Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never heard about feds managing poor performance via RTO. OPM just issued a memo encouraging agencies to expand remote work. Looks to me more like agencies prepare for the anticipated budget cuts by using RTO to push some retirement eligible WFHs out the door. Otherwise, why would they ever retire?

FY25 budget cuts: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/budget/2024/06/democrats-warn-layoffs-ahead-as-house-gop-proposes-agency-spending-cuts/

Fed retirements that never happened:
https://www.govexec.com/management/2023/06/time-federal-retirement-wave-never-happened/387354/

"OPM just issued a memo encouraging agencies to expand remote work."

Source?

https://chcoc.gov/sites/default/files/Director%20Memo%20to%20Agency%20Heads%20-%20Guiding%20Factors%20for%20Determining%20Remote%20Work.pdf

Anonymous wrote:WFH is a waste. Works ok for senior employees but terrible for the company and for any younger people or new hires. You don't care about them though.

+10000

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my agency we are required to come in two days a week AND hotel. Worst combo.

Why should you have a dedicated workspace that remains unused 3 days a week? I don’t understand the logic in this and it makes you sound very entitled. Would you rather come in every day in exchange for your own workspace?

NP and a better option would be a shared workspace. Jane gets M, T and Lisa gets W, Th or whatever. If they come in on an irregular day then they hotel that day.

Anonymous wrote:As an executive at a company who is calling people back I2X a week in September, I can tell you our reasons.

People are much more attentive and accountable in the office

People know they must have childcare in place (and if they've moved out of the area without telling us, good to know now)

They learn much more about the business from hallway convos that if they are at home

I think this is all fair since 90% of US white collar jobs are entirely BS anyways. Law firms and other businesses will continue to be flexible because the value per employee is much easier to see for those businesses.

Anonymous wrote:At my agency we are required to come in two days a week AND hotel. Worst combo.

Why should you have a dedicated workspace that remains unused 3 days a week? I don’t understand the logic in this and it makes you sound very entitled. Would you rather come in every day in exchange for your own workspace?

Anonymous wrote:As an executive at a company who is calling people back 2X a week in September, I can tell you our reasons.

People are much more attentive and accountable in the office

People know they must have childcare in place (and if they've moved out of the area without telling us, good to know now)

They learn much more about the business from hallway convos that if they are at home

This

I can’t believe it’s taken offices this long to RTO. You’ll likely have a lot of issues since you let them get too comfortable at home.

Re: moving away - if you aren’t registered to do business (read: pay taxes, follow labor laws, etc) in states where you have workers secretly living, good luck.

When we RTO’d following covid, we quickly weeded those who pitched the biggest fits. It was painful and disruptive, but it needed to be done. Brace yourself for a big transition.

At my agency we are required to come in two days a week AND hotel. Worst combo.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They same people wanting to call you back into the are democrats and they are SO concerned about the environment yet want 900 million cars driving into work everyday. Let that sink in. Wrap you head around that.

Only dumb Republicans drive in the city. The rest of us use our amazing public transportation system.

“Our amazing public transportation system.” I thought this was a DC forum? What city are you commenting from?

As an executive at a company who is calling people back 2X a week in September, I can tell you our reasons.

People are much more attentive and accountable in the office

People know they must have childcare in place (and if they've moved out of the area without telling us, good to know now)

They learn much more about the business from hallway convos that if they are at home

People that are being all aggressive about returning to work are people whose identity is work. They may not be, and often are not, the most productive. They are just annoying.

My office of a large national firm is smaller here in the area. And its dead. I can't even get boomers to come into the office regularly. I don't really care. Our productivity and profitability is just as high or higher in some instances than it was before the pandemic and majority work from home. Not commuting is more time doing what I want to do. I already know everybody anyways - I don't need to see them in person.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is stupid. I think they are being pressured because empty office buildings don’t justify rent, and giving up buildings means loss of income for restaurants, transit, etc.
frankly, WFH and LFH is the future but it will take years to wind down and for system to adjust.

Hybrid is the future.

In theory, everyone worked 5 days per week at an office in 2019...still not understanding why it is the end of the world if the new normal is only 2 days per week in the office.

NP and a lot of people I know had some TW in 2019. I think they have more TW now but definitely not in office 5 days per week.

My office in 2019 many people teleworked two days a weeks. I wasn’t allowed given my role at the time - but 90 percent of office was teleworking at least two days a week before pandemic.

When will people figure out that there’s no one way that works? Some industries need more physical collaboration. Some are seeing negative results/lost revenue as time goes on.

I have to be in-person regularly to best do the things my job requires. My assistant can be in less often, but still can’t be fully remote as there are some occasional physical needs. Plus we’ve decided we have much better face to face meetings vs calls/emails/zooms. We’re much more in sync in our thoughts when we can work together. My partner needs to have flexible hours as her work overlaps other time zones. Our researchers can live in caves and work erratic schedules and still be fully productive.

Only dumb Republicans drive in the city. The rest of us use our amazing public transportation system.

Nope, I drive. Took metro most of my career, but then a train caught on fire and I was stuck in a smoke filled car. We finally got out into the smoke filled station, and the incompetent Metro employees refused to open the gates so that people could evacuate. Then they turned off the escalator, further slowing down the process. An almost-stampeded ensued and the incompetent Metro employees just stood around, chomping on their gum while people panicked. I haven't taken Metro since.

Anonymous wrote:I have never heard about feds managing poor performance via RTO. OPM just issued a memo encouraging agencies to expand remote work. Looks to me more like agencies prepare for the anticipated budget cuts by using RTO to push some retirement eligible WFHs out the door. Otherwise, why would they ever retire?

FY25 budget cuts: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/budget/2024/06/democrats-warn-layoffs-ahead-as-house-gop-proposes-agency-spending-cuts/

Fed retirements that never happened:
https://www.govexec.com/management/2023/06/time-federal-retirement-wave-never-happened/387354/

"OPM just issued a memo encouraging agencies to expand remote work."

Source?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they have figured out your scam. I say this as someone who goes in 3 days a week where I'm much more productive.

bs I work more now that there isn't 10 people coming into my office to chat all day long or someone talking my ear off at the office kitchen.

+1