FOLLOWING TWO YEARS of mandatory telecommuting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the management and staff of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) began returning to their physical offices from April 4.

During the period March 20, 2020 to April 1, 2022 approximately 80 per cent of the bank’s staff worked from home, a release from the bank states. Governor of the ECCB, Timothy N. J. Antoine says, “We did not envisage when we began this journey that we would be out for so long.”

The bank’s main objective for the mandatory telecommuting was to ensure the safety of its staff while continuing to serve the governments and people of the region as effectively as possible, particularly in the time of adversity posed by the pandemic. Noting that there are no active COVID-19 cases in St Christopher and Nevis at present, Governor Antoine says, “We now believe that it is safe for us to return to campus; most of our staff are fully vaccinated.”

The ECCB has offered its staff the hybrid arrangement of three days at the office and two days at home or a full return to office.

Antoine adds that while returning to office means physical reconnection with each other, over the past two years telecommuting afforded staff the opportunity to prove their capability to work remotely, which is an important part of business resilience and continuity.

The Governor credited the staff of the ECCB for their hard work which he said made the telecommuting journey together a success.