Biden wants RTO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RTO is going to cause some agencies to hemorrhage decent young-ish employees. One day a week already led to us losing a few attorneys for the private sector. They can’t afford to live close in and as soon as they have kids they can’t manage a commute that’s an hour plus. I’m in a weird boat where my spouse makes a lot of money so we live close in but has garbage health insurance which doesn’t work because one of our kids is SN.

+1. Some of the posters are delusional about how much it costs to live reasonably close in with kids, where there is access to safe public schools and housing. I bought my house in 2013 and prices have since skyrocketed, and I still had nearly an hour commute downtown from within Fairfax County. Why would I want to spend nearly 1.5 - 2 hours a day commuting when I could spend that time with my family, driving kids to activities, exercising, cooking a healthy meal, etc. Life is too short to waste it in a car to spend 8 hours in the office on Teams meetings. Furthermore, I am a Federal manager and most of my younger, hard-working staff all want telework - for the exact reasons I do, so they can balance their careers and home life. I don’t want to lose them and I certainly don’t want to force them in the office more. Our work is computer based and can be completed effectively from home. I also have staff more willing to work on an issue later in the day or earlier in the morning when they’re home. Staff is flexible and more engaged in the work because they have a manager who is flexible regarding where they do the work. For computer based work, RTO is not the answer. The genie is out of the bottle and it’s not going back.

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Houses I was looking at for 400k three years ago are now going for 700k. Federal employee pay has not increased 75%.

What does THAT got to do with anything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Many people have changed jobs in the last 3 years. For example, a year ago I moved to the federal government, accepting a role that had me come in twice a pay period. When interviewing for this role I was told that the team planned on staying hybrid and did not plan to increase the days in the office.

So, if one was to point out that the team I joined was 5 days in the office pre-pandemic and why is that intolerable now when we all used to do it? Well, I wasn't in this role back then, and neither were many of the people who joined my agency in the past 3 years. So it's not a "return" for any of us, but a big change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RTO is going to cause some agencies to hemorrhage decent young-ish employees. One day a week already led to us losing a few attorneys for the private sector. They can’t afford to live close in and as soon as they have kids they can’t manage a commute that’s an hour plus. I’m in a weird boat where my spouse makes a lot of money so we live close in but has garbage health insurance which doesn’t work because one of our kids is SN.

+1. Some of the posters are delusional about how much it costs to live reasonably close in with kids, where there is access to safe public schools and housing. I bought my house in 2013 and prices have since skyrocketed, and I still had nearly an hour commute downtown from within Fairfax County. Why would I want to spend nearly 1.5 - 2 hours a day commuting when I could spend that time with my family, driving kids to activities, exercising, cooking a healthy meal, etc. Life is too short to waste it in a car to spend 8 hours in the office on Teams meetings. Furthermore, I am a Federal manager and most of my younger, hard-working staff all want telework - for the exact reasons I do, so they can balance their careers and home life. I don’t want to lose them and I certainly don’t want to force them in the office more. Our work is computer based and can be completed effectively from home. I also have staff more willing to work on an issue later in the day or earlier in the morning when they’re home. Staff is flexible and more engaged in the work because they have a manager who is flexible regarding where they do the work. For computer based work, RTO is not the answer. The genie is out of the bottle and it’s not going back.

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Houses I was looking at for 400k three years ago are now going for 700k. Federal employee pay has not increased 75%.

What does THAT got to do with anything?

Pretty direct response to the "has anything changed drastically since the pandemic?" Maybe doesn't seem important if you already own a home in DC, but if you're trying to recruit people or bring back people who were hired during the pandemic with lower commuting requirements at a salary with significantly lower buying power, then I think the relevance is pretty obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Many people have changed jobs in the last 3 years. For example, a year ago I moved to the federal government, accepting a role that had me come in twice a pay period. When interviewing for this role I was told that the team planned on staying hybrid and did not plan to increase the days in the office.

So, if one was to point out that the team I joined was 5 days in the office pre-pandemic and why is that intolerable now when we all used to do it? Well, I wasn't in this role back then, and neither were many of the people who joined my agency in the past 3 years. So it's not a "return" for any of us, but a big change.

Thank you! I have been in my job two years and there is no way I would have taken it with the pre-pandemic requirement to be in the office 5 days. I live too far and was very clear about that in my interview.

