“When we reopen our offices,” Pietsch writes, “we plan to lift all restrictions on the number of staff permitted in our workplaces and restore our meeting rooms to full capacity. In Los Angeles County, officials have reinstated indoor-setting mask guidance, even for fully vaccinated citizens. Those lines are quickly taking on special significance as the “delta” variant-B.1.617.2 first detected in India-is making extraordinarily fast progress in the United States, clearly soon to be the dominant strain, sharply more transmissible than the “alpha” variant from the United Kingdom and in some cases showing the capacity for “breakthrough” infections that defy existing vaccination status. “According to the CDC, the combination of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 together with following COVID-19 safety precautions is the most effective way to protect against COVID-19.” Pietsch’s memo makes the company’s stance on vaccination options clear (emphasis Pietsch’s): “While at this time HBG will not require any employee to receive a vaccination or provide proof of vaccination as a condition of their attendance in our offices, we strongly recommend that all HBG staff get vaccinated as soon as an FDA-authorized and/or approved COVID-19 vaccine is available to them. We are all learning as we go through this together, and we will make changes as our world and our business require.” Vaccination Status and Capacity ConsiderationsĪs in many corporate settings, the question of vaccination requirements and capacity issues comes into play in the new Hachette plan. “We will take stock at the end of March 2022,” he writes, “of how well our staff and our business have adapted. There is a trial-and-error element to today’s newly announced program, Pietsch’s communiqué making it clear that this program is being implemented as a six-month pilot. Managers will coordinate with employees on this, much as is done for staff vacations. What’s more, Hachette is offering a new benefit, called “Flex Four.” It will allow all full-time Hachette Book Group employees not required for full-time on-site presence (warehouse, facilities) to work 100-percent remotely for four weeks annually. In addition, managers may opt to require staff presence for “additional days from time to time for important meetings, conferences, department strategy sessions, tech implementations, special projects, or other needs”.Staffers will have the option of working more days in-office if they’d like.The two weekly days will be fixed to support planning and supervision.All staffers will be required to work from the office two days per week (with the exception of those who must be onsite, such as facilities and warehouse workers).What Pietsch outlines is a full reopening of its offices in September with a hybrid usage model, key points of which are: “But we have also felt its limitations-the difficulty and awkwardness of communicating exclusively via screen, the need to schedule conversations rather than having a quick word, the pileup of work that takes longer than in the past, the physical and psychological stresses of isolation and long hours on video calls.” And we have all felt the benefits of working from home-avoiding the pressure and expense of commutes, spending more time with our loved ones, and much more. “We have seen that it is possible to carry on our business with everyone working from home when it has been necessary to do so. ‘Isolation and Long Hours on Video Calls’īy way of rationale–at a time when many have wondered if the success with which many publishing companies’ editorial staffs have worked from home-Pietsch writes, “I want to say how proud and grateful I am for all the effort you put into making remote work as successful as it has been. To be determined: Toronto (as Canadian and Ontario coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic regulations continue to evolve for Toronto).To be determined: Indiana fulfillment premises.Monday, September 20: Berkeley, Boulder, Nashville, Philadelphia.Here are the dates released today to the staff for various Hachette office sites’ reopenings: Pietsch has followed that meeting with an email, which has been provided this evening to Publishing Perspectives. Image – Getty iStockphoto: PCruciattiīy Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | New York Offices Open September 13 In an all-company meeting today (June 30), Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch has communicated the United States division’s plans for a return to offices in the autumn in Boston, New York City, Berkeley, Boulder, Nashville, and Philadelphia sites.
The village voice returns its voicey how to#
The question of when and how to begin reopening major publishing house’s offices has begun to come into focus, as executives and employees work through proposals and plans.
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