Anonymous wrote:My agency moved to the burbs then I left DMV when offered full remote. Once an agency moved out of DC there's really no reason to be in this area anymore.

DC itself is going to thrive with the private sector. The city has been out of the price range of federal salaries for 10 years or so already anyways. The only people in DC going to miss the feds will be metro, food carts, and bars.

This is it. The issue is not the Feds leaving the DMV. The real concern is agencies leaving DC proper for the burbs. Most Fed employees live in the burbs anyway. Once the agencies go, it triggers a series of further actions that are all detrimental to the city.

There seems to be general agreement that a recession is coming. This will be the first recession in a long, long time that will not be met with either monetary or fiscal stimulus. “Recession proof” DC will be put to the test at the same time that even Fed jobs are leaving the city. It is a bad combination.

Not that long ago, DC was hoping for the FBI to leave for commercial redevelopment at that location. I imagine that when the FBI finally decides to move to Springfield, which seems to be the preferred destination, DC will be lobbying for them to stay.

Anonymous wrote:WFH is good for the employees who have been at our agency for a long time, but it’s terrible for the people who have just started, and worst for the young people who are just starting their careers. If I were just starting my career, I’d never want to work in a place that is 100% remote or just comes in 1 or 2 days.

My DS graduated from college in May and just started working for one of the large "beltway bandits" as a federal contractor. The way his company works, his first assignment is networking and looking internally for an assignment, which he's in the process of doing. Ideally, he wants to be in a hybrid situation - going into the office about three times a week and two times at home. He does not want to be 100% remote and almost all of the other young college grads that he was hired with feel the same way. Most of them grew up here so they do have a network of friends but they all feel very isolated being at home by themselves all day. The company does have social events and he's been to one already to "meet" his cohort of new hires.

My DH, on the other hand, is a contractor in the intelligence community. He would love to be able to work from home, even one day a month! The one advantage to his situation - he never brings work home.

Anytime the question comes up, our headquarters will never leave because of the proximity to the Hill. When we need to brief Congress or other executive branches they want the right people in DC, not a flight away. We already have branches across the country in areas where it make sense.

I can see agencies shifting their balance but never leaving altogether. And it'll be the higher paying jobs that they'll keep in DC.

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If there's a change to a republican administration they will likely yank telework for most feds just to be a-holes, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Why though? It greatly reduces needless big govt spending on office space that you don't need and have to pay for the heat, cooling, and electric bills for.

To play to their base. Because they believe that feds are lazy and will do even less at home. Trump significantly cut telework while in office.

Believe that Feds are lazy? No. They work with too many of them day to day and see the hours that Congressional and agency staff work. But you are right on with “play to their base”. The lazy Fed trope is catnip to a certain type of Fox News consumer. Our agency leadership is very cognizant that telework flexibility may be rolled back or eliminated depending on election outcomes, so they are resisting the announcement of a clear policy and there is zero enforcement. On paper we are expected to come in at least two days a pay period. My office comes in at least twice a week. We are a small minority in our giant building.

Anyone who has worked in government knows that there is a small subset of hardworking employees who either believe in the mission or are workaholics, but the bulk are lazy and have always taken long lunches, played solitaire at their desk and clocked out at 4:50.

80/20 rule applies when it is difficult to be fired.

Anonymous wrote:If there's a change to a republican administration they will likely yank telework for most feds just to be a-holes, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

I would support this. The rest of the country is at work and it furthers the “elite, parasitic” perception of the federal workforce.

Anonymous wrote:My agency moved to the burbs then I left DMV when offered full remote. Once an agency moved out of DC there's really no reason to be in this area anymore.

DC itself is going to thrive with the private sector. The city has been out of the price range of federal salaries for 10 years or so already anyways. The only people in DC going to miss the feds will be metro, food carts, and bars.

NOVA is the private sector job center. The main private sector jobs in DC revolve around the Federal apparatus, lawyers, lobbying, PR, consulting and medical.

DCs main strategy right now is to be attractive as a place to live for high wage earners who work in NOVA.

My agency moved to the burbs then I left DMV when offered full remote. Once an agency moved out of DC there's really no reason to be in this area anymore.

DC itself is going to thrive with the private sector. The city has been out of the price range of federal salaries for 10 years or so already anyways. The only people in DC going to miss the feds will be metro, food carts, and bars.

Both DH and I work for the feds but he unlike me had been going into the office the entire pandemic.

I would love to move to the burbs since I’m fully remote but the kids are in 5th and 7th and I don’t want to unroot them from their school and friends.

Anonymous wrote:If there's a change to a republican administration they will likely yank telework for most feds just to be a-holes, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Well my HHS agency has given up office space to other groups that have to come in as well as consolidated buildings. All but 7 people in my office of 35 go into the office on an ad hoc basis. We now have telework stations and not cubes for our designated area.

Furthermore we received SF-50s denoting our duty stations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WFH is good for the employees who have been at our agency for a long time, but it’s terrible for the people who have just started, and worst for the young people who are just starting their careers. If I were just starting my career, I’d never want to work in a place that is 100% remote or just comes in 1 or 2 days.

+1. The informal chit chat that happens after a meeting, the coffee meetups during the day, the walk over to a different division— that’s how I got to know what was really going on at an agency, and how to spot problems before they got out of hand. It’s so hard to do that kind of work remotely.

For me I’m glad to not have to deal with office politics and gossip.

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda and Arlington are urban and the people who live there “live in the city.” It’s just not as dense as downtown DC. Then again, Spring Valley DC isn’t as dense as downtown Bethesda.

This notion that Bethesda and Arlington are “the suburbs” needs to die. They haven’t been suburban in probably 10-15 years.

I’ve lived in Spring Valley for 20+ years. Arlington and Bethesda are still very much the suburbs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there's a change to a republican administration they will likely yank telework for most feds just to be a-holes, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Why though? It greatly reduces needless big govt spending on office space that you don't need and have to pay for the heat, cooling, and electric bills for.

To play to their base. Because they believe that feds are lazy and will do even less at home. Trump significantly cut telework while in office.

Believe that Feds are lazy? No. They work with too many of them day to day and see the hours that Congressional and agency staff work. But you are right on with “play to their base”. The lazy Fed trope is catnip to a certain type of Fox News consumer. Our agency leadership is very cognizant that telework flexibility may be rolled back or eliminated depending on election outcomes, so they are resisting the announcement of a clear policy and there is zero enforcement. On paper we are expected to come in at least two days a pay period. My office comes in at least twice a week. We are a small minority in our giant building.