We have finished week 3 of working on-site in teams and we are ending week 17 of remote work. Countway Library is thriving thanks to the efforts of all of you but especially the members of the evolved Countway Emergency Management Team which has now transformed into the Implementation Team (Luciana, Meredith, MJ, Len, Yasmina, Alison R.). Yes, there were some minor kinks in the system as we began on-site work but, have worked through those as discussed in this weekly message.
We have clarified the role of the team captain to emphasize troubleshooting workplace violations as well as logistics. Staff who are onsite know that if there is a violation, they should notify the team captain, and they will address it immediately and follow up with the staff member who reported it. We have worked with Facilities to get more clarity on the state of the building (summary report attached) below. We were able to respond to the staff meeting request for an all-gender bathroom on the 5th floor. We continue to work closely with construction to minimize dust and noise and separate staff and construction work areas and have resumed the Staff on Track newsletter. We are still way below the building density in the number of people working in the building at one time. We are following all the CDC guidelines above and beyond regarding separation of work areas, cleaning protocols, mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing. And, we are getting the onsite work done. We figured out who will empty the book drop and where to put the books for 72-hour quarantine for example. The BML inventory in the journal stacks in L2 is making progress. CHOM is able to visually look at materials in order to solve BML ownership questions. Administration is able to organize the areas affected by the kitchen flood and work with the construction crew to visually assess discrepancies in carpet color or woodworking and make better decisions about how to address the inevitable mistakes that come with construction projects. We have touched base in person with the HMS cleaning crew, mailroom, AV, IT, etc. to keep Countway systems and services going both inside the building and virtually.
This week the Governor announced Massachusetts is entering Phase 3 and that buildings can increase to 50 percent capacity and that libraries, restaurants, and gyms can open. It seems that the Commonwealth is holding its own with a decline of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. While this is good news, we know from watching other states that Massachusetts is in the minority and can’t let our guard down. Therefore, it seems that at some point, if these trends continue downward and the reduction in cases continue, that HMS and Countway may increase the number of workers on-site at. When exactly that will be I am not sure, but I don’t anticipate this happening in Countway before the fall. These potential future plans depend heavily on whether or not the Commonwealth continues to see a steady decline in cases, increased availability of testing, and contract tracing. I encourage you all to take advantage of the free COVID-19 baseline testing available every Wednesday in Longwood through Harvard University Health Services. It is free, painless, do-it-yourself testing and the results are quickly available.
It is clear that we will be in the mode of reduced numbers of staff on-site until the end of December. There will still be many hours in the month of remote work. Given this, it is time for us to move from simply surviving working in this mixed environment to thriving in it. This is an opportunity and a challenge. We have continued to be extremely productive remotely and at the same time, managed to now find a way to keep up with onsite work. How will we continue to be productive as the days of uncertainty drag on? What is successful productivity (beyond the increased numbers of requests)? How do we advance our careers when we can’t travel to conferences? How do we build collegiality through Zoom or using other technologies? How do we remain alone together, working in teams remotely and onsite? How do we balance our work and our homes and other responsibilities as the days of work blend into our personal spaces and lives? I think it is time we start discussing these questions and start redefining what it means to work. We at Countway are moving forward beyond surviving to thriving.
Elaine
