What is the Republicans' whole "return to office" obsession?

[Anonymous]

Joni Ernst and others seem to be on a weird obsessive push to eliminate telework and remote work.

Why? Work is what you do, not where you are. True, sometimes you need to go to where the work is, for example if you are doing inspections you need to be where the thing you're inspecting is. Or if you are a car mechanic, you need to be where the car is. But the overwhelming majority of office work and many other things DO NOT come with any real reason for why you need to be doing it from a specific location.

Does it get abused sometimes? Sure. Might there be someone taking a call from their bubble bath? Sure, and that would be hugely inappropriate. But that's not at all what's going on with the overwhelming majority of workers and it's no reason to eliminate telework and remote work. Why punish 99% for the problems caused by less than 1%? If there's an abuse, punish the one abusing. Contrary to GOP opinions, federal workers can and do routinely get fired.

Telework and remote work has been effective in federal government. The overwhelming majority of the federal workforce has been productive, with no major adverse effects across the majority of government. And in addition it has saved the government money, as many offices have been consolidated and downsized saving the government rental and real estate and utility bills and other things, along with reducing transit subsidies and a whole host of other things. In addition it has improved worker morale and retention and has had other personnel benefits.

Members of Congress like Joni Ernst are running around maligning and slandering federal workers, with gross distortions and made-up numbers like "only 6% of federal employees show up for work." Telework and remote work HAS already been studied, by OPM, by OMB, by GAO, by agency after agency and it shows Joni Ernst's attacks to seriously miss the mark. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/202...-the-data-here-it-is

So what's the game here? Just more Republican lying and divisiveness and demoralizing of federal workers? And if they follow through with it, they would actually end up spending MORE taxpayer dollars with their RTO idiocy, for no positive outcome.

[Anonymous]

Republicans think that Federal workers are lazy and don’t work, especially when they are at home. So they want to force them back to the office.

[Anonymous]

"Telework and remote works has already been studied by OPM, by OMB, by GAO" and shockingly these agencies staffed by government workers say that efficiency has improved by working from home.

[Anonymous]

Republicans are pro-business and WFH is not efficient and reduces productivity, I don’t care what anyone says. All these people saying I get so much more done at home, yeah right. Maybe more laundry and naps. That’s one of the few things I would agree with as a Harris voter.

[Anonymous]

I just feel bad for the new grads. Some of the best times can be had at after work happy hours - maybe even a fling or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Republicans are pro-business and WFH is not efficient and reduces productivity, I don’t care what anyone says. All these people saying I get so much more done at home, yeah right. Maybe more laundry and naps. That’s one of the few things I would agree with as a Harris voter.

You don’t care when actual studies and companies say. Got it. You FEEL like someone must be slacking. Great basis for making policy.

Work from home reduces company expenses and allows companies to recruit the best talent because they can search nationwide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Republicans are pro-business and WFH is not efficient and reduces productivity, I don’t care what anyone says. All these people saying I get so much more done at home, yeah right. Maybe more laundry and naps. That’s one of the few things I would agree with as a Harris voter.

🙄

I'm a Harris voter too and I focus my azz off at home. Speak for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Republicans are pro-business and WFH is not efficient and reduces productivity, I don’t care what anyone says. All these people saying I get so much more done at home, yeah right. Maybe more laundry and naps. That’s one of the few things I would agree with as a Harris voter.

The bolded above has repeatedly been proven to be false.

[Anonymous]

My agency has a commission with two republicans on it. They are constantly going after WFH and want RTO mandate. They almost never come to the office themselves. One doesn’t even live in the DMV. Republicans are just hypocrites.

[Anonymous]

How about this: If they want to insist on passing legislation for federal workers to return to the office it should actually MEAN all federal workers.

That includes: Members of the House and Senate, the President, Vice President, and all of their staffers.

And the requirement should be that they MUST be at their desk at their designated duty station for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, with the only exception being designated federal holidays, sick leave and vacation leave equivalent to what GS federal employees get.

That means no more golfing on the taxpayer nickel for Mr. Trump, and so on and if members of Congress need to raise money or meet with lobbyists or whatever, too bad, they need to do it from their office in DC.

Members of Congress work far less than GS federal employees do. They should hold themselves to the same standards they expect the rank and file to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My agency has a commission with two republicans on it. They are constantly going after WFH and want RTO mandate. They almost never come to the office themselves. One doesn’t even live in the DMV. Republicans are just hypocrites.

Completely. They want to regulate YOU and how YOU do YOUR work, but don't want the same to apply to themselves. So typical of the GOP.

[Anonymous]

Boomers are obsessed with 20th century office culture.

I dunno why boomers think you need to waste 2 hours of uncompensated time going to and from work and everything in between. The world is not capable of progressing until boomers simply die off a lot more.

[Anonymous]

It seems like the quality of most things have gone down the toilet since WFH was implemented on a large scale. I find sales people to be particularly useless, and many customer service departments. Sometimes some stupid dog is barking in the background, kids yelling etc. Same with work conference calls.

[Anonymous]

It sounds good to blue collar workers who don’t have that option and the GOP is all about stoking division.

America is fighting an online civil war. The GOP has an army of bots and trolls, but the DNC does not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about this: If they want to insist on passing legislation for federal workers to return to the office it should actually MEAN all federal workers.

That includes: Members of the House and Senate, the President, Vice President, and all of their staffers.

And the requirement should be that they MUST be at their desk at their designated duty station for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, with the only exception being designated federal holidays, sick leave and vacation leave equivalent to what GS federal employees get.

That means no more golfing on the taxpayer nickel for Mr. Trump, and so on and if members of Congress need to raise money or meet with lobbyists or whatever, too bad, they need to do it from their office in DC.

Members of Congress work far less than GS federal employees do. They should hold themselves to the same standards they expect the rank and file to.

Yes! I can’t tell you how many 60 hour weeks and federal “holidays” my DH worked when active duty.