchase Leave Time Program is designed to provide additional paid time off to eligible employees who need or desire a few extra days beyond their normal paid leave time (PLT) accrual. This program enables hourly employees to purchase additional leave time without being financially impacted all at once.
Voluntary Unpaid Leave of Absence Program
As part of the University’s ongoing efforts to control and reduce cost, it has adopted a Voluntary Unpaid Leave of Absence Program. This program is available during fiscal year 2010 and affords staff members the opportunity to take time off without pay. All unpaid leaves granted under this program must be initiated by the employee, approved by the employee’s department head and appropriate member of the Academic and Administrative Leadership Group (AAL), and taken on a voluntary basis.
Telecommuting
Telecommuting is a voluntary work arrangement that may be appropriate for some employees and some positions, functions, or activities. Telecommuting allows an employee to work at an offsite location for part or all of their workweek, substituting telecommunications technology for the trip to and from campus. The university considers telecommuting a viable alternative work option for situations that are well-suited to such an arrangement. Telecommuting can be an informal or formal arrangement. An informal telecommuting arrangement is short-term and ad hoc in nature (i.e. working from home on a short-term project with an approaching deadline). A formal telecommuting arrangement is long-term ranging from two or more weeks and is not a response to a specific project. Informal arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis at the departmental level. A telecommuting arrangement does not change the terms and conditions of employment with the University of St. Thomas. Formal telecommuting arrangements must be requested in writing and follow general telecommuting guidelines. In a voluntary telecommuting arrangement, the employee is responsible for all equipment that may be necessary for work effectiveness (i.e. computer, fax machine, telephone, etc.) Telecommuting guidelines are available in Human Resources.
