Changing the Way We Work

Recently, I asked several APS member leaders how the pandemic has called into question traditional ways of working at their universities and labs and how they think things might be different going forward as a result.

Not surprisingly, many see the pandemic mainly in terms of loss and added hardship. Students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty have been particularly negatively affected, losing valuable lab time, access to principal investigators and mentoring from senior colleagues. Both workload and administrative burden have increased. Others mentioned the importance of impromptu conversations in science, with one noting that the spontaneous social interactions that make science fun, productive and inspiring have been made more difficult. Disruption in the supply chain has affected the availability of some lab supplies and made running a lab more expensive.

Our member leaders also saw several positive trends emerge from these calamitous times, along with a number of lessons that will likely inform the future. This is particularly true in teaching. As one leader said, “I think the pandemic forcing people to teach virtually has done more to accelerate the use of interactive teaching and learning than all formal prepandemic efforts so far.” Overall, greater work flexibility and more frequent at-home work has reduced stressful commutes and, for many, increased productivity.

At APS headquarters, these trying times have transformed the way we work and made us rethink many areas of our operation. As a result, we anticipate that both the way we do our work and the way we engage our members will be significantly different moving forward.

Certainly, we have experienced our share of difficulties as APS staff have worked at home for the past 18 months. Sharing a workspace with your spouse and children, or working in tight quarters, can be tough. We’ve experienced Zoom fatigue and loneliness. We’ve also found we need to be a lot more deliberate about building culture, sharing information and collaborating outside our areas of responsibility.

That said, I have also been blown away by the resiliency, creativity, productivity and agility of our team. During the pandemic, we have launched major new products, found new ways to engage members, shifted on a dime to adapt to changing realities and continued the high standard of member service that APS is known for. Staff members have also enjoyed a greater quality of life, avoiding the horrible commutes that are part of life in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

Going forward, APS team members will have significantly greater flexibility regarding where and when they work. We expect roughly 80% of our team will work in the office one day or less per week. As a result, we will be augmenting our technology to better facilitate remote work and collaboration. We will also be reducing our office footprint and redesigning our remaining office space to focus on the new ways people will be using the space.

Our member engagement strategy will change, too, with fewer face-to-face committee meetings and more short virtual meetings that allow for greater participation, regardless of location. We are also developing more opportunities for shorter volunteer assignments through advisory panels, project task forces and one-time member focus groups. We will continue to significantly grow our webinar and online learning programs and resource libraries. And we will be making greater use of virtual components in our face-to-face meetings.

Without a doubt, the pandemic has been an enormously sad, difficult and challenging time for people around the globe. But it also presents us with an opportunity to learn new lessons born from necessity. At APS, we are using the lessons of the pandemic to create a better workplace for our staff and a more engaging and accessible Society for our members.

Scott Steen, CAE, FASAE, is executive director of the American Physiological Society.

This article was originally published in the September 2021 issue of The Physiologist Magazine.