New OPM memo on RTO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dad worked for the fed govt in the 80s and 90s and left our house at 5:00 am to drive a vanpool van from PWC to DC. He would
be home around 4 pm, except once a
month when then whole vanpool donated blood in order to get to leave work two hours early. This was a normal commuting schedule in our MC neighborhood for federal workers.

I am/was one of those. I can't telework because my jobs don't allow it. I never have.

This whole thread is bizarre to me. I can't imagine complaining about having to show up to a job that you were hired for. How did we get so screwed up that people complain about having to work in person?

It's not the job I was hired for. The job I was hired for was remote. If you're having trouble understanding, imagine you took a job and then you were told you had a couple of weeks to add three hours of daily commuting to your schedule. You can do it, just maybe close your eyes for a second and really concentrate if you're struggling with it.

Pp should imagine how well they would like if their job suddenly moved offices to the other side of town. I think that gets to the crux of the issue here.

What's your point? It happened to me many times. I've also changed jobs a few times and had to change my commute.

Thanks for sharing. No one cares.

Calm down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Federal workers are soft. Most of America reports to work every day and get fired if they don't show up for work.

Not my wealthy Arlington neighbors. They’re all working from home several days per week in finance, big law, consulting, etc.

I know a number of Amazon workers and can confirm they are not actually back in an office 5 days per week. They pushed back and the company relented, and when they go in they also work part of the day from home.

All of the posters insisting most of America works in an office full time must not be familiar with the norms of white collared knowledge work for employees with graduate and professional degrees.

Let those of us who are actually in this type of sector have our thread for adult conversation and you can go back to whatever miserable cave you live in.

Is your name Jeff? No. So shhh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Federal workers are soft. Most of America reports to work every day and get fired if they don't show up for work.

Not my wealthy Arlington neighbors. They’re all working from home several days per week in finance, big law, consulting, etc.

I know a number of Amazon workers and can confirm they are not actually back in an office 5 days per week. They pushed back and the company relented, and when they go in they also work part of the day from home.

All of the posters insisting most of America works in an office full time must not be familiar with the norms of white collared knowledge work for employees with graduate and professional degrees.

Let those of us who are actually in this type of sector have our thread for adult conversation and you can go back to whatever miserable cave you live in.

You spelled “adult tantrums” wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow feds - stop defending bad actors.

We can all agree that telework as benefits but we need to draw a line in the sand somewhere when it comes to being good stewards of tax dollars. Defending surfing or running errands or playing sports at 1000 on a workday is unacceptable and you will never get support from the public or politicians as long as you think it is ok. Going to the gym at your worksite or in your garage is not the same thing as checking off the computer to go enjoy some leisure time.

My DH works in tech and will randomly go work out or to pickup some groceries in between meetings. His boss knows. No one gives a crap so long as he is available and getting work done.

If a fed employee is working their full 40 hours, turning in quality work, and not missing meetings then why would anyone care if they flex out to play pickleball or whatever.

I flex out several times per month to volunteer at my kids’ school and also to transport donations to a food bank. I’m also a high performer at my agency. It never dawned on me that anyone would have a pathetic enough life to care about this type of thing. Miserable people really want to drag down the rest of the world with them.

If you have so much free time to do all these non-work related activities during your core business hours, it can be interpreted that you don’t have a sufficient workload. And this is a known fact at Federal Agencies. The workload for each federal employee is significantly less than what you typically see in the industry. As a former federal employee I can testify to that and I had excellent performance throughout my duration of work at Federal government. No wonder federal employees can do their work in 20 hrs or less per week while still being a high performer.
Also, the annual performance evaluation of federal employees is a joke. There isn’t any real evaluation, no feedback sought from your direct reports, collaborators, or stakeholders. All employees usually get a same rating almost every year, unless one is totally negligent. The supervisors would give the highest rating to their favorites or those who are next in line for a promotion. Been there, seen that!

I hired a 52 year old Federal Worker to do the exact same job she was doing in the Federal Work Force. She last 90 days. She told me straight up what I was asking her to do each month she got three months to do at her Fed job. I then had to tell her that is only cause she is new. In a few months I need to see double that. She then said so in two weeks you want me to do what I got to do in Fed in three months. She basically gave up.

And 40 hours is the minimun not the maximun work hours in real world. In big banks and Wall Street 50 hours is normal. They company would have to hire 20 percent more people if they did 40 hours a week.

I hope you're not required to write as part of your job.

Typical response of a lazy entitled government worker. This is why everyone is not cheering for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey, I’m happy because the pickleball courts will now be open during the workday. Can’t count the number of “remote workers” I play with regularly in Arlington.

+1

I just moved from Hawaii to DMV and the amount of Fed teleworking employees I'd see surfing everyday at 1000 was absurd. And before anyone says it, I knew they were feds because I worked in the same place as them.

