What is WorkFlex
WorkFlex is the name of ISU’s flexible work program for Merit and Professional and Scientific (P&S) staff. WorkFlex is simply rethinking when, where, and how work gets done. The program and the information provided throughout the WorkFlex webpages is designed to acquaint employees with new ways of working and to assist both employees and supervisors with the decisions needed to implement work flexibility that is mutually beneficial. As employees think about their needs for flexibility, strong consideration of the university’s and department’s or college’s mission, goals, and customer service requirements must drive this process.
WorkFlex at ISU
At the heart of everything we do at Iowa State University is our commitment to excellence in our mission: teaching, research, extension and outreach, student support, daily operations, and service to our customers and stakeholders. As a residential and research-intensive university, Iowa State emphasizes in-person learning, services, and support. This excellence is achieved because of our dedicated and highly skilled employees. As work environments are evolving and more organizations are providing flexible work arrangements, ISU must be competitive in recruiting and retaining top talent.
The WorkFlex program has been developed with Iowa State University’s mission and unique needs in mind, recognizing that departments and units perform diverse work in diverse workspaces. This program will provide a framework for supervisors to work with their employees and determine what options may work best for their unit.
Purpose of the WorkFlex Program
The purpose of the WorkFlex program is to provide some simple-to-follow guidance and options that allow our employees flexibility to manage what is important to them while at the same time providing a benefit to the university and the campus community. It is designed to provide flexibility on when, where, and how you get your work done, and to recognize and appreciate what you do.
In addition to adapting to a changing work environment and trying to meet the needs of an evolving workforce, the ISU WorkFlex program is a recognition of the hard work that members of the community put in to make our university great. It’s also a recognition that in a technology-enabled, pandemic-recovering society, work has drastically changed and will continue to change. And it’s a recognition that the lines between work and life have blurred and that it is more challenging than ever to manage the balance.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the Iowa State University Human Resources (UHR) department proposed the need for more robust flexible resources to President Wintersteen and university senior leadership. WorkFlex is a program with broad guidance to allow flexibility, rather than a formal policy. This program is supported by university leadership and will require new ways of thinking about how work gets done at ISU, and how supervisors engage their teams.
Explore WorkFlex at ISU