DOGE says no more remote work from home Feds, back to the office.

[Hey Yo]

Federal employees are bracing for considerable changes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares for his return to the White House. Many are concerned about possible large-scale layoffs and substantial alterations to the federal workforce.

Advisers to the upcoming Trump administration, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, proposed on Wednesday the elimination of remote work for federal employees, deeming it a residual "privilege" from the pandemic. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the billionaire duo suggested that this approach could effectively reduce headcount for government agencies.

“Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in the opinion piece.

Last week, Trump announced his plans to create a Department of Government Efficiency, co-led by the pair, with the goal of reducing regulations, eliminating jobs and reorganizing federal agencies.

During a Sunday appearance on Fox News, Ramaswamy stated that he anticipates "certain agencies to be deleted outright," although he did not indicate which specific departments he aims to cut.

"We expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated," said the pharmaceutical entrepreneur.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/11/21/how-musk-and-ramaswamys-doge-could-upend-remote-government-jobs/

[SouBeachTalents]

That's brutal bro. If you have a job that can be done from home, requiring workers to come into the office 5 days a week is frankly just a dick move :lol I just disagree with the notion we have to stick to a 1950's work schedule indefinitely, technology should allow innovations to the work week. A hybrid schedule would've at least been a fair compromise.

[highwhey]

That's brutal bro. If you have a job that can be done from home, requiring workers to come into the office 5 days a week is frankly just a dick move :lol I just disagree with the notion we have to stick to a 1950's work schedule indefinitely, technology should allow innovations to the work week. A hybrid schedule would've at least been a fair compromise.

it's a genius move, they're going to self-rid themselves. and i agree with the concept of needing a mindset of servitude to hold a job for the government. it's lacking across the board. go to the public sector if working from home is a priority :applause:

[Neal Romer]

It doesnt really make sense to me. If positions legitimately arent needed, they shouldnt be kept by the sheer willingness to drive to work.

If you dont need all the people you have, just let some of them go. This pretense that a policy change will make the decision for them seems unnecessary.

It's not like it's a matter of optics either when youre publicly saying "we welcome these people to quit." Everyone knows your intent to have jobs axed. Youre clearly not trying to play coy or innocent about the outcome.

Just axe the people who are least qualified or whose jobs are least necessary. If anyone should be permitted to work at home when possible I would think itd be government workers. I dont think government work is typically known for its "high morale, and vibrant business culture."

So it seems sort of pointless to me. Just cut the jobs you dont need.

[rmt]

It doesnt really make sense to me. If positions legitimately arent needed, they shouldnt be kept by the sheer willingness to drive to work.

If you dont need all the people you have, just let some of them go. This pretense that a policy change will make the decision for them seems unnecessary.

It's not like it's a matter of optics either when youre publicly saying "we welcome these people to quit." Everyone knows your intent to have jobs axed. Youre clearly not trying to play coy or innocent about the outcome.

Just axe the people who are least qualified or whose jobs are least necessary. If anyone should be permitted to work at home when possible I would think itd be government workers. I dont think government work is typically known for its "high morale, and vibrant business culture."

So it seems sort of pointless to me. Just cut the jobs you dont need.

Totally agree. Cut the unnecessary jobs.

Then, for the jobs that CAN be done remotely, close the unnecessary buildings (either save on rent or sell property/repurpose building, save electricity, cleaning, water, etc.) Cut, cut, cut - less traffic, less wear and tear on roads, less everything and hopefully increase efficiency (save on transportation, clothes, time). Consolidate the buildings for those who cannot work remotely.

[ZenMaster]

Totally agree. Cut the unnecessary jobs.

Then, for the jobs that CAN be done remotely, close the unnecessary buildings (either save on rent or sell property/repurpose building, save electricity, cleaning, water, etc.) Cut, cut, cut - less traffic, less wear and tear on roads, less everything and hopefully increase efficiency (save on transportation, clothes, time). Consolidate the buildings for those who cannot work remotely.

They're going to cut a lot of jobs, and so they're going by the theory that people who'd quit because they couldn't work from home are the ones least motivated to do the job. It can be argued either way and you make good points, but if you want an organisation to work then you need people actually motivated to do their job and not just because it's easy and convenient. There are so many stories out there of people collecting a paycheck for 8hrs of work when they only spend 4-5 hours doing it, and they hide this by working from home.

[ArbitraryWater]

That's brutal bro. If you have a job that can be done from home, requiring workers to come into the office 5 days a week is frankly just a dick move :lol I just disagree with the notion we have to stick to a 1950's work schedule indefinitely, technology should allow innovations to the work week. A hybrid schedule would've at least been a fair compromise.

Only dedicated people will come.

