Teleworking… A practice widely adopted in the United States since the 2020 pandemic, increasingly criticized by bosses. This will be one of the very first workhorses of the new ministry of the Trump administration, “DOGE” (for Department of Government Efficiency) led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The objective of this initiative would in fact be to reduce the number of federal civil servants by encouraging voluntary resignation, while making a return to face-to-face work five days a week mandatory. The two leaders of this extraordinary ministry expressed skepticism about the number of employees working remotely within the government.
Push for resignation to save public money
According to sources reported by CNN, one of the immediate priorities of the government efficiency department would therefore be to put an end to teleworking in federal agencies. The idea would actually be quite simple: if private companies require the physical presence of their employees, why should federal civil servants, paid by citizens' taxes, benefit from such a privilege? Ending it would encourage large numbers of civil servants to voluntarily leave their posts, which would reduce the government's payroll and save public money. At what cost of efficiency, however? We don't know.
Another proposal being considered would be to relocate federal agencies out of Washington, DC, the capital on the East Coast. A change that would have the effect of making life more difficult for many employees, forcing them to move or leave their positions. A means considered to reduce federal workforce.
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Only 10% of civil servants work from home
Many civil servants have expressed concerns about the consequences of these measures on their personal and professional lives. A Library of Congress employee told CNN that a forced return to Washington would mean a costly move and separation from his family, which could force him to leave his post. Other workers, particularly those with children, stressed that a return to the office could force them out of their roles. These expected waves of resignations still risk greatly harming the much sought-after efficiency within federal agencies which already have difficulty retaining their employees in the long term.
Workers' rights advocates, such as the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), have already responded. They believe that these measures could worsen the situation of employees and harm the quality of public service. The president of the organization, Everett Kelley, specifies that barely 10% of federal civil servants currently work remotely and that more than one in two positions have never been eligible for teleworking.
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