New OPM memo on RTO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Trump can work at Mar-a-Lago, I can work from my cul-de-sac.

You work for him. He doesn’t work for you.

[Anonymous]

I’m a private sector lawyer and we are allowed to work from home two days a week. I’m also expected to work overtime for no additional pay when it’s needed for the job, or to drop everything for a deadline if needed. There are people at my firm who come in less but they get their work done and that’s fine, they aren’t given a hard time. It’s standard in the industry. I thinking general fed attorneys make significantly less money than private sector attorneys do, also. But anyway, working from home sometimes has been a fairly standard benefit in the legal industry, post Covid. After all, we kept the industry afloat working from home 5 days a week for two years during Covid. We kept everything going at a normal pace of work even though for me it meant working til 1am a lot to get my assignments in while my kid did school from home. Folks realized you don’t need to be in the office 5 days a week for the industry to keep rolling, and that’s the industry standard for lawyers now - telework is offered at least about 2 days a week.


Good luck, folks, hope things works out.

[Anonymous]

This isn’t about “white collar” feds like lawyers and engineers. In an honest moment, I’m sure the MAGA folks would tell you that this is about the caricature of a “federal employee” — the overweight, lazy secretary or HR cog with only a HS education, who likely would be waiting tables if forced to be in the private sector.

The lawyers and engineers are just collateral damage — not the true targets of the RTO policy.

In a perfect world, I’m sure MAGA would prefer to issue the RTO mandate only for “certain occupations” in the federal workforce. But that would be too obvious, controversial, and probably illegal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. This is correct. Right now (three days a week and my husband the other 2) get kiddo off bus at 4:15. We won’t be able to do that so $700 per month to get after. So yes, I’m crying.

This implies that you were providing childcare instead of working during those times, part of what RTO is meant to address?

New poster here. For f&#k's sake. Let me spell it out for you like a child. I WFH from 7:30 to 4:00. That is a full work day. No child is in the house. I can quickly go pick my child up from school at 4:15 because it's just around the corner. When I go back to work, I will be an hour away at 4:15 and will not be able to pick up my child from school. Thereby requiring expensive after care.

Just work from 6:30 to 3:00. Problem solved.

And have a little empathy for those of us who have NEVER had the luxury of popping out to pick our kids up from school because we had jobs that require us to do their job in person. Be grateful you had this privilege for as long as you did. I understand feeling sideswiped by this and do think the government should give more people time to adjust but then you have to suck it up.

The bait and switch and no time to adjust *is* the issue here. I'm very glad I've been able to telework for years, which was mostly not as a fed. But this wasn't a favor my employers were giving me, it was a way of hiring people with my skill set. This is the equivalent of a significant pay cut for me -- would you feel gratitude at previously outearning other people if you took a job due to the pay and then they cut it?

Exactly. Telework is the only reason a lot of us chose the jobs we chose. I have a highly desirable skill set. Nothing is keeping me in the federal government now, and I'm not the only one. Pretty sure you're going to be left with people who have zero skills and it will all come to a screeching halt. But this is what MAGA wants.

Right. There are people with in demand skills and who are highly qualified. I was offered other jobs that paid significantly more and chose a fed job with better telework. Telework was the single deciding factor. Now I really wish I had taken the higher paying jobs and am going to go back and try to see if those options are out there still.

I’m a former fed who left for the prior sector and this talking point about private sector paying significantly more is such a fallacy. Sure if you have a highly specialized skill or degree but for the vast vast VAST majority of feds, they’re not finding salaries lots better than they have it. The people who say that in forums are just giving away the fact that they’ve literally never job searched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Trump can work at Mar-a-Lago, I can work from my cul-de-sac.

You work for him. He doesn’t work for you.

"Of the people, by the people and for the people."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Trump can work at Mar-a-Lago, I can work from my cul-de-sac.

You work for him. He doesn’t work for you.

"Of the people, by the people and for the people."

LOL. Go tell him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Trump can work at Mar-a-Lago, I can work from my cul-de-sac.

You work for him. He doesn’t work for you.

"Of the people, by the people and for the people."

Yes, you should tell the DEI folks on admin leave to say that to Trump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. This is correct. Right now (three days a week and my husband the other 2) get kiddo off bus at 4:15. We won’t be able to do that so $700 per month to get after. So yes, I’m crying.

This implies that you were providing childcare instead of working during those times, part of what RTO is meant to address?

New poster here. For f&#k's sake. Let me spell it out for you like a child. I WFH from 7:30 to 4:00. That is a full work day. No child is in the house. I can quickly go pick my child up from school at 4:15 because it's just around the corner. When I go back to work, I will be an hour away at 4:15 and will not be able to pick up my child from school. Thereby requiring expensive after care.

Just work from 6:30 to 3:00. Problem solved.

And have a little empathy for those of us who have NEVER had the luxury of popping out to pick our kids up from school because we had jobs that require us to do their job in person. Be grateful you had this privilege for as long as you did. I understand feeling sideswiped by this and do think the government should give more people time to adjust but then you have to suck it up.

The bait and switch and no time to adjust *is* the issue here. I'm very glad I've been able to telework for years, which was mostly not as a fed. But this wasn't a favor my employers were giving me, it was a way of hiring people with my skill set. This is the equivalent of a significant pay cut for me -- would you feel gratitude at previously outearning other people if you took a job due to the pay and then they cut it?

