Any other agencies increasing telework flexibilities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

DP but even little kids don’t need to be constantly minded. They can be trained to entertain themselves for an hour or two between 3:30 and when parents finish working. That is not neglect.

A lot of families were hurt by RTO not because of needing actual childcare, but because of transportation issues.

But that’s their own fault. Nobody is forcing these people to live hours away from the office. Most people bought homes pre-pandemic and have plenty of equity to move closer to work. They’re just too lazy, holding onto that 2% rate when they should realistically move and let somebody else enjoy that house. And that’s what it is, a house. It’s not a HoMe or a “forever home” or some other BS that’s been sold by realtors since 2020 to get people to overpay for housing.

Live near where you work, with an easy commute. This is the #1 rule for finding housing and how to live a life without being stressed out. Too many people moved far away when they were only on a telework agreement (not remote) and now they’re complaining about their own poor decisions.

Lol not moving to the school district where my office is located when I currently live in a much better one. Oh and my job was remote when I was hired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any agency allows regular telework, like 2 or 3 days per week?

Mine does, not going to say it on here even though it’s been publicly acknowledged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

DP but even little kids don’t need to be constantly minded. They can be trained to entertain themselves for an hour or two between 3:30 and when parents finish working. That is not neglect.

A lot of families were hurt by RTO not because of needing actual childcare, but because of transportation issues.

Yeah no thanks. Leaving at 2 so you can “work” from 3:30-4:30 while caring for your young kids is not feasible.

Exactly. These people aren’t working. They’re taking the afternoon off, on the clock, to watch their kids. It’s not fair and has effectively ruined telework for everyone else.

This, even if true, is NOT why telework was “ruined”, and we all know that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

DP but even little kids don’t need to be constantly minded. They can be trained to entertain themselves for an hour or two between 3:30 and when parents finish working. That is not neglect.

A lot of families were hurt by RTO not because of needing actual childcare, but because of transportation issues.

But that’s their own fault. Nobody is forcing these people to live hours away from the office. Most people bought homes pre-pandemic and have plenty of equity to move closer to work. They’re just too lazy, holding onto that 2% rate when they should realistically move and let somebody else enjoy that house. And that’s what it is, a house. It’s not a HoMe or a “forever home” or some other BS that’s been sold by realtors since 2020 to get people to overpay for housing.

Live near where you work, with an easy commute. This is the #1 rule for finding housing and how to live a life without being stressed out. Too many people moved far away when they were only on a telework agreement (not remote) and now they’re complaining about their own poor decisions.

So you and your spouse just never changed jobs, for decades?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We (mid-size federal regulators) got great news that they will be increasing telework flexibilities starting in the new year. Woo hoo! Not to our pandemic, or even pre-pandemic levels, but it’s something. And who knows if we will still continue to get sh(* on by the current administration in other ways, but this is good news for now, especially for those of us that made it through 2025 (just barely in my case).

Anyone else?

do you have any more detail beyond "increasing flexibilities"? As in, will you get once a week telework? Or just what we have, which is five optional telework days per year for personal reasons, and then additional telework on occasion if you are waiting for a repair person or whatever.

Split schedules to telework in mornings/evenings and limited telework for health appointments.

I would love a split schedule - go in for the morning (I get in early), commute at lunch, and finish at home.

Ugh. If you do this then you also need to use the flexibility to make yourself available for meetings outside your normal work schedule. It’s already hard enough to coordinate with team members who leave at 3pm.

I leave at 3:00 now because there's no telework. I can't join your 4 pm meeting because I'm commuting. If I could commute at lunch I'd be online till 5 or later, just like I was before RTO.

No, now you would be MIA at an even more inconvenient time (presumably 11-12 because you would be commuting home). And then probably honestly not that reachable after 3. At least you would be forced to actually take your lunch 1/2 hour instead of claiming you are working through it.

Why could someone not be available after 3 just because they came into the office in the morning vs if they telework the whole day?

My DH is private sector and mostly works from home. But sometimes he commutes in for some morning meetings / half day conference or whatever. Then drives home at lunch and wraps up his day as usual teleworking. Seems like nbd, no different than popping out for some lunch time errands and coming back home.

But his boss only cares if he shows up for meetings and gets his work done. He makes more than my fed attorney salary and isn’t micromanaged re: his leave use or where he works. He’s a director now but even before that he was given a lot of flexibility.

Many private sector jobs don’t micromanage time the way federal government does. My DH is private sector and no one cares if he works 37 hours one week and 47 hours the next as long as he gets his work done. He also isn’t forced to take a 30 minute lunch.

