An Examination of Telework Policies: Balancing Work-Life Demands during the ‘New Normal’

Abstract

March 2020 Governors and Mayors across America instituted “Stay at Home” and “Shelter in Place” to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges for the field of HRM. It halted traditional in-person business operations, it shut down in-person workplace operations for government jurisdictions for months. It called for the closure of daycares, the K-12 education system, and universities. Response to the pandemic instantly and dramatically shifted the public sector workplace to a stay at home remote working environment. Of interest to this research are the implications of the remote working requirements that resulted from these orders. The focus of this research is to explore the best practices that can be learned from an existing work-life balance program from The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during the pandemic. Conclusions are drawn emphasizing the importance of HR systems that are responsive to employee needs while remaining committed to effective public service delivery.