Makes perfect sense.

Theres no way gov work should be done from home.

[rmt]

That's brutal bro. If you have a job that can be done from home, requiring workers to come into the office 5 days a week is frankly just a dick move :lol I just disagree with the notion we have to stick to a 1950's work schedule indefinitely, technology should allow innovations to the work week.

Agreed. Some jobs can be done remotely - some done BETTER remotely. Our team is situated in cubicles - meetings on MS Teams is a disturbance to the others in the area (we do not have meeting rooms to accommodate everyone).

When I work remotely, my computer is on from when I get up to when I go to bed and whenever I pass it, I check on emails/problems and resolve. When I go in to the office, I'm outta there at exactly 3:30pm, drive thru traffic and never turn on my computer when I get home. I also spend so much time chatting and catching up with people at work that I get little done. I am much more PRODUCTIVE at home and FAR happier.

I think PRODUCTIVITY and efficiency are much more important than WHERE you work.

[BigKobeFan]

We all know what people do when they work from home

[Axe]

That's brutal bro. If you have a job that can be done from home, requiring workers to come into the office 5 days a week is frankly just a dick move :lol I just disagree with the notion we have to stick to a 1950's work schedule indefinitely, technology should allow innovations to the work week. A hybrid schedule would've at least been a fair compromise.
On top of that it's 8 hours a day and some people even go to work on saturdays, so that would make it 6 days. But that's all henry ford's fault when he implemented that work rule ever since.

[highwhey]

On top of that it's 8 hours a day and some people even go to work on saturdays, so that would make it 6 days. But that's all henry ford's fault when he implemented that work rule ever since.

don't you speak ill of the great Henry Ford

[RRR3]

don't you speak ill of the great Henry Ford
Henry Ford was antisemitic as shit, although of course you think that's a positive. But I seriously doubt he didn't hate anyone who wasn't white and christian either. Pretty sure he hated black people as well

[highwhey]

Henry Ford was antisemitic as shit, although of course you think that's a positive. But I seriously doubt he didn't hate anyone who wasn't white and christian either. Pretty sure he hated black people as well

hater

[RRR3]

Heil Hitler
Meltdown

[JohnnySic]

Agreed. Some jobs can be done remotely - some done BETTER remotely. Our team is situated in cubicles - meetings on MS Teams is a disturbance to the others in the area (we do not have meeting rooms to accommodate everyone).

When I work remotely, my computer is on from when I get up to when I go to bed and whenever I pass it, I check on emails/problems and resolve. When I go in to the office, I'm outta there at exactly 3:30pm, drive thru traffic and never turn on my computer when I get home. I also spend so much time chatting and catching up with people at work that I get little done. I am much more PRODUCTIVE at home and FAR happier.

I think PRODUCTIVITY and efficiency are much more important than WHERE you work.

This is a great point that opponents of remote work never mention. When you work remotely you can get work done whenever; you're not confined to office hours.

[Axe]

don't you speak ill of the great Henry Ford
https://c.tenor.com/UEq14ANVuYIAAAAC/tenor.gif

[diamenz]

Pretty sure he hated black people as well

who doesn't? folks are just afraid to come out and say it because they'll be eaten alive by the social justice warriors. nobody wants to be associated with those savages.

[Hey Yo]

They’re being remote-ly professional.

A paltry 6% of the federal workforce “report in-person on a full-time basis” while almost one-third of federal workers are remote on a full-time basis, in a sharp turn-around from the pre-pandemic era in which only 3% teleworked daily, a report from Sen. Joni Ernst’s office found.

Ernst (R-Iowa), who has long crusaded against the rise in remote federal work, is planning to reveal the fruits of her office’s year and a half inquiry to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy during their visit to the Capitol Thursday.

The nation’s capital is a ghost town, with government buildings averaging an occupancy rate of 12[%],” Ernst wrote in the blistering report. “If federal employees can’t be found at their desks, exactly where are they?”

Musk took note of Ernst’s report ahead of his meeting with lawmakers to brainstorm ways to rein in the federal bureaucracy.

“If you exclude security guards & maintenance personnel, the number of government workers who show up in person and do 40 hours of work a week is closer to 1%!” he wrote on his X platform. “Almost no one.”

President Biden is setting the example. He was out of office 532 days over the last three and a half years, about 40[%] of the time he was expected to be in the Oval Office,” she chided.

Another example cited in the report was a Department of Veterans Affairs manager in Atlanta who snapped a photo of himself “working” while taking a bubble bath, stirring outrage at the time.

more in link
https://nypost.com/2024/12/05/us-news/only-6-of-federal-workers-show-up-in-person-on-a-full-time-basis-scathing-senate-report-reveals/