I decided my exit point is 3 days a week. Our requirement just increased to 50%, so I guess I'll see if I can live with that while continuing to put out applications.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The government also has an interest in running well, which surpasses DC’s interests. As it should. Federal employees are not going to turn around CRE. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Private sector is hiring and figuring out ways to deal with the labor market that exists. The government needs to follow their lead if they want to retain or hire. Commercial real estate investors can pivot to the burbs. Everyone else did.

+ My private sector DH and neighbors are all still full time WAH. And they make a lot more than me. Making GS level employees like me go into DC even a few days a week isn’t going to save CRE or failing businesses. We don’t collectively make enough to keep DC afloat and the government risks losing good employees to private sector jobs. Even if they land in a private sector job that requires in office days, they’ll make more $ to counteract the commute.

WAH is basically the reason I’m at my job as a working mom of 3. This literally could be the difference of whether I stay in government, possibly even the workforce. (Before you ask, my kids were in daycare before the pandemic so commuting wasn’t as bad). But now that they are school age and their school has an extended day waitlist we haven’t been able to make it off for 3 years (employee shortage due to the post-COVID labor market) and they have early activities beginning around 5 pm, I have really come to rely on WAH. (DH also WAH but can’t start/end his day early like me). I know I’m not alone and collectively the government could lose a lot of qualified employees.

Someone else would happily do your job. None of us are owed or entitled to federal employment.

You are absolutely wrong about this. Yes, someone without my qualifications and experience would be happy to have the money. But they can’t do the job. So there’s the rub.

So move on, if you don’t like the federal government coming back to the office in DC please go do something else. Many of us are glad to be back in the office and think this is good policy.

I will. As Will others. And then you e got a massive problem. Stop putting your head in the sand. A one size fits all solution — everybody back 6 days a PP— is not going to work.

I’ve been a fed for more than 20 years and have listened to so many versions of “if x is elected, if they change this policy, if y happens EVERYONE WILL LEAVE!” Meanwhile federal attrition has been pretty flat over the years and the retirement wave of older feds that I heard about back in grad school never happened. It’s not a bad deal, we have more flexibility than most with decent pay and benefits. Before the pandemic I was required to be in my office 4 days a week, now we’re coming back 2 days a week. Seems like a win to me, we’d be lucky if we had certain people leave but there won’t be a serious exodus over this.

+1.

I've been a fed since the Reagan administration and it's always been we're underpaid compared to the private sector, everyone will leave if such and such happens, and guess what? It's rare when someone actually leaves the fed. Yes they might change to a different agency, but they aren't leaving the fed because despite all the 24/7 nose to the grindstone federal employees here on DCUM, it's a gravy train. I'm the first to admit it! Generous leave, a great 401K with 5% matching, cheap life insurance, not the best health insurance but can't complain about the choices, now free parental leave, flexibility, etc.

Say two feds who entered the workforce in the EIGHTIES, bought their homes when housing and education for their kids were just a small fraction of what they are now. Dear god. Retire. Please.

Different topic for a different thread but... why? Why do you hate older workers?

Nope. They need to retire because they are managers who are completely out of touch with the needs and constraints of their workforce.

And you are better than them?

I know more about what people who aren’t close to retirement need in a job. Seems a core bit of knowledge that they might need to consider before making decisions.

That just means you know your OWN situation. It doesn't mean you understand the decisions that are needed for the organization. And implications.

Wrong. I’m thinking of people younger and newer than me. I don’t need the flexibility as much as some do and I want them to stay! We have already lost people.

People come and go. Every vacancy we have we are still getting hundreds of apps. You are not as important as you think. I am a WFH supporter, but I wish people stop using "people will leave" threats. Discussions, whether you support or against WFH or RTO, should be based on valid reasons and merits.

We are hiring and it is very slim pickings. And we are locking at 50% turnover in my particular office soon between retirement and people leaving for greener pastures.

The same thing was said when you were hired, and yet they found the gem among manure when you were hired. Government has always been this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RTO is going to cause some agencies to hemorrhage decent young-ish employees. One day a week already led to us losing a few attorneys for the private sector. They can’t afford to live close in and as soon as they have kids they can’t manage a commute that’s an hour plus. I’m in a weird boat where my spouse makes a lot of money so we live close in but has garbage health insurance which doesn’t work because one of our kids is SN.

