Brookline Telework Pilot Tackles Space Constraints, COVID Concern

A three-month pilot of work-from-home options for town hall employees in Brookline is underway, with dual goals of serving as a COVID-19 mitigation measure and remedying longstanding space constraints in the municipal offices.

The pilot began Sept. 7, and officials plan to reevaluate and potentially modify it after three months. It gives workers the option to telecommute up to three days a week, after developing plans with their supervisors.

Eighty-six employees from 13 departments are participating. Town Administrator Mel Kleckner said the program "will provide the town with insight into whether or not work from home options are feasible going forward, even after the pandemic."

Brookline plans to survey participants on their modes of transportation to work, as a way of measuring potential environmental impacts from the change in commuter habits.

The pandemic has forced reconsideration of what jobs can effectively be done remotely, a trend that has applied to municipal governments as well as larger public-sector entities and private companies.

A September 2020 telework policy for Brockton city employees allows workers in suitable positions to telecommute as long as their department's operations are not jeopardized and they physically report at least two days a week.

Worcester's telework policy describes "flexibility" as its key principle, stating that workplace flexibility "supports the City's goals related to employee recruitment, retention, and sustainability, employee excellence and well-being, and overall financial savings for the City."

In its annual workforce survey, the Center for State and Local Government Excellence — now MissionSquare Research Institute — said the percentage of respondents reporting regular telework for eligible positions nearly doubled from 27 percent in 2020 to 53 percent in 2021. The practice was more common among state agencies (64 percent) than local ones (19 percent).