PSU Sheds Staff After Expedited Return-To-Office Requirement

Staff at one of Portland’s largest employers say they were caught off guard by a dramatic change in timeline for a return-to-office mandate. 

In late July, a number of Portland State University (PSU) employees were notified they’d need to return to working downtown by mid-November—a large jump from an earlier September 2026 timeline. 

The original return-to-office order in early June stated that employees would need to return to in-person work four days per week by next September, but this quickly ratcheted up. In an email on July 31, 2025, Research and Graduate Studies employees were told they would need to return to in-person work five days a week by November 17, 2025—barring an approved exception or short-term transition plan. 

The university employs just over 5,200 staff, according to fall 2024 data, making it among the top 10 largest employers in the Portland region.

“As an essential part of our mission as Oregon’s Urban Research University, it is important that we continue to work toward returning PSU to pre-pandemic levels of campus vibrancy,” PSU President Ann Cudd wrote in a statement in June. “We take our public service mission seriously and an active campus environment serves not only our students and our community but also our city and our region.”

PSU isn’t the only employer trying to cut down on remote work. 

In hopes of increasing downtown foot traffic, the city of Portland has used tax incentives to encourage employers to lease office space downtown and bring employees back to the office. Mayor Keith Wilson has also required city managers and supervisors to return to full-time in-office work.

The consequences of returning to the office could mean a substantial financial burden for PSU staff, who may soon have to pay for child care, or move.

Janet Albarrado works in a department within Research and Graduate Studies. She’s lived in Oakridge—nearly 150 miles from Portland—since before she was hired and would now need to move to keep her job unless an exception is made. 

“The economic vibrancy of downtown is being privileged over the health and wellbeing of your staff,” Albarrado said. “The impact of this is blowing up our office.”

Albarrado isn’t the only one who’d have to move to adhere to the new requirements.

Nick Crivello works in the same department as Albarrado and lives in Olympia. He said he couldn’t sustainably live in Portland on his current salary. 

“Others in my department have it worse than myself, and I’m speaking out because of how devastating this will be to many workers who are doing essential work to ensure research funding endures through these troubling times,” Crivello told the Mercury, noting a lack of clarity or clear guidance on when his return-to-office deadline is. “In my 20 years working in higher education at various institutions, this initiative is the most disruptive and inconsiderate decision I’ve seen, and it negatively affects everyone in my department.”

Exceptions to the return-to-office policy appear limited. PSU says it won’t grant exceptions for things like caregiving arrangements, employee preference, convenience, or employee commutes. Historical or informal arrangements without a current business rationale—i.e. remote work arrangements made during the COVID-19 pandemic—won’t be honored either.

Katy Swordfisk, PSU’s media relations manager, says remote work decisions are made at the department level, and that supervisors are encouraged to work with their staff to develop individual plans. Despite this plan going forward, staff were not included in the decision-making process around the return-to-office order.

“For people who currently live outside of commuting distance, their individual circumstances and plans will be coordinated by the respective department,” Swordfisk said. “What we are hoping for is ongoing conversations about when and why on-campus work should be prioritized and what makes a vibrant urban campus.” 

At least three employees in the Research and Graduate Studies department have quit because of the return-to-office order.

Emily Grafton moved to Minnesota with approval from the university just a few weeks before the initial June 4 return-to-office notice. The notice ultimately resulted in her decision to leave.

“None of [this] feels very vibrant to me,” Grafton said. “I really feel terribly for my colleagues.”

Mandate could face legal hurdle

PSU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the union representing more than 1,200 workers, has also taken issue with this shift in remote work policies.

“The new policy imposes a hard shift to on‑campus work—one‑day cap by default, “rare” multi‑day exceptions, and fixed deadlines—which are material changes to working conditions,” David Kinsella, PSU-AAUP vice president for collective bargaining, said. “Our position is that changes like these must be bargained, and we’re pursuing the appropriate bargaining and legal avenues to protect members’ rights under the [collective bargaining agreement].” 

The return-to-office notices have also presented issues for staff with disabilities. 

Megan McFarland, the digital inclusion and universal design coordinator at PSU, supports faculty to better serve students with disabilities. The return-to-office orders and other interactions over the past few months have left McFarland’s own accommodations under threat.

With multiple disabilities, McFarland has gone through the accommodations process, resulting in fully remote work since 2021, only coming to campus as needed. Through the years, she’s received multiple positive performance reviews and worked successfully without issues, until recently.

Since March, McFarland says PSU has consistently pushed for her to return to campus, despite her ADA accommodations.  

“They want me [on campus] for prescheduled full days,” McFarland said. “My accommodation is largely rooted in my need for a private, sound-proof, quiet workspace, and that is not available to me on campus. …There’s vague promises to explore amendments to private workspaces on campus to meet my needs, but not reassurance that will be in place before I’m forced to go back.”

McFarland pushed back against what she called “vague business needs” as the reason for being required to return to the office—things such as team collaboration, “campus vibrancy,” and concerns that her remote status could make other staff uncomfortable asking for in-person services. 

“It’s been tremendously impactful on me to have my accommodations almost lorded over me like a shadow or a dark cloud, that I don’t know if I’m going to open my email any day and be told I’m forced to go back and cause harm to myself,” she added.

Swordfisk, the media relations manager, says PSU is “fully committed to ADA accommodations” which could include remote work.  

With fall term approaching, PSU has many contentious issues to sort out. Bargaining with the adjunct faculty union, PSUFA, is also on the docket, but this does not appear to be going smoothly.

PSUFA filed an unfair labor practice charge against PSU for halting “key benefits for roughly 1,200 adjunct faculty and researchers when their contract expired June 30.” 

With that case still pending and AAUP questioning the return-to-office orders, a turbulent bargaining season is likely in store.