+1. Some of the posters are delusional about how much it costs to live reasonably close in with kids, where there is access to safe public schools and housing. I bought my house in 2013 and prices have since skyrocketed, and I still had nearly an hour commute downtown from within Fairfax County. Why would I want to spend nearly 1.5 - 2 hours a day commuting when I could spend that time with my family, driving kids to activities, exercising, cooking a healthy meal, etc. Life is too short to waste it in a car to spend 8 hours in the office on Teams meetings. Furthermore, I am a Federal manager and most of my younger, hard-working staff all want telework - for the exact reasons I do, so they can balance their careers and home life. I don’t want to lose them and I certainly don’t want to force them in the office more. Our work is computer based and can be completed effectively from home. I also have staff more willing to work on an issue later in the day or earlier in the morning when they’re home. Staff is flexible and more engaged in the work because they have a manager who is flexible regarding where they do the work. For computer based work, RTO is not the answer. The genie is out of the bottle and it’s not going back.

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Houses I was looking at for 400k three years ago are now going for 700k. Federal employee pay has not increased 75%.

Most people don’t pay cash for a house. The relevant difference is the monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage of $400k vs. $700k. And, look at dollar, not percent, increase. If a stick of gum goes from 5 cents to 10, that’s a 100% increase, but it doesn’t mean your salary needs to double to afford gum.

[Anonymous]

Lost an hour on Metro this AM heading downtown when they first dumped us out at Ballston and then kept us on a packed train over 30 minutes at Clarendon (likely a guaranteed Covid super-spreader pause). If Biden and Bowser want RTO maybe lean on Metro to operate a functioning system rather than a jobs program for a bunch of low-IQ idiots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Many people have changed jobs in the last 3 years. For example, a year ago I moved to the federal government, accepting a role that had me come in twice a pay period. When interviewing for this role I was told that the team planned on staying hybrid and did not plan to increase the days in the office.

So, if one was to point out that the team I joined was 5 days in the office pre-pandemic and why is that intolerable now when we all used to do it? Well, I wasn't in this role back then, and neither were many of the people who joined my agency in the past 3 years. So it's not a "return" for any of us, but a big change.

Thank you! I have been in my job two years and there is no way I would have taken it with the pre-pandemic requirement to be in the office 5 days. I live too far and was very clear about that in my interview.

I decided my exit point is 3 days a week. Our requirement just increased to 50%, so I guess I'll see if I can live with that while continuing to put out applications.

What was your schedule at your old job? Probably not the same as your COVID schedule at your agency.

[Anonymous]

I think they just need to make the call and deal with consequences as best they can. People who want to jump, let them jump. There is no perfect answer everyone will be happy with. Give remote workers 6 months to relocate or else. Give WFH folks, 3 days/week in office requirement. Don't like it? Go find another job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The government also has an interest in running well, which surpasses DC’s interests. As it should. Federal employees are not going to turn around CRE. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Private sector is hiring and figuring out ways to deal with the labor market that exists. The government needs to follow their lead if they want to retain or hire. Commercial real estate investors can pivot to the burbs. Everyone else did.

+ My private sector DH and neighbors are all still full time WAH. And they make a lot more than me. Making GS level employees like me go into DC even a few days a week isn’t going to save CRE or failing businesses. We don’t collectively make enough to keep DC afloat and the government risks losing good employees to private sector jobs. Even if they land in a private sector job that requires in office days, they’ll make more $ to counteract the commute.

WAH is basically the reason I’m at my job as a working mom of 3. This literally could be the difference of whether I stay in government, possibly even the workforce. (Before you ask, my kids were in daycare before the pandemic so commuting wasn’t as bad). But now that they are school age and their school has an extended day waitlist we haven’t been able to make it off for 3 years (employee shortage due to the post-COVID labor market) and they have early activities beginning around 5 pm, I have really come to rely on WAH. (DH also WAH but can’t start/end his day early like me). I know I’m not alone and collectively the government could lose a lot of qualified employees.

Someone else would happily do your job. None of us are owed or entitled to federal employment.

You are absolutely wrong about this. Yes, someone without my qualifications and experience would be happy to have the money. But they can’t do the job. So there’s the rub.

So move on, if you don’t like the federal government coming back to the office in DC please go do something else. Many of us are glad to be back in the office and think this is good policy.

I will. As Will others. And then you e got a massive problem. Stop putting your head in the sand. A one size fits all solution — everybody back 6 days a PP— is not going to work.

I’ve been a fed for more than 20 years and have listened to so many versions of “if x is elected, if they change this policy, if y happens EVERYONE WILL LEAVE!” Meanwhile federal attrition has been pretty flat over the years and the retirement wave of older feds that I heard about back in grad school never happened. It’s not a bad deal, we have more flexibility than most with decent pay and benefits. Before the pandemic I was required to be in my office 4 days a week, now we’re coming back 2 days a week. Seems like a win to me, we’d be lucky if we had certain people leave but there won’t be a serious exodus over this.

