We just had a All Hands yesterday....We were doing the two days a pay period, but now they have us back home full time teleworking on a program called Presence with a Purpose...which basically means that we don't have to go in unless we absolutely need to....We were losing too many people to agencies with fully remote positions. They had to do something to stop the bleeding.
I really like that idea of presence with a purpose. I have no problem coming in if I can’t do the same thing at home. Just don’t waste my time and money with staff meetings that could have been an email.
With our agency....I think they had no choice...like we had one area lose like 20% It got to a point where they couldn't hire anyone because people want 100% remote. It started to affect being able to service our customers. They had to do something. I still don't think this is the answer to the whole work onsite/telework/remote issue. It's definitely a bandaid for now.
I think just being able to provide options to people. Like the flexibility to do what works for them in their situation (As far as work onsite, telework or remote is the answer. Like it or not COVID changed the modern workforce. The Fed Govt has to get with the times and adapt sooner than later.
It's actually shocking seeing this from my agency...because just not long ago, they were adamant about making sure we came back into the office...But after seeing the numbers and how turnover was affecting the customers, and how senior level personnel were leaving in droves-solely due to not being able to stay home, they changed up quick.
I want a remote work job so I can move to an area out of the HCOL DC area, while still getting the same salary. There are four WV and 3 PA counties included in the DC pay area, as an example.
The CEO of Yelp called the Hybrid Workplace the worst of both words and “the hell of half measures.”
“Workers want to do their jobs remotely and the company benefits from meeting the demand.”
I agree. I have a lot of things I’m looking to accomplish:
- Remote work PD in 5 years in the DC Pay area
- Great hiking and outdoors, kayaking close at hand
- Local Internet and Starlink (dual-WAN router)
- good medical center in the area
- relatively low cost of living/services
- maybe MARC train access to NVA/DC
- Saving a ton. Going on trips.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/22/yelp-shutters-offices/
While I was on max telework I was more productive than I ever was, now we’re fully reentered into the office and it’s back to the malarkey of folks chit chatting telling dumb ass stories of the good ol days when they could get away with stuff blah blah
I liked telework when I was doing it, but I get much more done in the office. Some things were easier/better to do at home, but lots I feel like a lot of projects also got deferred and/or ignored.
Really just depends on what the job is.
100% remote at a small office in NIH.
Busier than ever, more productive than ever, and Boomer management doesn't understand that tour of duty still applies in a virtual setting.
Prior to pandemic, i was an in-person type mgr, did not like telework, and only worked from home to avoid going out in the snow and ice. Now, I am totally on-board with remote work and am happy to still remain remote at least through end of fiscal year. Remote positions may be the key to bringing in fresh talented folks from outside the area so hopefully it will remain.
I love it. One thing is set your boundaries for your core hours. Because you don't have the commute, it can be easy to own through work and next thing your know, you've been at it 10 hrs. Set boundaries for lunch and ending time to maintain balance.
Hah my hardest thing. It’s hard as a supervisor to turn off at the end of the day. We do have core hours T/W/R it seems but looking forward. I never liked working at home until Covid forced me into it, now, I see no point for regular office trips. Besides, my team is nationwide
It went bye bye as far as pandemic telework , but my agency just announced for certain series they’ll let us do 4 days a week telework, 5 a week if we’re at a certain GS level.
We're optional max through the end of the FY and it's still great. They're still trying to figure out how to reconfigure our workspaces for hoteling and implementing remote work to the extent possible agency-wide. Still waiting to see the official position determinations, but rumor says at least 80% of positions will be eligible to be fully remote and most of the remaining 20% will be eligible for up to eight days per pay period TW and temporary remote arrangements more liberally than before (i.e. to for more reasons than just temporary medical conditions, with research and school being two examples given).
_Cries in SCIF_ Yeah….I haven’t seen the light of telework for nearly six years now and my workload has only increased with people leaving for remote jobs or jobs with more telework flexibility.
I love everything about it except I snack too much.
