FAS Weighs Four-Day Return-to-Office Requirement for Some Staff

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is considering requiring some staff in academic departments to return to the office four days a week, according to a person familiar with the matter and a message sent to members of Harvard’s staff union.

Under the proposal, staff in some faculty- and student-facing roles would be required to come in up to four days a week. Formal implementation would not take place until at least January, according to the person.

The proposal is the latest move toward stricter in-person work requirements across Harvard this summer. Harvard College announced in June that it would move toward a five-day in-office mandate. One month later, Harvard’s Alumni Affairs and Development Office unveiled a two-day in-person requirement for roughly 150 staff.

No changes have been formally announced. Last month, FAS Dean of Administration and Finance Warren Petrofsky told some department administrative leaders that the school wanted staff who regularly interact with students and faculty to come in four days a week, according to the person. HR officials also recently informed some managers that new staff postings for student- and faculty-facing roles could require up to four days of in-office work a week, the person said.

In response to a request for comment, FAS spokesperson James M. Chisholm pointed to remarks FAS administrators made at June town halls referencing possible changes to hybrid schedules.

The changes “will be guided by the nature of the work and, importantly, the needs of the faculty and students each role supports,” Chisholm wrote in a statement.

He added that there would not be one specific FAS-wide policy, and that requirements could differ across academic units and even among roles in the same unit. Any changes would be communicated in advance.

In a Thursday message to members, Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers leaders acknowledged that some staff had heard of potential changes via coworkers, supervisors, or new job descriptions, adding that there would likely be an exceptions process if the new policy were to be implemented.

“We have not yet begun negotiations with administrators about this proposed change, but those discussions will likely begin soon,” organizers wrote in the message.

Stricter in-person work requirements have generated fierce debate in recent months. The College’s five-day mandate created friction among top College leaders, one Office of Undergraduate Education administrator told staff members earlier this summer.

HUCTW has also pushed back on blanket requirements for in-person work, citing contractual flex-work protections for employees. Harvard’s current policies are fairly flexible, allowing for decisions to be made at school, department, and unit levels.

“Decisions like this should be made by the people who understand the work — staff and their managers together — not through sweeping administrative directives that restrict hybrid work across an entire school or department without regard for the realities of individual jobs,” organizers wrote in the Thursday email.

—Staff writer Amann S. Mahajan can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at amannsm.38. Follow her on X @amannmahajan.