+1.

I've been a fed since the Reagan administration and it's always been we're underpaid compared to the private sector, everyone will leave if such and such happens, and guess what? It's rare when someone actually leaves the fed. Yes they might change to a different agency, but they aren't leaving the fed because despite all the 24/7 nose to the grindstone federal employees here on DCUM, it's a gravy train. I'm the first to admit it! Generous leave, a great 401K with 5% matching, cheap life insurance, not the best health insurance but can't complain about the choices, now free parental leave, flexibility, etc.

Say two feds who entered the workforce in the EIGHTIES, bought their homes when housing and education for their kids were just a small fraction of what they are now. Dear god. Retire. Please.

Different topic for a different thread but... why? Why do you hate older workers?

Late 30s GS-15 here. Yes, I mostly do. They’re past their time of prime and can’t relate to the younger generations. Thank you for your service but please move on. If you’ve been a fed since the Reagan administration you can retire with a very healthy pension and benefits. Move the eff on.

Maybe you will live long enough that those born in 2000 don’t tell you “move biatch, get out the way. You’re no longer wanted.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The government also has an interest in running well, which surpasses DC’s interests. As it should. Federal employees are not going to turn around CRE. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Private sector is hiring and figuring out ways to deal with the labor market that exists. The government needs to follow their lead if they want to retain or hire. Commercial real estate investors can pivot to the burbs. Everyone else did.

+ My private sector DH and neighbors are all still full time WAH. And they make a lot more than me. Making GS level employees like me go into DC even a few days a week isn’t going to save CRE or failing businesses. We don’t collectively make enough to keep DC afloat and the government risks losing good employees to private sector jobs. Even if they land in a private sector job that requires in office days, they’ll make more $ to counteract the commute.

WAH is basically the reason I’m at my job as a working mom of 3. This literally could be the difference of whether I stay in government, possibly even the workforce. (Before you ask, my kids were in daycare before the pandemic so commuting wasn’t as bad). But now that they are school age and their school has an extended day waitlist we haven’t been able to make it off for 3 years (employee shortage due to the post-COVID labor market) and they have early activities beginning around 5 pm, I have really come to rely on WAH. (DH also WAH but can’t start/end his day early like me). I know I’m not alone and collectively the government could lose a lot of qualified employees.

Someone else would happily do your job. None of us are owed or entitled to federal employment.

You are absolutely wrong about this. Yes, someone without my qualifications and experience would be happy to have the money. But they can’t do the job. So there’s the rub.

So move on, if you don’t like the federal government coming back to the office in DC please go do something else. Many of us are glad to be back in the office and think this is good policy.

I will. As Will others. And then you e got a massive problem. Stop putting your head in the sand. A one size fits all solution — everybody back 6 days a PP— is not going to work.

I’ve been a fed for more than 20 years and have listened to so many versions of “if x is elected, if they change this policy, if y happens EVERYONE WILL LEAVE!” Meanwhile federal attrition has been pretty flat over the years and the retirement wave of older feds that I heard about back in grad school never happened. It’s not a bad deal, we have more flexibility than most with decent pay and benefits. Before the pandemic I was required to be in my office 4 days a week, now we’re coming back 2 days a week. Seems like a win to me, we’d be lucky if we had certain people leave but there won’t be a serious exodus over this.

+1.

I've been a fed since the Reagan administration and it's always been we're underpaid compared to the private sector, everyone will leave if such and such happens, and guess what? It's rare when someone actually leaves the fed. Yes they might change to a different agency, but they aren't leaving the fed because despite all the 24/7 nose to the grindstone federal employees here on DCUM, it's a gravy train. I'm the first to admit it! Generous leave, a great 401K with 5% matching, cheap life insurance, not the best health insurance but can't complain about the choices, now free parental leave, flexibility, etc.

Say two feds who entered the workforce in the EIGHTIES, bought their homes when housing and education for their kids were just a small fraction of what they are now. Dear god. Retire. Please.

Different topic for a different thread but... why? Why do you hate older workers?

Late 30s GS-15 here. Yes, I mostly do. They’re past their time of prime and can’t relate to the younger generations. Thank you for your service but please move on. If you’ve been a fed since the Reagan administration you can retire with a very healthy pension and benefits. Move the eff on.

Maybe you will live long enough that those born in 2000 don’t tell you “move biatch, get out the way. You’re no longer wanted.”

