Overview
All employees with appointments through IGHS are expected to be on site an average of three days per week starting October 1, 2025. Managers in the M3 classification and above are expected to be fully onsite (4 days per week). Divisions/centers within IGHS may allocate quarterly blocks of on-site time (e.g., weeks of consecutive full-time work on site in lieu of three days per week every week), with an average of 156 days on site throughout the year. Faculty will follow the policy of their home department/division within the professional schools.
On-site requirements are driven by business needs in support of mission excellence, wherein faculty-and student-serving groups have adequate on-site coverage that results in staffing during regular business hours and ensures on-site responsibilities are not shouldered entirely by one individual.
The flexible work program is administered by these principles:
- Supervisors and managers of onsite staff are onsite when their staff members are onsite.
- Remote work assignments (fully off-site) are rare and limited to employees hired with a designated remote position. All other positions should be assigned a hybrid status, which allows for worksite reassignment as needed.
- Senior leaders (defined as M3 and above) are on-site at least four days/week.
- Onsite work assignments are predictable to allow for strategic use of campus resources.
Space in Mission Hall will be governed by the IGHS Space Guidelines. All employees with Flexible work schedules are responsible for setting up their workstations consistent with UCSF-recommended ergonomic standards. IGHS team managers/supervisors have discretion to reimburse non-recurring off-site workstation set-up expenses to facilitate the prevention of work-related injuries based on their budget availability for their unit.
Onsite Designations
Employees fully onsite: Senior leaders (defined as M3 and above) are on-site an average of four days/week, including the IGHS Directors Executive Team.
Employees with flexible designations: All other employees within IGHS, including center/programmatic staff, the education team (MS/PhD/directors/certificate leaders), facilities, executive assistance, communications, business development, finance, research administration, and human resources teams.
Anchor Days
- Supervisors and managers of onsite staff are onsite when their staff members are onsite
- Employees based at the California Department of Public Health locations will be on-site according to the requirements of their public health division and work duties. These will be managed by the division chief at CDPH for each branch of the UCSF-CDPH contract.
- Most IGHS employees will work from the office at Mission Hall on the UCSF campus and should be on-site an average of three days per week.
- The IGHS-wide anchor day is Wednesday. CDPH-based employees have anchor days based on their specific branch.
Compliance Monitoring
Senior managers within central resource functions (e.g., research administration, finance, HR, communications, business development) and Center/Initiative administrative leaders are responsible for implementing on-site work expectations, monitoring and enforcing compliance, and addressing any related concerns within their respective teams. UCSF Human Resources is responsible for supporting and guiding leaders with the interpretation and enforcement of the policy and these procedures, and for ensuring that job descriptions and recruitment processes are consistent. Questions regarding implementation of the policy should be directed to the IGHS Director of Finance & Administration.
Procedures for Evaluating New Requests for Exceptions or Extensions Under this Policy:
Any request for an exception under this policy must be submitted in advance for consideration and approval by the Director of Finance & Administration and final approval by IGHS Deputy Director and/or Executive Director. Approved exceptions must be documented in the employee’s file and reviewed periodically for continued operational alignment. Where the work assignment changes for the position (not the individual), the job description will be updated. Exceptions may be rescinded based on operational needs and job performance at the sole discretion of management
On-site responsibilities for any given unit should be assigned equitably to individuals within the same job classification for that unit, regardless of where employees live.
Procedures for Revoking Exceptions or Extensions Prior to the Effective Date:
Current employees (as of October 1, 2025) residing outside of the nine Bay Area counties, with 50% or more of their job duties involving international work, were permitted to continue working remotely. These employees will carry out the current scope of their funded research agreements and then transition to working in San Francisco for future funded opportunities.