With yesterday being a Federal Holiday, I wanted to look at some of the coverage around the Fed. Axios reported last week on the “move away” from federal workers being remote. The Office of Management and Budget indicates that “the vast majority” of workers are back in the office. That said – it’s not that simple. Examples:
The VA reports they have “moved away from maximum telework” schedules. Interior says a combination of remote, full-time, or part-time in the office. Labor reports that employees are working with their supervisors. Energy and schedules vary. EPA has “increased their presence.” The SEC has returned to the office voluntarily. Justice: it’s varied across lawyers.
And all the while, the House advanced specific legislation strengthening the fed’s telework approach. The proposed law would require agencies to provide 30 days’ advance notice to Congress and the Office of Personnel Management of any action that would reduce federal workers’ access to telework, as well as expand data collection on telework, particularly it’s cost and environmental benefits.
Why do we care?
There’s a vast difference between declaring that you’re open and back, which is done for PR, and what you implement in the workplace.
Let’s observe that sending a message that the government is open, and returning to normal, is one thing – and then dealing with the reality of employees is something entirely different. I’m expecting we’ll see even more of this – ahem, Elon Musk recently – where the messaging is different from reality.
And that’s why we care – the actual reality of what will happen will be a lot more small and individualized and way more complex than a single byline. Sure, the government has gone back to normal… sure it has.