Strength in Reserve (and Periodicals too): Per v. Desk

I'd like to take a moment to clarify why we ask those scheduled at the Desk to do Periodicals work. It's been brought to my attention that there is some confusion and concern about this.

Since Fall 2006, we have scheduled less "Periodicals" hours for student workers. We make up this difference by asking one of the two students at the Desk to do Periodicals tasks when needed - particularly during slow periods in the afternoon and evening. This mostly affects students scheduled at the Desk between 1-3 PM and 5-9 PM.

The expectation we hold for all student employees is to come to work with the willingness and readiness to complete whatever tasks are needed, regardless of whether one is technically scheduled as "Periodicals" or "Desk." We expect that these tasks will be attended to immediately, without distractions of personal work (email, homework, etc) at the desk getting in the way.

My hope is that this provides a useful framework and understanding about why we are asking Desk workers to do necessary Periodicals tasks more often than in the past. If you have any questions or further concerns, ask away! Use the Blog, or I'm more than available to chat as always.

I've changed the publically posted schedule to include a reminder stating "Students scheduled for "desk" hours will be asked to do Periodicals tasks as needed."