Working during COVID-19

The following roles are eligible for COVID-19 paid sick leave:

• Non-Union Technicians
• Executive Administrative  
• Farm Workers 
• Management & Professional staff, Excluded Management & Professional staff, Service Unit Directors, and Executive roles in their first year of employment 
• Employees who work in employment groups that do not accrue sick leave (such as student employees and non-credit instructors)

The following roles are not eligible for COVID-19 paid sick leave due to existing collective agreement or other coverage:

• BCGEU (UBCO) 
• BCGEU (Child care) 
• CUPE 116 
• CUPE 116 (Aquatic Centre) 
• CUPE 2950 
• IUOE 115 
• Faculty Association 
• Management & Professional staff, Excluded Management & Professional staff, Service Unit Directors, and Executive roles not in their first year of employment 

The use of UBC supplied and owned computers/laptops is preferred for a temporary work arrangements. This may take the form of laptops permanently assigned to an employee as their work computer, a laptop from a pool of departmental laptops that is returned when not in use, or a UBC computer taken home and left at home. It is also possible to use your home personal computer. If you use your home personal computer and you need to upgrade your security or other systems this will be at your own expense unless the department agrees otherwise.

When working remotely, employees should reference the Information Security Standard #06 for guidance on keeping information safe off-site and should only connect to the Virtual Private Network (VPN) when working on resources that require a VPN connection.

Employees approved for a temporary remote work arrangement are responsible for providing a suitable off-site workspace at their own expense. Please refer to the Guidelines for Telecommuting – Temporary Work from Home Arrangements – COVID-19 above for important requirements around workspace, equipment, and protection of proprietary information while working off-campus. 

No, employees are not able to access Professional Development Funds to set up their remote workspace office. Employees with a temporary remote work arrangement are responsible for maintaining a suitable and secure off-site workspace at their own expense. Furniture is not an eligible expense under any of UBC PD funds.

However, many other professional development expenses are eligible and the details can be found online. Visit the Staff PD Funds page or the Faculty PD Funds page for more information.

The Public Health Agency of Canada continues to assess the public health risk associated with the virus. Anyone who is unable to work remotely should come to work as normal. Please speak with your manager/supervisor, and refer to the Guidelines for Telecommuting – Temporary Work from Home Arrangements – COVID-19 above for guidance.

Beyond UBC, a number of community mental health resources include:

• Vancouver’s Access and Assessment Centre, 604-675-3700
• Kelowna Mental Health Services
• Crisis Centre B.C., 1-800-784-2433
• Indigenous Mental Health Counselling and Crisis Intervention, 1-855-242-3310
• HealthLinkBC, 811
• Métis Crisis Line, 1-833-MÉTISBC

• Review the Visual Ergonomics Guide to help you maintain your eye health during this period of increased screen time.
• Review how you can Ergo Your Posture. Attend a 15 minute zoom Ergo Your Posture session every Wednesday at 10am.
• Constant eye contact with others in virtual meetings leads to fatigue. Find a resting point for your gaze and focus on what is being said and shared. When possible, turn off your video feed, and stand up, and stretch.
• Take five minutes before or after your meeting to:
  • Review your agenda and notes
  • Refresh your water or coffee
  • Enjoy a nutritious snack
  • Stand up, stretch, go outside or move around
  • Take a few deep breaths
• Block off time in your calendar, such as lunch hour, to protect some working hours from virtual meeting invites.
• Practice self-compassion: while working remotely you may be experiencing an integration of your work and personal life, while missing an in-person connection with colleagues.
• Avoid multitasking during meetings as this takes additional mental resources, contributing to fatigue and eye strain. Minimize distractions by turning off notifications on your phone and other devices.

• As with in-person meetings, consider if the virtual meeting is necessary or if another medium (e.g. email, instant messaging) may work better.
• Use teleconference/phone calls when possible, for example 1:1 check-ins and quick updates.
• Consider the meeting purpose. Set and send an agenda in advance. This will help you stay organized and determine a need for a meeting.
• Allow for space between meetings by scheduling shorter meetings and avoiding back-to-back meetings for attendees.
• Be mindful of when you are booking meetings, such as Friday afternoons or lunch hour, as well as scheduling meetings that fall outside of your team’s core work hours.
• Open meetings with a check-in, an activity, or a quick movement break.
• During longer video meetings, quick movement breaks are encouraged. UBC Recreation can join meetings to lead a short movement break. Otherwise, consider walking meetings.

External references: Harvard Business Review | BBC | Ocean 5 Strategies