Everyone knows there were tons of people abusing the system.

Maxi-flex is a thing, maybe they worked from 6-10 and 4-8. Still 8 hours but explains their midday activity. Either way, you don’t have facts. You just have opinions.

Don't defend them. No one should be surfing or playing pickleball at 1000 if they're a fed employee on telework.

Feds doing things like playing pickleball or surfing during the workday is why telework got taken away. I'm a career fed and I was more than a little annoyed at what my coworkers would tell me they do during the workday.

Honestly, how is this any different than using the office gym or taking a walk at lunch? Do you not realize Hawaii staff often work different hours to align better with EDT deadlines?

I worked in Hawaii. Of course I know how the time aligns.

The fact is everyone signed a document that they would be available during core hours. They weren't because they were surfing. So defend it all you want but personally when you sign a form saying you'll be available because you are teleworking and you aren't then you aren't abiding by the agreement. Behavior like this is why it got taken away.

By surfing do you mean the web? There are no surfing beaches in the DMV. You crazy.

Your reading comprehension is laughably poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey, I’m happy because the pickleball courts will now be open during the workday. Can’t count the number of “remote workers” I play with regularly in Arlington.

+1

I just moved from Hawaii to DMV and the amount of Fed teleworking employees I'd see surfing everyday at 1000 was absurd. And before anyone says it, I knew they were feds because I worked in the same place as them.

Everyone knows there were tons of people abusing the system.

Maxi-flex is a thing, maybe they worked from 6-10 and 4-8. Still 8 hours but explains their midday activity. Either way, you don’t have facts. You just have opinions.

Don't defend them. No one should be surfing or playing pickleball at 1000 if they're a fed employee on telework.

Feds doing things like playing pickleball or surfing during the workday is why telework got taken away. I'm a career fed and I was more than a little annoyed at what my coworkers would tell me they do during the workday.

Honestly, how is this any different than using the office gym or taking a walk at lunch? Do you not realize Hawaii staff often work different hours to align better with EDT deadlines?

I worked in Hawaii. Of course I know how the time aligns.

The fact is everyone signed a document that they would be available during core hours. They weren't because they were surfing. So defend it all you want but personally when you sign a form saying you'll be available because you are teleworking and you aren't then you aren't abiding by the agreement. Behavior like this is why it got taken away.

By surfing do you mean the web? There are no surfing beaches in the DMV. You crazy.

Your reading comprehension is laughably poor.

"You crazy" would not get you past the interview process in my office. Please speak proper English if you want to represent my company.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP, but I personally work with Feds who do play Pickleball and do other workout stuff during telework.

And what do you think that means? Do you know their exact work hours/restrictions/total time clocked on the day you saw them playing? IF you see a time card that says they were working when they were not working, then you can talk.

+1. Even if they were out there at 10 am, PP has no idea what are core hours, what hours they flexed etc. Maybe they were getting in hours in the middle of the night ffs. I've certainly done that when I can’t sleep. And really, it's no different than having a dr appt and flexing hours around that instead of taking leave.

The general public doesn't view people surfing or playing pickleball during working hours favorably.

Complain all you want but everyone with half a brain and no vested interest in telework knows that it isn't acceptable behavior.

No evidence that this is a widespread phenomenon, or even something that actually happened. Try again.

Which is it?

[b]Half the posters here talk about how they or their SO go and run errands everyday during telework and the other half claims it doesn't happen and everyone is working during core hours[i].

This. And claim they’re soooooo much more productive at home, and if they have to go in, then DRAMATIC FOOT STOMP they…they…won’t take their computers home when it snows! That’ll teach those meanies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP, but I personally work with Feds who do play Pickleball and do other workout stuff during telework.

And what do you think that means? Do you know their exact work hours/restrictions/total time clocked on the day you saw them playing? IF you see a time card that says they were working when they were not working, then you can talk.

+1. Even if they were out there at 10 am, PP has no idea what are core hours, what hours they flexed etc. Maybe they were getting in hours in the middle of the night ffs. I've certainly done that when I can’t sleep. And really, it's no different than having a dr appt and flexing hours around that instead of taking leave.

The general public doesn't view people surfing or playing pickleball during working hours favorably.

Complain all you want but everyone with half a brain and no vested interest in telework knows that it isn't acceptable behavior.

No evidence that this is a widespread phenomenon, or even something that actually happened. Try again.

Which is it?

Half the posters here talk about how they or their SO go and run errands everyday during telework and the other half claims it doesn't happen and everyone is working during core hours.

Obviously people are doing it and idgaf if they worked 60 hours, if you’re a public servant you don’t go surfing at 10am on a Tuesday. If you want to do that go find a private employer who is ok with it. These firings can’t happen quicker.

Where’s the proof this is happening

Should start with DoD. They are the ones who get to exercise on work time.

