POTUS Uses State of the Union to Call Federal Employees Back to the Office
Saul Loeb | AP
At President Biden’s inaugural State of the Union address, he outlined priorities for the federal workforce, including returning feds to in-person work. As the largest employer in the nation, President Biden urged the federal workforce to lead by example by returning to their offices after two years of widespread remote work, although the responses from stakeholders and employees alike have varied.
Mika Cross, Strategic Advisor to senior leadership in the federal government on telework and workplace flexibility, remarked on reports that suggest the Administration’s shift away from virtual work is to aid the District’s economy.
“If your ‘back-to-the-office’ plan cites the primary reasons as needing people to spend $20-$40 a day in our downtown businesses, rather than it being actually about the work being done, then it never really was about the work in the first place,” Cross shared on LinkedIn, “Work is what you do not a place you go. Maybe it’s time to reimagine our future economy or else we all are stuck thinking about the future of work rather than doing something about it.”
John Willison, Deputy to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), reiterated the perspective of the Army's leading technology developer on the future of work: the forced experiment of widespread telework offered the flexibility to work where an individual is most effective.
“We have discouraged phrases like ‘back to work’ and ’reoccupying the workplace.’ It sends the absolute wrong message,” commented Willison, “Our workforce has greatly appreciated the flexibility provided to work where and when they are most productive, and their productivity shows. There is no going back.”
The Deputy Chief Of Staff for M3/5 for Naval Medical Forces Support Command Randall Conrad wrote of the Biden Administration’s changing narrative and further noted the potential for savings on office space.
“The simple fact of the matter is I know of no government employee who has not worked more and harder during the entire time they have been at home. It is time for the federal government to change the way it views regular work. Show me one mission that was failed by any federal agency due to its employees working from home,” Conrad stated.
As previously reported in FEDmanager, 45 percent of 2.1 million employees teleworked in fiscal year (FY) 2020. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) estimated from agencies that maintained records of cost savings that the federal government saved $180 million due to telework in FY 2020. The savings stemmed from reductions in training, utilities, commuting, as well as lower costs associated with employee absences, recruitment, and retention.
Recently, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys (NAAUSA), which represents the interests Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) published a survey of its members and found more than 90 percent of the 700 respondents held they were able to successfully do their job while teleworking.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic is an evolving and dynamic situation, the last two years have demonstrated AUSAs capacity to utilize telework to perform their duties and problems that arise from the Department’s current approach to telework. Enhancing telework flexibility [is an] effective way to improve the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel from the incoming generation,” stated NAAUSA’s President Wasserman in a letter to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
On March 3, the White House issued an update to the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. By April, the Biden administration plans to substantially expand the number of in-person services available at federal agencies, encouraging federal employees to set the standard.
“COVID-19 no longer needs to dictate how we work,” the plan stated, “Federal agencies will lead by example, increasing the hours public-facing offices are open for in-person appointments and in-person interactions in the month of April.”
In advance of the State of the Union speech, President Biden issued a letter thanking federal employees for their commitment to the country. He further noted the vital role federal employees played on issues like the pandemic, climate change, racial equity, and national security, where progress would otherwise not have been possible.
National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Tony Reardon commended President Biden's recognition of federal workers' dedication and commitment, while pointing out that many federal workers remained at regular duty stations during the pandemic, though others have already returned to their offices.
“Agencies have already begun the process of re-opening federal workplaces for all employees and gradually returning teleworkers back into the office environment. NTEU is heavily involved in that process including working to permanently expand telework options for federal workers,” Reardon stated. “Just as President Biden said in his letter, federal employees have not allowed a pandemic to stop progress on the economic recovery, protecting national security and helping our federal agencies accomplish their important missions.”