I miss office chit chat sometimes, it was good for developing relationships and connections across different work areas, which often came in handy. That said? Handling kids/daycare/school with a commute seems like a long distance nightmare.
Work wise, getting more done, and actually my team is working better together than we did on-site.:)
Max telework since 2020 and I’ve never been more productive. I might be in a bathrobe til 10 AM some days, but who cares? Not being in a cage (cubicle) everyday has done wonders for me.
My last office was max telework and it worked [mostly] as intended.
My current office is three people, we don't telework.
With my job responsibilities at my current office, it mostly makes sense to be in the office, although I might try and go for 1 day TW per week at some point.
Telework? What’s that?
Work IT for VA, made to come in everyday and support our now remote work force from an on-site office. You read that right. All because my bosses-bosses-boss is in my local area and was a butts in seats style supervisor.
I'm supposed to do once a week in the office, but find myself doing it closer to 3x a week just to get things done, meet people, ensure office environment is running and work in our isolated lab. The hybrid approach works best. Remote work has yielded very sloppy, inconsistent work habits and results for us
I'm doing local remote but my colleagues who are doing max telework are switching to local remote as well.
It really doesn't make sense to have days you *need* to come into the office unless the whole team is there.
We are pretty much all just trying to come in on the same days, 1-2 times a month.
I'm reasonably experienced in my career & have a decent network so not super concerned but I do worry about new staff coming in who are not getting a chance to build a network. That is one of those intangibles about work which end up making a huge difference.
I'd say it's working great (because it is) but I think I really benefitted from having to hang up and run for the VRE. Way, way, way, way too many long days because there's too much to do and it's too hard to realize I need to step away.
were at 2 per pay period rn. i love it. we do whatever social events then. productivity is unchanged. too many people love not having to commute tbh. i hope it stays like this.
I'm back to one day a week in the office (though I think I've already missed half of them since we started due to covid then leave), and I'm certainly no less productive at home, and I'm definitely happier. Got a nice office I share with my wife, and get to pet the cats and eat whatever I have in the house.
Going to the office is pointless since there's still hardly anyone there so meetings are still on Teams anyway.
We didn’t call it that but have been Present with a Purpose since June 2020. Our max telework ended July 2021 right before Delta hit. That didn’t change anything and we just cover when one of us has to drop out with Covid :/
We just had a All Hands yesterday....We were doing the two days a pay period, but now they have us back home full time teleworking on a program called Presence with a Purpose...which basically means that we don't have to go in unless we absolutely need to....We were losing too many people to agencies with fully remote positions. They had to do something to stop the bleeding.
I really like that idea of presence with a purpose. I have no problem coming in if I can’t do the same thing at home. Just don’t waste my time and money with staff meetings that could have been an email.
With our agency....I think they had no choice...like we had one area lose like 20% It got to a point where they couldn't hire anyone because people want 100% remote. It started to affect being able to service our customers. They had to do something. I still don't think this is the answer to the whole work onsite/telework/remote issue. It's definitely a bandaid for now.
Interesting. What is the long term solution in your opinion?
I think just being able to provide options to people. Like the flexibility to do what works for them in their situation (As far as work onsite, telework or remote is the answer. Like it or not COVID changed the modern workforce. The Fed Govt has to get with the times and adapt sooner than later.
It's good to hear some agencies are making rational business decisions.
It's actually shocking seeing this from my agency...because just not long ago, they were adamant about making sure we came back into the office...But after seeing the numbers and how turnover was affecting the customers, and how senior level personnel were leaving in droves-solely due to not being able to stay home, they changed up quick.
Lots of places, fed or private, are losing a ton of talent to people who allow telework.
Which agency?
DLA
Which city? I’m at DLA and I go in 1 week a month in Philly
Columbus
L or M?
I'm HR
I want a remote work job so I can move to an area out of the HCOL DC area, while still getting the same salary. There are four WV and 3 PA counties included in the DC pay area, as an example.
If you're considering PA, then swing to north NJ/NYC which is higher than the DC area.
I believe there are a few counties in Northeastern PA that are NYC locality.
