U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Recruiting, Retaining and Honoring a World-Class Workforce to Serve the American People

What Can A Supervisor Do To Accomplish Work During a Pandemic Health Crisis?

Here are some actions you can take in advance of a pandemic health crisis to ensure you can accomplish work if such a crisis occurs:

1. Discuss the potential pandemic and the possibility of an outbreak with your employees
   
   Explain that should a pandemic health crisis occur, Government operations will continue. Stress need for employees to plan for how they will continue to work (in office, at alternative site, or from home)
2. Remind your employees about the availability of information on the www.opm.gov/pandemic and pandemicflu.gov Websites.
3. Update office emergency plan, including updating all employee emergency contact information and establishing or updating a telephone tree
4. Reassess all positions and employees for potential telework agreements
• Establish agreements/procedures in accordance with agency’s telework plan and offer telework agreements to eligible employees
• Implement telework arrangements as broadly as possible so systems and employees are fully prepared for remote work
5. Review work schedules and work arrangements for all employees
   
   If your agency policy permits alternative work schedules (AWS), consider asking employees to work:
• A Flexible work schedule, which allows an employee to complete the basic 80-hour biweekly work requirement in less than 10 workdays. The employee may vary his or her arrival and departure times and AWS day off.
• A Compressed work schedule, which also allows an employee to complete the basic 80-hour biweekly work requirement in less than 10 workdays. The employee may not vary his or her arrival and departure times or AWS day off under a compressed work schedule.
6. Conduct a test of:
• Telework arrangements with all participating employees
• Telephone trees or similar employee contact procedures
7. Discuss agency plans and processes for
• Communicating the status of agency operations with employees
• Communicating the status of employees with supervisors and managers

Here are some actions you can take if a pandemic health crisis occurs:

1. Implement your emergency plan.
2. Adjust emergency plan, work assignments, and work arrangements as dictated by the crisis and employee availability.
3. If your workplace should become unsafe, see the Workplace Disruptions factsheet [62 KB].