Judith Faulkner, CEO of healthcare IT giant Epic Systems.
Source: Epic Systems
Bending to public pressure, health tech company Epic Systems has now informed its employees that they can work from home until the end of the year.
Epic had planned to require thousands of employees to return to the office this month to preserve its culture. Employees were previously told to return to the office unless they had problems arranging child care or had a health condition. Those employees were previously told they could work remotely on November 2nd.
But after hearing her concerns from local public health officials earlier this week, Epic said it would reconsider its remote work policy. The company had also heard feedback from its own employees, who shared concerns about their health and safety.
Epic, based in Verona, Wisconsin, employs about 9,000 people. It is one of the largest heath technology companies in the US, and it sells medical record software to some of the nation’s top hospitals.
Now, the company has said staff will receive four weeks’ notice before being asked to return to the campus, which is based in Dane County. Those who choose to come in are welcome, Epic said, but the company will check the number and limit it as needed.
The company shared the following statement with CNBC on Thursday:
On August 8, Epic put our phased return to campus on hiatus in response to a letter from Public Health Madison and Dane County. On August 12, we updated our policy.
With effect from 13 August, staff may continue to work from home until at least the new year. For those employees who want to come in, they are welcome to return to campus. We believe that collaboration in person is important.
We will continue to closely monitor data to guide our decisions, including reports on Dane County’s public health, the impact of the return of UW students to campus, and the advice of public health experts. For the safety of our staff and our community, we control the number and location of people on campus and limit the number as needed. Employees receive at least four weeks ‘notice’ before being asked to return to campus next year.
This new disease is challenging. Infectious disease experts told us that many companies, like us, had to adapt to changing information and developments about the virus and revise their plans multiple times. We value constructive feedback from our staff. We look forward to a time when everyone can be together in person again.
.
