Is Remote Work Right For You?

Remote Work employees spend most, or all, of their working hours outside the traditional place of work. They differ from teleworkers in that their visits to campus are infrequent, their location is sufficiently far away that daily commuting is not possible, or the position is designed specifically for off-site work.

To evaluate whether remote work is right for you, we recommend you and your manager complete the below assessments, then discuss. The assessments and manager-to-employee conversations will help determine whether remote work is feasible.

 

Remote Work Application Process

Remote work creates significant implications to your work. After an employee and supervisor agree that remote work is feasible, there are still crucial steps that need to be taken before approving remote work situations, both domestic and international.

Refer to the Flexible Work Types and Forms table to determine the flexible work agreement that is required for your employee classification and flexible work type.  

• Commonwealth of Virginia: Standard Telework Agreement
• George Mason University: Flexible Work Agreement
• Out-Of-State/International Fulltime Telework/Remote Work Agreement (Please note that this form must be initiated by your supervisor and should be completed for both part-time and full-time employees.)

Workflow Approvals

Workflow approvals vary with each of the flexible work forms. 

For the Out-of-State/International Fulltime Telework/Remote Work Agreement, initiated by the supervisor, watch this video or review this to learn more about the workflow approval process. Remote Work Request Workflow Explanation to learn more about the workflow approval process.

The Commonwealth of Virginia’s Standard Telework agreement is initiated by an employee, approved by a supervisor, signed off on by HR & Payroll and a President’s designee prior to being sent to Virginia’s Secretary of Education or Chief of Staff. 

Mason’s Flexible Work Agreement is initiated by an employee, approved by both a supervisor and a department head before being processed and placed on file with HR & Payroll.  

After forms are submitted, faculty and staff can access completed forms at any time on the Dynamic Forms site by clicking “Forms History” on the homepage (shown below).

 

Additional Resources for Remote Workers

 

Special Considerations for Remote Workers

1. You must complete withholding and tax forms for the state in which you reside.

2. If you are hired directly into a Remote Work position, you must complete the I-9 form prior to or on your first day of employment.

• Federal law requires that all employees hired after November 6, 1986 and working in the U.S. must complete a Form I-9.  Section 1 must be completed on or before the employee’s first day of work for pay and Section 2 must be completed within three business days of the first day.  If an employee has been hired to work at a remote or off-site location and/or is not physically available on campus to present the document(s) for verification, the hiring department must contact HR & Payroll.  Please call the HR & Payroll Customer Service Center at 3-2600 and they will refer you to the team who handles remote I-9 procedures.

3. Your travel to and from a Mason campus can be considered official business. Work with your supervisor to address the frequency of and budget for these visits.

 

FAQs

Still have questions about Remote Work? See our Remote Work Frequently Asked Questions for more information.