What do we know about how hybrid work environments affect work culture, employee morale, equity and other benefits (to workers/to employees)? How might research on this topic inform approaches to HR at the City of Hamilton?
This project is paired with a second project asking what tools and approaches exist to measure employee productivity in hybrid work environments.
Project Description:
Lora Fontana is the Executive Director of Human Resources (HR) for the City of Hamilton. The City is a large employer with over 9000 employees. The HR team services the entire organization including labour relations, health and safety, recruitment, talent, diversity, human rights and more. There is currently a return to work policy asking employees to come in person a minimum of 2 days per week. The questions being posed by senior leadership is how do we know that administrative staff are continuing to work and produce at the level they did pre-pandemic? Supervisors are trying to provide measurements, accountability, and follow-up although they don’t always know how hard their employees are working. It is possible people are producing more than before? The City of Hamilton is also interested in understanding how to stay competitive as employer with possibilities to work from home for organizations in Toronto and elsewhere.
HR is looking for literature review on how other cities and other employers are measuring productivity. There is also interest in understanding the social impacts of work from home and return to work policies on the culture and morale. There is interest in understanding how to balance the desire for productivity and accountability with the social and equity related factors.
This work will be taken on by two collaborating student teams, one focused on productivity measures and one focused on culture, morale, equity and other benefits accruing to workers and employers in a hybrid work environment.
Background Research:
The main focus of the project will be a literature review. Students will consult with city staff to determine exact parameters, deliverables and modes of communication.
Intended Outcomes:
This research will be used to inform the City of Hamilton’s future work from home policies and what measures will be used for tracking productivity.
City Staff: Simmy Aujla, Benefits Supervisor, Human Resources
Secondary City Staff: Lora Fontana, Executive Director, Human Resources
Instructor: Karen Balcom, Associate Professor, History
Course: IBH 4AB6