It’s going to lead to a lot of brain drain. There’s already a lot of turn over by smart, hard working people using government jobs as a stepping stone, but some have stayed longer due to the generous telework policies. Those that can will jump to private sector gigs that are still offering hybrid and remote. Vacancies will be harder to fill and they’ll end up hiring worse candidates. So I guess business as usual for the DC government…

This is exactly right. OMB knows they need to make it a priority to recruit, train and retain IT expertise and even talked about a special rate boost to prevent the brain drain but it isn't happening. My agency has already lost a lot of IT people over the last few years and I know that if they come down hard with RTO a lot more will bail, myself included.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feds should all be back at least 3 days a week as well.

Why?

Because like it or not the District will not survive without a sustained federal workforce presence. It will also set an example and help private sector firms get greater return to offices numbers.

Otherwise the tax base of cities disappears and the US economy takes a hit. All about the economic reality of how America is set-up. You are not going to be able to convert significant amounts of commercial real estate to condos and if that is attempted you won’t find buyers.

That's silly. They don't need me coming to DC, sitting in a cubicle, using DC public utilities, then going home again. Nobody benefits from that. Also nobody benefits from making me come to DC to sit in a cubicle to do the exact same things for work that I do at home.

Maybe you are an outlier, but most people that commute into the city pay for parking or metro and patronize the local businesses.

Nope, that's just you "$450HHI" folks on DCUM. Not us regular working stiffs.

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to lead to a lot of brain drain. There’s already a lot of turn over by smart, hard working people using government jobs as a stepping stone, but some have stayed longer due to the generous telework policies. Those that can will jump to private sector gigs that are still offering hybrid and remote. Vacancies will be harder to fill and they’ll end up hiring worse candidates. So I guess business as usual for the DC government…

I've been dealing with a neighbor illegally Airbnb-ing their place lately and have found a few helpful people at DLCP, but it took awhile to get connected to anyone who actually cares about the issues we're having.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She promised COLAs in this press release - so how come you DC government employees aren't fighting???

https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-signs-legislation-authorizing-pay-increases-and-bonuses-dc-government-employees

Your reading comprehension and/or understanding of government terms needs some assistance. That press release refers to the COLAs for FY 2022 and 2023. FY 2024 started in October 2023 and the non-union employees have not received a FY 2024 COLA nor has there been any discussion of when they might get a COLA for FY 2024. The union employees have guaranteed COLAs through FY 2025.

You stand corrected - FY 2023 COLA

No sweetie, we received our FY 2023 COLA. The FY 2024 COLA should have taken effect in October 2023 because that is the start of the 2024 fiscal year, but we have not gotten it. I know that this is confusing to you, but those of us actually in DC government are well aware of our COLAs and whether or not we’ve gotten them. But carry on @sshat trying to school people in an area you know nothing about.

But why should you get a COLA when you aren't coming into work? You're saving money. It's a wash.

Some DC gov employees have been coming to work everyday all along.

Same with Feds. DC needs to make it an attractive place for the law firms and other private employers again.

I wouldn’t go if I didn’t have to (and I’ve been going all along). I’ve been thinking about replacing my commute downtown with a commute to Virginia.

Disturbing but unsurprising to hear that the dishonest push to cut back on telework is being driven by people who are millions deep into commercial real estate.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/who-is-jeff-zients-incoming-white-house-chief-staff-2023-01-23/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feds should all be back at least 3 days a week as well.

Why?

Because like it or not the District will not survive without a sustained federal workforce presence. It will also set an example and help private sector firms get greater return to offices numbers.

Otherwise the tax base of cities disappears and the US economy takes a hit. All about the economic reality of how America is set-up. You are not going to be able to convert significant amounts of commercial real estate to condos and if that is attempted you won’t find buyers.

That's silly. They don't need me coming to DC, sitting in a cubicle, using DC public utilities, then going home again. Nobody benefits from that. Also nobody benefits from making me come to DC to sit in a cubicle to do the exact same things for work that I do at home.

Maybe you are an outlier, but most people that commute into the city pay for parking or metro and patronize the local businesses.

DP... maybe you're a highly paid lobbyist or biglaw attorney but most of the rest of us schmoes aren't paid enough for that to be a habit - mostly we rode metro in and brought a lunch. We aren't paid enough to pay $26 a day for parking and $20 for a mediocre salad or sandwich for lunch. We might go out for a lunch or Friday happy hour once or twice a month but that's about it.