To be fair, I used to say that too when I was late 30s. Young and stupid, what can I tell you...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Many people have changed jobs in the last 3 years. For example, a year ago I moved to the federal government, accepting a role that had me come in twice a pay period. When interviewing for this role I was told that the team planned on staying hybrid and did not plan to increase the days in the office.

So, if one was to point out that the team I joined was 5 days in the office pre-pandemic and why is that intolerable now when we all used to do it? Well, I wasn't in this role back then, and neither were many of the people who joined my agency in the past 3 years. So it's not a "return" for any of us, but a big change.

Yes, but what were the in-office standards at your old job? The fact is that you snagged an unusually good accommodation DURING A NATIONAL CRISIS THAT HAS PASSED, but you want to keep that accommodation forever. It’s like getting a temporary disability accommodation and expecting to keep it after you’re fine. I get it: you have a good thing and want to keep it. But, don’t play the “I’ve been duped. It’s unfair” card. You sound silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they just need to make the call and deal with consequences as best they can. People who want to jump, let them jump. There is no perfect answer everyone will be happy with. Give remote workers 6 months to relocate or else. Give WFH folks, 3 days/week in office requirement. Don't like it? Go find another job.

Totally agree. Most of these whiners won’t leave. They’re just trying to scare their senior officers so they don’t change the policy. At my FinReg agency, there are hundreds of applications for every position. No one cares if you leave. There’s a line of attorneys on DCUM who will gladly take your position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RTO is going to cause some agencies to hemorrhage decent young-ish employees. One day a week already led to us losing a few attorneys for the private sector. They can’t afford to live close in and as soon as they have kids they can’t manage a commute that’s an hour plus. I’m in a weird boat where my spouse makes a lot of money so we live close in but has garbage health insurance which doesn’t work because one of our kids is SN.

+1. Some of the posters are delusional about how much it costs to live reasonably close in with kids, where there is access to safe public schools and housing. I bought my house in 2013 and prices have since skyrocketed, and I still had nearly an hour commute downtown from within Fairfax County. Why would I want to spend nearly 1.5 - 2 hours a day commuting when I could spend that time with my family, driving kids to activities, exercising, cooking a healthy meal, etc. Life is too short to waste it in a car to spend 8 hours in the office on Teams meetings. Furthermore, I am a Federal manager and most of my younger, hard-working staff all want telework - for the exact reasons I do, so they can balance their careers and home life. I don’t want to lose them and I certainly don’t want to force them in the office more. Our work is computer based and can be completed effectively from home. I also have staff more willing to work on an issue later in the day or earlier in the morning when they’re home. Staff is flexible and more engaged in the work because they have a manager who is flexible regarding where they do the work. For computer based work, RTO is not the answer. The genie is out of the bottle and it’s not going back.

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Houses I was looking at for 400k three years ago are now going for 700k. Federal employee pay has not increased 75%.

Most people don’t pay cash for a house. The relevant difference is the monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage of $400k vs. $700k. And, look at dollar, not percent, increase. If a stick of gum goes from 5 cents to 10, that’s a 100% increase, but it doesn’t mean your salary needs to double to afford gum.

Good thing interest rates haven't gone up! This is the dumbest post. Honestly. Going from a payment on 400k at 2.5% to 700k at 7% is way more than a 75% increase, and far far more in dollars than any fed salary increase in that time. Do the math. Don't be lazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I understand but has this all changed dramatically in the last 3 years since the pandemic started? My whole office used to commute 4 days a week deal with traffic or public transportation, figure out kids activities, etc and now just doing what they used to do is intolerable? I get that we had a few years with more flexibility but we're being asked to do what everyone did for decades and suddenly that's too hard and everyone will quit?

Many people have changed jobs in the last 3 years. For example, a year ago I moved to the federal government, accepting a role that had me come in twice a pay period. When interviewing for this role I was told that the team planned on staying hybrid and did not plan to increase the days in the office.

So, if one was to point out that the team I joined was 5 days in the office pre-pandemic and why is that intolerable now when we all used to do it? Well, I wasn't in this role back then, and neither were many of the people who joined my agency in the past 3 years. So it's not a "return" for any of us, but a big change.

Thank you! I have been in my job two years and there is no way I would have taken it with the pre-pandemic requirement to be in the office 5 days. I live too far and was very clear about that in my interview.

I decided my exit point is 3 days a week. Our requirement just increased to 50%, so I guess I'll see if I can live with that while continuing to put out applications.

It doesn't matter if you were clear about it in your interview. Remote and telework are subject to change yearly (telework can change more often depending on the agency).