Remote and Telework For Federal Employees

Economy
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Amend current remote work and telework policy to be job specific, situational and performance based. I have been hearing a lot of vitriol towards federal employees and eliminating remote work / telework options and forcing them in office 5 days a week. There is a purpose for the civil service and many are dedicated and believe in what they do. I am one of them. Just like everything in life, it is not all good and not all bad and therefore blanket policies will stifle productivity. Most of the jobs in the feudal government do probably need to be in office but eliminating that flexibility all together will cost the federal government considerable talent and expertise where it matters.

Some of the work the Civil Service does requires remote / telework flexibility to attract talent or else they are forced to hire low quality workers who give the federal employees bad names and are not able to perform the work required. For example, software development is a vital skill set in order for the government to build digital tools to assist in work and not be shackled by commercial providers. Commercial tools cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The skill sets needed to do this are often not located near where the work is being done. I currently manage a project to save the government millions of dollars by creating an enterprise tool to manage what the government is buying, consolidating commercial licenses and ensuring the government owns that data and that software. I am remote myself because the base I work for is in a very rural community where my expertise is not readily available. They were able to recruit me because they were unsuccessful in hiring for this position locally and expanded their search outside their normal hiring range. Because I manage a team of experts spread out all throughout the country, my physical presence is not needed in any one area. What I do have to do is always be available and because I am extremely dedicated to this mission, I make sure I am. Just can ask my wife about that dedication.

I am not saying all this to justify my own job but as an example to illustrate that there are dedicated civil servants out there and I am certainly not alone. I have a team around me that are all experts in what they do and are all extremely high performers. Eliminating remote work all together would cost the government all that talent and expertise and leave agencies to the mercy of industry, which has a strong enough grasp on our government as is. Talent and expertise is already quite limited within government because civil service pay cannot compete with industry for these types of positions. Remote work flexibility is one of the only real tools agencies have to recruit talent.

I know many have a bad taste about federal employees, but there are many at the working level that are extremely dedicated patriots. I hate to see how the actions of bad actors have led to that perception but eliminating remote work / telework all together is just going to result in disgruntled employees and forcing agencies to higher low quality individuals that do not share the same core values of those of us that believe in our mission.

Like a business, high performance should be rewarded and bad performance should face consequences. If the American people can’t trust employees to work responsibly from home, they probably shouldn’t be working for the American People to begin with.

Make firing bad performing federal workers easier for agencies, including violations to remote work / telework. The Trump Administration attempted this in 2016 by reducing the period required for Performance Improvement Plan down to 30 days. As a former supervisor, I was very excited about this as this was a significant roadblock for me to fire bad performers. Agencies never implemented this policy change. An issue within itself. If the fear is bad performers taking advantage of remote work / telework, they should be fired. Don’t punish them at the expense of high performers.

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The best solution is to completely eliminate useless agencies and reduce the Civil Service by at least 50%. The top ones to eliminate would be the ATF and the Dept. of Education. Neither have contributed positively to America since their inception.

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As a DOD contractor Covid is over yet a large percentage of federal agencies employees are still working from home. With first hand knowledge of how inefficient they are in the facility when they are home they are doing even less. Except for extenuating medical conditions they all should be back in the office.

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I actually agree with that remote work for federal employees should be an option depending upon position…with certain requirements. I believe geographic distribution of federal employees has multiple benefits: decreases the likelihood of an elite government class that functions separate from the private industry because of proximity to each other and isolation from the rest of the citizenry, decreases likelihood of self-dealing/entitlement to certain benefits at the expense of citizenry, distributes money as it should be (service or product) to greater geographic locations, increases retention and recruitment of qualified candidates in different stages of life and familial circumstances. I WOULD ONLY AGREE IF THERE ARE SOME RULES IN PLACE: FIRST, the number of federal employees is trimmed down to only necessary. SECOND all federal employees are in the same Social Security System (with all of the same rules) as all private citizens, which removes the complex issue or “perception” that firing someone for performance is in conflict with some earned future benefit (no retirement collected until age 62 early, 65 full, 70 extra…retirement equation based on top 35 years of earning just like when SS is determined…or whatever the rules are for the citizenry…WE ARE ALL CITIZENRY, ALL SUBJECT TO SAME RULES). THIRD, all federal employees enter the Medicare system just like non-federal employees. FOURTH, there is no performance probationary period after which an employee is protected which encourages diminished performance. When that is the case, I would agree with this.

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I have had a relative that has worked as a contractor on federal (and state contracts) for years and can attest to this…as well as the unfair practices in assigning contracts and often lack of qualification of federal employees to evaluate complex, technical proposals based on anything but the bottom line. I also have relatives that worked for the federal government that have also complained of this same thing among coworkers. I believe remote work can be an option (and potentially can be beneficial) so long as the same constraints existing in the private industry are applied to the federal system. With those constraints in place, I would consider this measure. See my post below and let me know what you think… if you would agree to the proposal with those constraints…or with additional constraints (and let me know what they are) …or would still not consider it.

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Definitely agree that there are bad actors that take advantage just like they do in work place settings. I have worked at all levels and there is dead weight everywhere. I have seen employees sleep on the job with managers unwilling to do anything about it because they did not want to deal with the hassle of the firing process. I’ve also been a supervisor and understand the difficulty there. It was awful. I was excited in 2016 when Trump Admin reduced the period for a Performance Improvement Plan from 90 days down to 30 days because it made that process just slightly easier but then it was never implemented.

The problem isn’t remote work. It’s the difficulty in firing bad performers. The same people that you can’t trust to work from home you shouldn’t trust to work in office. Remote work is a privilege and a benefit. Reward the high performers so the government can retain talent, skill and high quality workers. Fire the bad performers.