The people pushing this "return to work" stuff are full of crap.

First of all, the restaurants are full, and it's often hard to even get a reservation.

Second, it's obvious none of y'all have recently tried crossing downtown DC at 5:30PM on a weekday. Even with traffic control people everywhere it's slow and full of gridlock. Last night I had to run from the Reagan Building to Foggy Bottom and then to the Wharf - that took 1 hour and 20 minutes - just to go less than 6 miles, because of traffic.

DC *does not* need more car commuters. If they want more people coming in to DC they are going to have to take mass transit.

Third, it's mostly the real estate faction that's whining about it. But guess what? Your problems are mostly self-inflicted by your own bubble that was a problem even before the pandemic, for example price fixing and sitting on vacant property that you could have had generating revenue with even a modest rate reduction. And yeah, the price fixing is real.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/11/01/dc-sues-realpage-landlords/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feds should all be back at least 3 days a week as well.

Why?

Because like it or not the District will not survive without a sustained federal workforce presence. It will also set an example and help private sector firms get greater return to offices numbers.

Otherwise the tax base of cities disappears and the US economy takes a hit. All about the economic reality of how America is set-up. You are not going to be able to convert significant amounts of commercial real estate to condos and if that is attempted you won’t find buyers.

That's silly. They don't need me coming to DC, sitting in a cubicle, using DC public utilities, then going home again. Nobody benefits from that. Also nobody benefits from making me come to DC to sit in a cubicle to do the exact same things for work that I do at home.

Maybe you are an outlier, but most people that commute into the city pay for parking or metro and patronize the local businesses.

The difference between DC "surviving" and "not surviving" is parking revenue to private parking companies?

No. Patronization of local businesses. Local residents alone aren’t sufficient to support the restaurants and other local amenities in many parts of DC.

The difference between DC "surviving" and "not surviving" is places that sell sandwiches to office workers for lunch?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feds should all be back at least 3 days a week as well.

Why?

Because like it or not the District will not survive without a sustained federal workforce presence. It will also set an example and help private sector firms get greater return to offices numbers.

Otherwise the tax base of cities disappears and the US economy takes a hit. All about the economic reality of how America is set-up. You are not going to be able to convert significant amounts of commercial real estate to condos and if that is attempted you won’t find buyers.

That's silly. They don't need me coming to DC, sitting in a cubicle, using DC public utilities, then going home again. Nobody benefits from that. Also nobody benefits from making me come to DC to sit in a cubicle to do the exact same things for work that I do at home.

Maybe you are an outlier, but most people that commute into the city pay for parking or metro and patronize the local businesses.

The difference between DC "surviving" and "not surviving" is parking revenue to private parking companies?

No. Patronization of local businesses. Local residents alone aren’t sufficient to support the restaurants and other local amenities in many parts of DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She promised COLAs in this press release - so how come you DC government employees aren't fighting???

https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-signs-legislation-authorizing-pay-increases-and-bonuses-dc-government-employees

Your reading comprehension and/or understanding of government terms needs some assistance. That press release refers to the COLAs for FY 2022 and 2023. FY 2024 started in October 2023 and the non-union employees have not received a FY 2024 COLA nor has there been any discussion of when they might get a COLA for FY 2024. The union employees have guaranteed COLAs through FY 2025.

You stand corrected - FY 2023 COLA

No sweetie, we received our FY 2023 COLA. The FY 2024 COLA should have taken effect in October 2023 because that is the start of the 2024 fiscal year, but we have not gotten it. I know that this is confusing to you, but those of us actually in DC government are well aware of our COLAs and whether or not we’ve gotten them. But carry on @sshat trying to school people in an area you know nothing about.

But why should you get a COLA when you aren't coming into work? You're saving money. It's a wash.

Some DC gov employees have been coming to work everyday all along.

Yes, garbage men. But I am a lawyer and don't need to so why am I?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feds should all be back at least 3 days a week as well.

Why?

Because like it or not the District will not survive without a sustained federal workforce presence. It will also set an example and help private sector firms get greater return to offices numbers.

Otherwise the tax base of cities disappears and the US economy takes a hit. All about the economic reality of how America is set-up. You are not going to be able to convert significant amounts of commercial real estate to condos and if that is attempted you won’t find buyers.

That's silly. They don't need me coming to DC, sitting in a cubicle, using DC public utilities, then going home again. Nobody benefits from that. Also nobody benefits from making me come to DC to sit in a cubicle to do the exact same things for work that I do at home.

