RTO EO is up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, so I don’t have a “remote work arrangement.” Almost no one at my agency does. I telework 3 days a week. So I guess this EO is basically meaningless

So you think your agency head can't just make a decision to bring everyone in full time because the EO is written poorly? No, that is not the case. I work for an agency (DCSA) in which we come in only once a week. Director can change that at any time.

They (my agency is a 5 member commission) could have done that last week or a year ago if they wanted. They actually did debate it and voted on 2 days a week. The current policy is completely consistent with this EO. I don’t see them changing anything because if an EO that doesn’t tell them they need to change anything.

[Anonymous]

"As soon as practicable" is ambiguous, and I could interpret that as "the first day of never."

That's a poorly written EO.

[Anonymous]

The EO puts a lot of risk and pressure on management. To stay in the good graces of this new administration there will be plenty of agencies that want to be able to report high percentages of RTO. For sure if you are a manager who reports bringing back 5% of staff to the office you'll surely find a target on your back. I predict a lot of playing chicken between managers and valuable SME staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"As soon as practicable" is ambiguous, and I could interpret that as "the first day of never."

That's a poorly written EO.

Written to rally his supporters to buy his junk to make him richer- coins, stock, shoes, and random knick knacks. Hilarious actually.

[Anonymous]

Why are you all even saying what agency heads want? Their first day is tomorrow. We only have deputies right now as all of our Secretaries and Directors haven’t started work. We don’t know what their plans will be.

Shocked this EO didn’t mention telework.

I’m a bit annoyed. A snow day was declared tomorrow in most of the DC school districts. Telwork or just take leave? My boss clearly would prefer telework.

[Anonymous]

"Take all necessary steps" leaves wiggle room for agencies that have no space to bring people in. Basically, it's make a plan. It can take as long as it takes if you're doing what's necessary. I see our agency putting a plan together to bring everyone in three days a week as phase 1. Phase 2 would be to find a bigger place over the next few years as our lease it up so that more people can come in together. The appetite for this will shrink considerably as Trump moves on to other pet issues of the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It clearly also applies to telework. How else do you interpret "employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis"?

Does it? It seems like they got the wording wrong and half-assed this one.

[Anonymous]

So is an EO one of those things like a regulation where people can go to court over interpretation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It clearly also applies to telework. How else do you interpret "employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis"?

Does it? It seems like they got the wording wrong and half-assed this one.

The wording doesn’t matter. The people in charge of implementing this are Trump’s people. They will do what he wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It clearly also applies to telework. How else do you interpret "employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis"?

Does it? It seems like they got the wording wrong and half-assed this one.

I don't think they got the wording wrong. I think "remote work" has a a more negative connotation with the MAGA base, and it was used deliberately. What that means for teleworkers, who knows. Based on this wording, I don't see my preferred flexibility - situational telework - going away. I'll go in five days no problem as long as I have the flexibility on either end of the day to telework for an hour or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It clearly also applies to telework. How else do you interpret "employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis"?

Does it? It seems like they got the wording wrong and half-assed this one.

The wording doesn’t matter. The people in charge of implementing this are Trump’s people. They will do what he wants.

Some are and some aren’t. The lazily written EO indicates Trump doesn’t actually care about this so it’s not likely to be a focus for most politicals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The EO puts a lot of risk and pressure on management. To stay in the good graces of this new administration there will be plenty of agencies that want to be able to report high percentages of RTO. For sure if you are a manager who reports bringing back 5% of staff to the office you'll surely find a target on your back. I predict a lot of playing chicken between managers and valuable SME staff.

The problem is that this administration doesn't want a high-functioning government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It clearly also applies to telework. How else do you interpret "employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis"?

Does it? It seems like they got the wording wrong and half-assed this one.

I don't think they got the wording wrong. I think "remote work" has a a more negative connotation with the MAGA base, and it was used deliberately. What that means for teleworkers, who knows. Based on this wording, I don't see my preferred flexibility - situational telework - going away. I'll go in five days no problem as long as I have the flexibility on either end of the day to telework for an hour or so.

I disagree. If they wanted to go with inflammatory language, they would have emphasized work-from-home. I think it's pretty clear whoever wrote this doesn't realize federal law makes a distinction between remote work and telework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It clearly also applies to telework. How else do you interpret "employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis"?

Does it? It seems like they got the wording wrong and half-assed this one.

The wording doesn’t matter. The people in charge of implementing this are Trump’s people. They will do what he wants.

Some are and some aren’t. The lazily written EO indicates Trump doesn’t actually care about this so it’s not likely to be a focus for most politicals.

It wasn't something that Biden cared about terribly either, yet they still pressured agencies into significantly rolling back telework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It clearly also applies to telework. How else do you interpret "employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis"?

Does it? It seems like they got the wording wrong and half-assed this one.

I don't think they got the wording wrong. I think "remote work" has a a more negative connotation with the MAGA base, and it was used deliberately. What that means for teleworkers, who knows. Based on this wording, I don't see my preferred flexibility - situational telework - going away. I'll go in five days no problem as long as I have the flexibility on either end of the day to telework for an hour or so.

I disagree. If they wanted to go with inflammatory language, they would have emphasized work-from-home. I think it's pretty clear whoever wrote this doesn't realize federal law makes a distinction between remote work and telework.

I think it's this.