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Witnessed a supervisor attempts to fire an employee with 8 years service with a heroin addiction and previous trip to rehabilitation it was uphill all the way even with a state policeman with drug dog :roll_eyes: it took forever the folder was over an inch thick and finally got him when base superintendent found him passed out on a piece of equipment from heroin that finally did it…should not be this difficult

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I believe that is because they are not in the same Social Security system. If that was implemented, I believe it would be much more straightforward.

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Good idea. Would you amend the title to include “No WFH Work From Home”?

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There are always going to be ppl who aren’t pulling the weight in office and remote. Removing remote has a significant financial impact on employees by lowering the cost of food, clothing, transportation etc. You’ll turn a much needed waste reduction effort into a divider if only making the decisions because it’s easy. Force agencies to look at low performers and unnecessary positions which is a defensible working man approach and you avoid alienating employees who are working hard at home and dependent on the economic savings it provides while staying true to your agenda, which we support! Put yourself in the employee (voter) shoes knowing you set broader trends than what you’re doing in the government. Working from home is a game changer for so many ppl outside of just the financials. And saving corporate real estate by forcing it isn’t a for the ppl solution when we need lower costs in the grocery store and grocery and on the housing front. And I’m not even touching on the most valuable commodity of all, the time it saves ppl which they can spend making dinner and being with their families more!
#wfh #remote #telecommute Work from home

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Telework and remote work are all good things in principle, especially to promote efforts for hiring, keeping, and retaining talent in many diverse fields. It is also a consideration for many applicants seeking government jobs because there will always be heavy competition with corporations in the private sector that offer more perks and pay than big government can provide for. Furthermore, not having a plan to provide for a sensible, reasonable telework strategy will basically kill command retention, and the quality of employees brought onboard to each federal agency. Without a sensible policy, there will be no continuity as the more experienced and seasoned personnel will choose to leave for greener pastures in the private sector because government agencies refuse to compete in the open marketplace. That is the state of our federal agencies and our current predicament at this moment!

The problem with the last four years was exacerbated by what I believe to be a sham crisis called the covid “scam-demic.” That sham of the pandemic saw a form of top-down malfaesance whereby the response of the executive branch in collusion with all federal agencies sought to send folks home to work 100% of the time for almost three years in fear of disease, and sought to menace folks “under duress” to get their vaccines. The Chevron Deference enabled this mess! These actions seemed to violate established law against all reason, and it was coordinated with CDC/NIH/FDA/NIAID/etc. These actions left many buildings empty, and local communities complaining about lost business and taxes due to mandates and telework. The justification for paying the rent and operational costs on unoccupied buildings was also a tremendous burden. Government actions and their ever evolving instructions on covid protocols killed the local economy, and it destroyed their own brick and mortar stores meant to house and feed the workforce. All this mess killed operational readiness by their own hand, as folks set up shop to work from home without their liberties and freedoms. Federal agencies will not even acknowledge their sins and take ownership of the actions of their leadership who were nothing more than “yes men.” Not even their own command climate surveys designed to identify and uproot problems can help them, because they turn a blind eye to it!

I was one of those that more than qualified to work from home before the pandemic, but refused to, and I was known for calling it “tele-sham” jokingly. I liked working face to face anyway, and that was my own reasoning. I was also one of the last folks booted out of the building as the pandemic kicked off, literally forced to telework! After experiencing it, I must say that I do like it. Moreover, there are many positives and negatives to the mix. My most pronounced realization from teleworking is that I am more productive from home than at work, and many a colleague can attest to that notion because there are no distractions from home for most preventing productivity.

On a positive note for telework, even our more senior level leadership noted that in our adjustments to what I call an artificial crisis, our metrics shot up substantially butressing mission accomplishment against crisis. We proved ourselves as an agency capable of teleworking and being productive from home. Continuity of Operations was exercised.

The problem and concerns of leadership faced in the wake of their own “return to work strategy” includes but is not limited to the following: to adjust to the closure of pandemic protocols, and to wean folks off the benefits of 100% telework while retaining the capability thereof. In their attempts to reconnect people within each organization, to reengage in face to face action to build a sense of team, and to provide for support to both internal and external customers, they are oblivious to the problem. They are in absolute denial of the damage the executive branch in collusion with agency heads have caused with regards to the pandemic and mandate response.

Wholesale denial of religious and medical exemptions and reasonable accomodations has plagued the government tremendously. Denial of appeals for rights enshrined in law has been more than an open wound for many. Reduction and fear of total loss of pre-pandemic telework benefits has also been an open eye sore for the government’s return to work strategy. Those able to retire but not yet willing have made decisions to pull the plug early, as new folks that proved themselves worthy of the benefits of tekework feel as though they lost benefits compelling them to stay. Who will train the next generation folks?

What we have witnessed in the last four years of the Biden administration is a mass exodus of experience and knowledge from government and the military! The DoD has proven themselves wholly inadequate in their ability to replenish the manpower with younger bodies while teams are forced to do more with less! Because of this, I sense an utter lack of faith in leadership, and loss of confidence in the chain of command. While unworthy men are promoted in the wake of the hemmoraging of experienced manpower, the smart ones calculate their exit! There is also a newfound logic out there about advancing for position… who wants to lead and get promoted in a “S… show” anyway? The stress of mediocrity in the babysitting of men is not worth the advancement and promotion! You can promote yourself out of happiness anyway in this environment!

President Trump should tread carefully on this subject moving forward as he takes the baton of leadership! One wrong move at this point might complicate and exacerbate a “get well date” of the problem moving forward. Listen to the boots on the ground in the trenches for their observations! They are your ((EWS) early warning system!

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