No employee is entitled to participate in the campus Telecommute Program. Rather, telecommuting is voluntary and approved upon by mutual agreement between the employee and Appropriate Administrator when the campus determines that telecommuting is operationally feasible and is in its best interest.
An employee approved to telecommute must fill out a CSUN Telecommuting Agreement.
In order to perform their work effectively, employees may use University equipment at the telecommuting location, with the approval of their supervisor. The equipment must be protected against damage and may be used for University work only. University-owned equipment will be serviced and maintained by the University. Employees must have all state property that is removed from their University workplace documented in accordance with the University Equipment Checkout Policy.
The employee and supervisor establish telecommuting start and end dates. The employee and/or supervisor may end participation in the program as outlined in the CSU Telecommuting Program and corresponding union MOU.
- Set a clear schedule. Make sure your family, friends, and housemates understand that you should not be interrupted during work hours.
- If your work hours coincide with others being at home, you will need to establish your own workspace. Many people use a spare bedroom, but a corner of the kitchen or a spot next to a favorite window may work great too. Decorate your space with items that you find inspiring or encouraging or that help you stay focused.
- Maintain separate work and personal email accounts. If you need to check work emails in the evening or on weekends, limit it to a scheduled time (such as right after dinner). Consider if an email requires an immediate response or if it can wait until you are back on "duty".
- Create “clock in” and “clock out” rituals. Use a morning task such as making coffee to get into work mode. When you are finished for the day, it may be helpful to do something that forces you to disengage from your computer, such as doing chores or taking a walk.
- Working out of the home office means that work is always accessible. When you are done, try to stay done.
- Admittedly this might depend on the amount of space you have at your disposal, but try mixing up how you work in your environment. Answer emails at a standing desk. Write memos/letters sitting down in a chair with a laptop. The changing perspective and movement helps keep you healthy and ideas flowing.
- The thing most people fear about working out of a home office is that sense of being disconnected from a social office environment. Do not hesitate to call/text/message/skype/video conference/etc. colleagues to check in. Not every communication needs a specific goal.
- Video conferencing is a great tool for remote working, but there is plenty of room for missteps. One of the biggest is that unfortunate tendency to look at the screen instead of the camera when you are talking. One trick is to put a picture of someone you like to talk to adjacent to the camera and talk to them when you are making that excellent point.
- Children can get REALLY excited when you're now home during the day. There is no such thing as "off limits space" for a kid, so just let them in. When you DO need privacy, a better bet is a mutually understood sign or signal that lets them know that, for the moment, the home office is out of bounds.
Additional resources can be found at https://www.csun.edu/hr/resources-telecommuting
The participating employee is responsible for assuring that their Telecommuting Site complies with health and safety requirements. Any equipment, furniture, utility charge or internet access not provided by the campus is the responsibility of the employee to procure/arrange and at the employee’s sole expense, unless agreed to as described below.
The Telecommuter is responsible for ensuring a clean, safe, and ergonomically sound home/off-site office as a condition for telecommuting. An initial on-site workplace hazards assessment of the home/off-site office may be deemed necessary. All conditions included on the Telecommuter's Home Safety Checklist, as included in the Agreement, should be met and checked off and are the sole responsibility of the Telecommuter. The Telecommuter should review this checklist with their Appropriate Administrator, and must sign it prior to the start of telecommuting.
You may preview the checklist here.