That’s very different from the feds who work from 6:30-3 and refuse to take meetings after 3. Even if we need to talk to people in different time zones.

I've worked 6:30 to 3:00 at an agency that required in-person and didn't allow any kind of credit for overtime, and I've worked 6:30-3:00 at an agency that was flexible about telework and let me bank extra hours when I worked late. Guess which one got me to take meetings after 3:00?
Make it easy for people to work late and pay people for their time, and you won't have an issue.

+1

No one is going to grind out private sector hours for public sector pay.

Historically the flexibility has been part of the overall compensation package that makes skilled employees such as lawyers, IT professionals, etc. to choose a government job.

Now we’re basically losing pay each year thanks to minimal raises over the past decade, erosion of health benefits, and increased employee pension contribution. The removal of telework and other flex options while telling us we all suck, do nothing, blah blah, threatening our jobs, and making many of us work without pay for 43 months isn’t exactly the winning strategy to build a talented workforce.

But it’s clear from Trump’s EOs he wants to prioritize hiring people who are Christian and don’t have college degrees.

[Anonymous]

Sorry meant 43 days! This entire year has felt like 43 months though. 😭

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

Well considering their kids are in before and after care, it sounds like they are school aged and not being supervised all day. Relax, most parents don’t want to work and care give. We did that during COVID and it was awful.

However, a school day is generally ~7 hours. With the bus, our kids are out of the house 8:15-4:00. With no commute and 2 parents teleworking, we were able to stagger hours and our kids didn’t have to spend extra time in childcare. I used to work 7:30-4. DH would work 8:30-5. Occasionally we’d mix things around if one of us had a meeting/deadline/doctor’s appt or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

DP but even little kids don’t need to be constantly minded. They can be trained to entertain themselves for an hour or two between 3:30 and when parents finish working. That is not neglect.

A lot of families were hurt by RTO not because of needing actual childcare, but because of transportation issues.

But that’s their own fault. Nobody is forcing these people to live hours away from the office. Most people bought homes pre-pandemic and have plenty of equity to move closer to work. They’re just too lazy, holding onto that 2% rate when they should realistically move and let somebody else enjoy that house. And that’s what it is, a house. It’s not a HoMe or a “forever home” or some other BS that’s been sold by realtors since 2020 to get people to overpay for housing.

Live near where you work, with an easy commute. This is the #1 rule for finding housing and how to live a life without being stressed out. Too many people moved far away when they were only on a telework agreement (not remote) and now they’re complaining about their own poor decisions.

Cool story. I did live near my office. I could have walked on a nice day. Paid a lot to live close in for a short commute. Guess what … I’ve had to “return” to an office I had never been to before. It’s just a place I’m being warehoused to sit in a cube alone on a computer to check some RTO box, no way I could have dreamt I’d ever end up in this random building.

Also, no way can I afford to give up my 3% interest rate. Buying a cheaper home would cost me more money. And my kids would be ripped from their schools and activities. Even if I were open to moving there is no way in hell I’d plan my life around a fed job right now. Imagine uprooting, spending tens of thousands on moving/closing costs, and then getting RIF’d because some DOGE bro (yes they’re still around) decides to do another needless reorg or assign you to some other office.

God I feel so bad for you sycophants who worship employers and think it’s normal for employees to upend their lives to jump through whatever random hoop of the day is being thrown at them.

[Anonymous]

Additionally, all these comments about "moving closer to work" seem to assume that there's only one person working in the household. What about the situation where both work in locations that are not near each other.

I have a hunch that some will suggest that the solution is to move closer to where the man works, while the woman quits her job and makes up for the loss in income by taking over all the household tasks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Additionally, all these comments about "moving closer to work" seem to assume that there's only one person working in the household. What about the situation where both work in locations that are not near each other.

I have a hunch that some will suggest that the solution is to move closer to where the man works, while the woman quits her job and makes up for the loss in income by taking over all the household tasks.

And this suggestion, besides being sexist, also assumes that the couple is heterosexual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

DP but even little kids don’t need to be constantly minded. They can be trained to entertain themselves for an hour or two between 3:30 and when parents finish working. That is not neglect.

A lot of families were hurt by RTO not because of needing actual childcare, but because of transportation issues.

But that’s their own fault. Nobody is forcing these people to live hours away from the office. Most people bought homes pre-pandemic and have plenty of equity to move closer to work. They’re just too lazy, holding onto that 2% rate when they should realistically move and let somebody else enjoy that house. And that’s what it is, a house. It’s not a HoMe or a “forever home” or some other BS that’s been sold by realtors since 2020 to get people to overpay for housing.

