DMV Feds only - is your agency still struggling with WFH policy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again: it’s not the responsibility of federal workers to support downtown “restaurants.”

Maybe not, but it is the responsibility of the federal government to care about the variability of restaurants in our economy.

You’re a civil servant….so that means you.

Unless you’re paying for my lunch you have no business telling me how to spend my money. Why don’t you go into DC every day to buy your meals, if you’re that concerned?

I’m not telling you how to spend your money. I’m telling you why the government cares. You work for the Government so you’re one of the affected employees. The argument that it is not the responsibility of federal employees to support downtown is moot because you work for the entity designed to care. If you don’t, that’s fine, but it’s not an invalid reason for the employer even if the employee doesn’t like it.


Your reaction is disproportionate.

Wait until sun goes down before you drink. What an incoherent rant!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again: it’s not the responsibility of federal workers to support downtown “restaurants.”

Maybe not, but it is the responsibility of the federal government to care about the variability of restaurants in our economy.

You’re a civil servant….so that means you.

Unless you’re paying for my lunch you have no business telling me how to spend my money. Why don’t you go into DC every day to buy your meals, if you’re that concerned?

I’m not telling you how to spend your money. I’m telling you why the government cares. You work for the Government so you’re one of the affected employees. The argument that it is not the responsibility of federal employees to support downtown is moot because you work for the entity designed to care. If you don’t, that’s fine, but it’s not an invalid reason for the employer even if the employee doesn’t like it.


Your reaction is disproportionate.

Stick to writing looney tunes about your 4 jobs, please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again: it’s not the responsibility of federal workers to support downtown “restaurants.”

Maybe not, but it is the responsibility of the federal government to care about the variability of restaurants in our economy.

You’re a civil servant….so that means you.

Unless you’re paying for my lunch you have no business telling me how to spend my money. Why don’t you go into DC every day to buy your meals, if you’re that concerned?

I’m not telling you how to spend your money. I’m telling you why the government cares. You work for the Government so you’re one of the affected employees. The argument that it is not the responsibility of federal employees to support downtown is moot because you work for the entity designed to care. If you don’t, that’s fine, but it’s not an invalid reason for the employer even if the employee doesn’t like it.


Your reaction is disproportionate.

I’m a Fed whose office is in Bethesda. Why is it my responsibility to support downtown DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again: it’s not the responsibility of federal workers to support downtown “restaurants.”

Maybe not, but it is the responsibility of the federal government to care about the variability of restaurants in our economy.

You’re a civil servant….so that means you.

Unless you’re paying for my lunch you have no business telling me how to spend my money. Why don’t you go into DC every day to buy your meals, if you’re that concerned?

I’m not telling you how to spend your money. I’m telling you why the government cares. You work for the Government so you’re one of the affected employees. The argument that it is not the responsibility of federal employees to support downtown is moot because you work for the entity designed to care. If you don’t, that’s fine, but it’s not an invalid reason for the employer even if the employee doesn’t like it.

Here’s why I’m unsympathetic to this argument. As a fed working in downtown DC for a decade, I can count on one hand the number of times I bought lunch out. I now telecommute 4/5 days. If they told me to come back more than that, motivated by the desire to support restaurants, I would refuse. I am not part of the restaurant equation and they have no right to police that part of my life. It is not a valid requirement on employees to require that I work near a DC restaurant. Sure, the government might care in the abstract, but concretely, they cannot mandate RTO to incentivize my spending money.

[Anonymous]

There is a long (pre covid) history of trying to drive economic growth by placing agencies in less developed areas of DC, and it never actually works because Feds don't spend enough. I think it's all theater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a long (pre covid) history of trying to drive economic growth by placing agencies in less developed areas of DC, and it never actually works because Feds don't spend enough. I think it's all theater.

I don’t get paid enough to spend $15-20 on sub-par food every day. I always bring my own lunch and snacks. Sorry not sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again: it’s not the responsibility of federal workers to support downtown “restaurants.”

Maybe not, but it is the responsibility of the federal government to care about the variability of restaurants in our economy.

You’re a civil servant….so that means you.

*viability

No, it is not our job to care about the viability of restaurants in "our economy." And by economy, what you really mean is Washington, D.C. Even more so, this is not our job. The market is doing what the market is doing - you can't expect federal employees to step in and safe all of the sandwich shops in D.C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again: it’s not the responsibility of federal workers to support downtown “restaurants.”

Maybe not, but it is the responsibility of the federal government to care about the variability of restaurants in our economy.

You’re a civil servant….so that means you.

*viability

No, it is not our job to care about the viability of restaurants in "our economy." And by economy, what you really mean is Washington, D.C. Even more so, this is not our job. The market is doing what the market is doing - you can't expect federal employees to step in and safe all of the sandwich shops in D.C.

*save

[Anonymous]

It’s not just the downtown restaurants, there are benefits to working in person with coworkers. Also, most private sector businesses are back in the office, this is feeding the stereotype of lazy feds.

[Anonymous]

Also, most private sector businesses are back in the office,

Wrong. Office occupancy is less than half of what it was pre-Covid, about 50% or less nationwide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Also, most private sector businesses are back in the office,

Wrong. Office occupancy is less than half of what it was pre-Covid, about 50% or less nationwide.

And federal offices are at 20% occupancy with this one day a week bs, significantly lower than 50% in the private sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, most private sector businesses are back in the office,

Wrong. Office occupancy is less than half of what it was pre-Covid, about 50% or less nationwide.

And federal offices are at 20% occupancy with this one day a week bs, significantly lower than 50% in the private sector.

So what? Feds don’t follow privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, most private sector businesses are back in the office,

Wrong. Office occupancy is less than half of what it was pre-Covid, about 50% or less nationwide.

And federal offices are at 20% occupancy with this one day a week bs, significantly lower than 50% in the private sector.

So what? Feds don’t follow privates.

Which is why we have the reputation of being entitled and lazy

[Anonymous]

There is a long (pre covid) history of trying to drive economic growth by placing agencies in less developed areas of DC, and it never actually works because Feds don't spend enough. I think it's all theater.

Yes, and now we get to work in a part of the city where people have been shot in front of our building and the Subway was recently the target of an armed robbery - in the middle of the day. There are also very limited lunch options, and I am not spending $15 for Moe's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, most private sector businesses are back in the office,

Wrong. Office occupancy is less than half of what it was pre-Covid, about 50% or less nationwide.

And federal offices are at 20% occupancy with this one day a week bs, significantly lower than 50% in the private sector.

So what? Feds don’t follow privates.

Which is why we have the reputation of being entitled and lazy

No govt is fundamentally different than private. Not apples to apple comparison