I used to have this at a different job. It was 3 hours a week, recorded on my time card, and I had to fill out an exercise plan explaining what I would be doing. Supervisor signed off. Approval could be revoked, and also I was expected to skip it when we had a hot deadline.

People are following the rules. Not their fault you don't like the rules.

Your random former employer’s are not the DOD’s but you tried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow feds - stop defending bad actors.

We can all agree that telework as benefits but we need to draw a line in the sand somewhere when it comes to being good stewards of tax dollars. Defending surfing or running errands or playing sports at 1000 on a workday is unacceptable and you will never get support from the public or politicians as long as you think it is ok. Going to the gym at your worksite or in your garage is not the same thing as checking off the computer to go enjoy some leisure time.

No one in this thread makes the policies. We don’t have to do anything.

That childish attitude is going to go really well for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow feds - stop defending bad actors.

We can all agree that telework as benefits but we need to draw a line in the sand somewhere when it comes to being good stewards of tax dollars. Defending surfing or running errands or playing sports at 1000 on a workday is unacceptable and you will never get support from the public or politicians as long as you think it is ok. Going to the gym at your worksite or in your garage is not the same thing as checking off the computer to go enjoy some leisure time.

No one in this thread makes the policies. We don’t have to do anything.

Defending bad behaviors because it benefits you doesn't help. I'm sure 1000s come on this board and view Feds as pampered babies

And they would be pampered babies if they care about a working adult using the flexibilities granted to them.

DP. Yep. Because anyone who works in an office for a living is not going to get upset at seeing flexibility offered to federal employees[b]. The only people “upset” about it probably haven’t even paid income taxes in years because they’re getting rich without having to work for a paycheck.

You actually believe that. Wow. No wonder you’re so shockingly out of touch.

[Anonymous]

Have the last 17 posts just been one person going through 87 pages and randomly responding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow feds - stop defending bad actors.

We can all agree that telework as benefits but we need to draw a line in the sand somewhere when it comes to being good stewards of tax dollars. Defending surfing or running errands or playing sports at 1000 on a workday is unacceptable and you will never get support from the public or politicians as long as you think it is ok. Going to the gym at your worksite or in your garage is not the same thing as checking off the computer to go enjoy some leisure time.

My DH works in tech and will randomly go work out or to pickup some groceries in between meetings. His boss knows. No one gives a crap so long as he is available and getting work done.

If a fed employee is working their full 40 hours, turning in quality work, and not missing meetings then why would anyone care if they flex out to play pickleball or whatever.

I flex out several times per month to volunteer at my kids’ school and also to transport donations to a food bank. I’m also a high performer at my agency. It never dawned on me that anyone would have a pathetic enough life to care about this type of thing. Miserable people really want to drag down the rest of the world with them.

If you have so much free time to do all these non-work related activities during your core business hours, it can be interpreted that you don’t have a sufficient workload. And this is a known fact at Federal Agencies. The workload for each federal employee is significantly less than what you typically see in the industry. As a former federal employee I can testify to that and I had excellent performance throughout my duration of work at Federal government. No wonder federal employees can do their work in 20 hrs or less per week while still being a high performer.
Also, the annual performance evaluation of federal employees is a joke. There isn’t any real evaluation, no feedback sought from your direct reports, collaborators, or stakeholders. All employees usually get a same rating almost every year, unless one is totally negligent. The supervisors would give the highest rating to their favorites or those who are next in line for a promotion. Been there, seen that!

I hired a 52 year old Federal Worker to do the exact same job she was doing in the Federal Work Force. She last 90 days. She told me straight up what I was asking her to do each month she got three months to do at her Fed job. I then had to tell her that is only cause she is new. In a few months I need to see double that. She then said so in two weeks you want me to do what I got to do in Fed in three months. She basically gave up.

And 40 hours is the minimun not the maximun work hours in real world. In big banks and Wall Street 50 hours is normal. They company would have to hire 20 percent more people if they did 40 hours a week.

I hope you're not required to write as part of your job.

Typical response of a lazy entitled government worker. This is why everyone is not cheering for you.

DP but you post all the time and it’s inconceivable you hold a professional job. Your writing truly is at a 3rd grade level and you would never last in a Wall Street job (which is more like 70-80 hours if you actually ever worked one).

It’s clear you are an hourly worker somewhere and bitter with your position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They want Federal employees to come to office 5 days a week.

And the response is - we need to fight, this is nothing less than facism, and we are going to fight this Hitler incarnation.

I would think driving on the I-495 to office in a sedan, sipping latte and listening to your Spotify playlist is less risky than say Allied landings on Normandy under heavy artillery fire on fortified beaches under turbulent waves.

But to many it seems about the same.

Exactly. The screeching and stomping is beyond ridiculous.

Talking to yourself is what’s ridiculous. Hi troll!