Live near where you work, with an easy commute. This is the #1 rule for finding housing and how to live a life without being stressed out. Too many people moved far away when they were only on a telework agreement (not remote) and now they’re complaining about their own poor decisions.

Cool story. I did live near my office. I could have walked on a nice day. Paid a lot to live close in for a short commute. Guess what … I’ve had to “return” to an office I had never been to before. It’s just a place I’m being warehoused to sit in a cube alone on a computer to check some RTO box, no way I could have dreamt I’d ever end up in this random building.

Also, no way can I afford to give up my 3% interest rate. Buying a cheaper home would cost me more money. And my kids would be ripped from their schools and activities. Even if I were open to moving there is no way in hell I’d plan my life around a fed job right now. Imagine uprooting, spending tens of thousands on moving/closing costs, and then getting RIF’d because some DOGE bro (yes they’re still around) decides to do another needless reorg or assign you to some other office.

God I feel so bad for you sycophants who worship employers and think it’s normal for employees to upend their lives to jump through whatever random hoop of the day is being thrown at them.

My agency had people who were RTOd to offices that they didn't know existed until they were assigned there, and then months later were told to move across the country to a different office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

Well considering their kids are in before and after care, it sounds like they are school aged and not being supervised all day. Relax, most parents don’t want to work and care give. We did that during COVID and it was awful.

However, a school day is generally ~7 hours. With the bus, our kids are out of the house 8:15-4:00. With no commute and 2 parents teleworking, we were able to stagger hours and our kids didn’t have to spend extra time in childcare. I used to work 7:30-4. DH would work 8:30-5. Occasionally we’d mix things around if one of us had a meeting/deadline/doctor’s appt or whatever.

The beauty of telework is being able to flex your schedule. I would often get up and work like 5-7 am, get the kids off to school, and then work 830 or 9 to 3 or 330 pm. Kids get home at 4 so I never needed before or after care. I'd do something similar on days I had doctors appointments or school events or whatever, but started even earlier in the morning so I didn't even need to take any leave unless I left town. My agency got so much work out of me. People are just jealous of that kind of flexibility is what it comes down to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

Well considering their kids are in before and after care, it sounds like they are school aged and not being supervised all day. Relax, most parents don’t want to work and care give. We did that during COVID and it was awful.

However, a school day is generally ~7 hours. With the bus, our kids are out of the house 8:15-4:00. With no commute and 2 parents teleworking, we were able to stagger hours and our kids didn’t have to spend extra time in childcare. I used to work 7:30-4. DH would work 8:30-5. Occasionally we’d mix things around if one of us had a meeting/deadline/doctor’s appt or whatever.

The beauty of telework is being able to flex your schedule. I would often get up and work like 5-7 am, get the kids off to school, and then work 830 or 9 to 3 or 330 pm. Kids get home at 4 so I never needed before or after care. I'd do something similar on days I had doctors appointments or school events or whatever, but started even earlier in the morning so I didn't even need to take any leave unless I left town. My agency got so much work out of me. People are just jealous of that kind of flexibility is what it comes down to.

Are you still on telework?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

Well considering their kids are in before and after care, it sounds like they are school aged and not being supervised all day. Relax, most parents don’t want to work and care give. We did that during COVID and it was awful.

However, a school day is generally ~7 hours. With the bus, our kids are out of the house 8:15-4:00. With no commute and 2 parents teleworking, we were able to stagger hours and our kids didn’t have to spend extra time in childcare. I used to work 7:30-4. DH would work 8:30-5. Occasionally we’d mix things around if one of us had a meeting/deadline/doctor’s appt or whatever.

The beauty of telework is being able to flex your schedule. I would often get up and work like 5-7 am, get the kids off to school, and then work 830 or 9 to 3 or 330 pm. Kids get home at 4 so I never needed before or after care. I'd do something similar on days I had doctors appointments or school events or whatever, but started even earlier in the morning so I didn't even need to take any leave unless I left town. My agency got so much work out of me. People are just jealous of that kind of flexibility is what it comes down to.

Are you still on telework?

Just situational, not core.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, and it is terrible. We had been going in 2x a week and 1x a week, respectively, so one parent was always home to walk the dog and pick up kids. Now our children are in beforecare as well as aftercare and we have a dog walker so we can be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day in our offices.

So who watched your kids while you were teleworking? You can’t supervise kids who belong in daycare and work at the same time. So you either ripped off the taxpayer with illegal childcare, or neglected your kids.

Kids were in aftercare only, and not for the full three hours.