Exactly. Telework is the only reason a lot of us chose the jobs we chose. I have a highly desirable skill set. Nothing is keeping me in the federal government now, and I'm not the only one. Pretty sure you're going to be left with people who have zero skills and it will all come to a screeching halt. But this is what MAGA wants.

Right. There are people with in demand skills and who are highly qualified. I was offered other jobs that paid significantly more and chose a fed job with better telework. Telework was the single deciding factor. Now I really wish I had taken the higher paying jobs and am going to go back and try to see if those options are out there still.

I’m a former fed who left for the prior sector and this talking point about private sector paying significantly more is such a fallacy. Sure if you have a highly specialized skill or degree but for the vast vast VAST majority of feds, they’re not finding salaries lots better than they have it. The people who say that in forums are just giving away the fact that they’ve literally never job searched.

There are a lot of lawyers, scientists, and cybersecurity specialists on this forum. They could all make much more in the private sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Trump can work at Mar-a-Lago, I can work from my cul-de-sac.

You work for him. He doesn’t work for you.

I work for America, as does he.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn’t about “white collar” feds like lawyers and engineers. In an honest moment, I’m sure the MAGA folks would tell you that this is about the caricature of a “federal employee” — the overweight, lazy secretary or HR cog with only a HS education, who likely would be waiting tables if forced to be in the private sector.

The lawyers and engineers are just collateral damage — not the true targets of the RTO policy.

In a perfect world, I’m sure MAGA would prefer to issue the RTO mandate only for “certain occupations” in the federal workforce. But that would be too obvious, controversial, and probably illegal.

Ok, but nonetheless, here am I am being affected! And I think everyone should be given time to adjust, not just the lawyers and engineers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Trump can work at Mar-a-Lago, I can work from my cul-de-sac.

You work for him. He doesn’t work for you.

I work for America, as does he.

He works for himself. I don't think he could be more clear about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Trump can work at Mar-a-Lago, I can work from my cul-de-sac.

You work for him. He doesn’t work for you.

"Of the people, by the people and for the people."

Yes, you should tell the DEI folks on admin leave to say that to Trump.

Just because he doesn’t want that to be true, doesn’t mean he is right. He works for the American people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Trump can work at Mar-a-Lago, I can work from my cul-de-sac.

You work for him. He doesn’t work for you.

He works for us. I vaguely remember an entire country as a$$hats voting him into his job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. This is correct. Right now (three days a week and my husband the other 2) get kiddo off bus at 4:15. We won’t be able to do that so $700 per month to get after. So yes, I’m crying.

New poster here. For f&#k's sake. Let me spell it out for you like a child. I WFH from 7:30 to 4:00. That is a full work day. No child is in the house. I can quickly go pick my child up from school at 4:15 because it's just around the corner. When I go back to work, I will be an hour away at 4:15 and will not be able to pick up my child from school. Thereby requiring expensive after care.

Just work from 6:30 to 3:00. Problem solved.

And have a little empathy for those of us who have NEVER had the luxury of popping out to pick our kids up from school because we had jobs that require us to do their job in person. Be grateful you had this privilege for as long as you did. I understand feeling sideswiped by this and do think the government should give more people time to adjust but then you have to suck it up.

The bait and switch and no time to adjust *is* the issue here. I'm very glad I've been able to telework for years, which was mostly not as a fed. But this wasn't a favor my employers were giving me, it was a way of hiring people with my skill set. This is the equivalent of a significant pay cut for me -- would you feel gratitude at previously outearning other people if you took a job due to the pay and then they cut it?

Exactly. Telework is the only reason a lot of us chose the jobs we chose. I have a highly desirable skill set. Nothing is keeping me in the federal government now, and I'm not the only one. Pretty sure you're going to be left with people who have zero skills and it will all come to a screeching halt. But this is what MAGA wants.

Right. There are people with in demand skills and who are highly qualified. I was offered other jobs that paid significantly more and chose a fed job with better telework. Telework was the single deciding factor. Now I really wish I had taken the higher paying jobs and am going to go back and try to see if those options are out there still.

I’m a former fed who left for the prior sector and this talking point about private sector paying significantly more is such a fallacy. Sure if you have a highly specialized skill or degree but for the vast vast VAST majority of feds, they’re not finding salaries lots better than they have it. The people who say that in forums are just giving away the fact that they’ve literally never job searched.

This implies that you were providing childcare instead of working during those times, part of what RTO is meant to address?

Former Fed in the private sector, now running a recruiting firm. This is true for certain jobs. It really depends on the work sector, seniority level, locality, and the size of the private sector job.

For example, I would rather be the head of HR at Tesla (40k employees) than the FBI (35k). Using the same comparison:
Cybersecurity analyst: Tesla > FBI
Administration Assistant: FBI > Tesla
Internal Auditor: FBI > Tesla

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn’t about “white collar” feds like lawyers and engineers. In an honest moment, I’m sure the MAGA folks would tell you that this is about the caricature of a “federal employee” — the overweight, lazy secretary or HR cog with only a HS education, who likely would be waiting tables if forced to be in the private sector.

The lawyers and engineers are just collateral damage — not the true targets of the RTO policy.

In a perfect world, I’m sure MAGA would prefer to issue the RTO mandate only for “certain occupations” in the federal workforce. But that would be too obvious, controversial, and probably illegal.

Is this supposed to be succor for the upper middle class white women of DCUM? Telling them them that MAGA would have tried to protect them at all possible and just would have gone after the fat black lower middle class feds but that was impossible?