NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk: Agencywide Quiet Fridays are Here!
With much of the NASA workforce currently teleworking, gone – for now – are the days of the casual collaborations and conversations that happen in hallways or office pop-ins. In their place, many of us are seeing a significant increase in more formal, scheduled meetings.
In an effort to help employees maintain a balance of communication, collaboration, and individual productivity, NASA is implementing an agencywide “Quiet Friday” program effective Friday, Sept. 25.
The second Friday of each pay period will be a normal workday, except with meetings limited only to those that are necessary to accomplish mission-essential and mission-critical work that cannot be performed on another day.
While the idea for this program results from the circumstances of large-scale telework as the agency navigates its response to coronavirus, it is possible that Quiet Fridays will continue even after the agency returns to more normal operations, with periodic evaluations for effectiveness and modifications as and if necessary.
We are asking supervisors to work closely with their teams to provide the flexibility necessary to effectively use Quiet Fridays. Where mission requirements make Quiet Fridays impracticable, leaders can determine other options that will allow employees to have the same opportunities.
Additional information can be found in the attached guidance document.
Have a great week!
Steve