Maybe you are an outlier, but most people that commute into the city pay for parking or metro and patronize the local businesses.

The difference between DC "surviving" and "not surviving" is parking revenue to private parking companies?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She promised COLAs in this press release - so how come you DC government employees aren't fighting???

https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-signs-legislation-authorizing-pay-increases-and-bonuses-dc-government-employees

Your reading comprehension and/or understanding of government terms needs some assistance. That press release refers to the COLAs for FY 2022 and 2023. FY 2024 started in October 2023 and the non-union employees have not received a FY 2024 COLA nor has there been any discussion of when they might get a COLA for FY 2024. The union employees have guaranteed COLAs through FY 2025.

You stand corrected - FY 2023 COLA

No sweetie, we received our FY 2023 COLA. The FY 2024 COLA should have taken effect in October 2023 because that is the start of the 2024 fiscal year, but we have not gotten it. I know that this is confusing to you, but those of us actually in DC government are well aware of our COLAs and whether or not we’ve gotten them. But carry on @sshat trying to school people in an area you know nothing about.

But why should you get a COLA when you aren't coming into work? You're saving money. It's a wash.

Some DC gov employees have been coming to work everyday all along.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feds should all be back at least 3 days a week as well.

Why?

Because like it or not the District will not survive without a sustained federal workforce presence. It will also set an example and help private sector firms get greater return to offices numbers.

Otherwise the tax base of cities disappears and the US economy takes a hit. All about the economic reality of how America is set-up. You are not going to be able to convert significant amounts of commercial real estate to condos and if that is attempted you won’t find buyers.

That's silly. They don't need me coming to DC, sitting in a cubicle, using DC public utilities, then going home again. Nobody benefits from that. Also nobody benefits from making me come to DC to sit in a cubicle to do the exact same things for work that I do at home.

The reason you are sitting in a cubicle is that you don’t see the need to fix the macroeconomic issue.

Getting DC Gov employees to come back 1 day a week more is going to do nothing to solve the macroeconomic issues, you pompous tool.

Try reading. Need the Federal employees to come in 3 or more days a week for DC to survive. Agree adding one more day for DC employees is not going to move the needle.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feds should all be back at least 3 days a week as well.

Why?

Because like it or not the District will not survive without a sustained federal workforce presence. It will also set an example and help private sector firms get greater return to offices numbers.

Otherwise the tax base of cities disappears and the US economy takes a hit. All about the economic reality of how America is set-up. You are not going to be able to convert significant amounts of commercial real estate to condos and if that is attempted you won’t find buyers.

That's silly. They don't need me coming to DC, sitting in a cubicle, using DC public utilities, then going home again. Nobody benefits from that. Also nobody benefits from making me come to DC to sit in a cubicle to do the exact same things for work that I do at home.

Maybe you are an outlier, but most people that commute into the city pay for parking or metro and patronize the local businesses.

Again, asking DC Gov employees to come back 1 more day a week and now work 4 days a week in office is not going to bend the needle and bring DC’s economy back. The Feds and the private sector aren’t going to be influenced and change course based on this. All this does, is raise costs for already underpaid DC public servants who have been losing money the past several years to inflation because of scant COLAs while their Fed counterparts have been receiving generous COLAs and have better work from home arrangements on top of that.

You can celebrate unnecessarily putative move against DC Gov employees, but don’t be upset about the services you get when the DC Gov can’t hire qualified employees in the future because the pay and work from home benefits they offer lag so far behind the Feds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feds should all be back at least 3 days a week as well.

Why?

Because like it or not the District will not survive without a sustained federal workforce presence. It will also set an example and help private sector firms get greater return to offices numbers.

Otherwise the tax base of cities disappears and the US economy takes a hit. All about the economic reality of how America is set-up. You are not going to be able to convert significant amounts of commercial real estate to condos and if that is attempted you won’t find buyers.

That's silly. They don't need me coming to DC, sitting in a cubicle, using DC public utilities, then going home again. Nobody benefits from that. Also nobody benefits from making me come to DC to sit in a cubicle to do the exact same things for work that I do at home.

The reason you are sitting in a cubicle is that you don’t see the need to fix the macroeconomic issue.

Getting DC Gov employees to come back 1 day a week more is going to do nothing to solve the macroeconomic issues, you pompous tool.