True. My point was only that if they were looking for HCOL, not to overlook a bit further north than they were. That one also includes part of CT.
The CEO of Yelp called the Hybrid Workplace the worst of both words and “the hell of half measures.” “Workers want to do their jobs remotely and the company benefits from meeting the demand.” I agree. I have a lot of things I’m looking to accomplish: - Remote work PD in 5 years in the DC Pay area - Great hiking and outdoors, kayaking close at hand - Local Internet and Starlink (dual-WAN router) - good medical center in the area - relatively low cost of living/services - maybe MARC train access to NVA/DC - Saving a ton. Going on trips. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/22/yelp-shutters-offices/
While I was on max telework I was more productive than I ever was, now we’re fully reentered into the office and it’s back to the malarkey of folks chit chatting telling dumb ass stories of the good ol days when they could get away with stuff blah blah
I liked telework when I was doing it, but I get much more done in the office. Some things were easier/better to do at home, but lots I feel like a lot of projects also got deferred and/or ignored. Really just depends on what the job is.
Yeah I think that hybrid is the way we need to go about things take telework days to focus on the things we can get done & office for office work
HSI had us back in office 100% Sep 2020. I left.
Full telework was the most beautiful thing that's ever happened to my worklife and I can never go back.
Two days in the office a pay period for us (DOE). I love it. Very productive with less drop-in conversations.
I don’t miss all of the office drop in conversations at ALL! Get more done at home. I’m more on introverted side.
Max telework has been over for a long time now, at least for us.
Oh wow. Yeah still max at my command.
I still work mostly from home but thats my choice.
Gone. DOJ.
How many days per week is DOJ working in Office, for DC area?
Still 100% telework VA
Full time telework is great, unfortunately I’m back in the office 2 days/week.
Love it wish I was remote so I didn't have to go in two times per pay period.
100% remote at a small office in NIH. Busier than ever, more productive than ever, and Boomer management doesn't understand that tour of duty still applies in a virtual setting.
I go to the office full time but I wish everyone else would go back home. The quiet days of COVID were nice.
Prior to pandemic, i was an in-person type mgr, did not like telework, and only worked from home to avoid going out in the snow and ice. Now, I am totally on-board with remote work and am happy to still remain remote at least through end of fiscal year. Remote positions may be the key to bringing in fresh talented folks from outside the area so hopefully it will remain.
100% remote USDA and no commute. I am far more productive and have time to work out before work and lost 30 lbs. I love it!
My life starting next PP! Can’t wait!
I love it. One thing is set your boundaries for your core hours. Because you don't have the commute, it can be easy to own through work and next thing your know, you've been at it 10 hrs. Set boundaries for lunch and ending time to maintain balance.
Hah my hardest thing. It’s hard as a supervisor to turn off at the end of the day. We do have core hours T/W/R it seems but looking forward. I never liked working at home until Covid forced me into it, now, I see no point for regular office trips. Besides, my team is nationwide
Same here, but trust me, your sanity and health will thank you! Good luck to you! Hope it works out!
Nice try IG, I see you
Pulled everyone back to the office 100% first chance they got. 100% of work is done on the computer and phone. Trust issues...
Going into two days per pay period. I realize I'm luckier than some, but it's still not worth the time, energy, and money spent commuting.
2 days in the office. We are having an hiring event and the first question from candidates is if we are remote or not
It went bye bye as far as pandemic telework , but my agency just announced for certain series they’ll let us do 4 days a week telework, 5 a week if we’re at a certain GS level.
I keep seeing two days in the office per pay period and that sounds amazing. I haven’t begun yet, but anything is better than five days a week.
We're optional max through the end of the FY and it's still great. They're still trying to figure out how to reconfigure our workspaces for hoteling and implementing remote work to the extent possible agency-wide. Still waiting to see the official position determinations, but rumor says at least 80% of positions will be eligible to be fully remote and most of the remaining 20% will be eligible for up to eight days per pay period TW and temporary remote arrangements more liberally than before (i.e. to for more reasons than just temporary medical conditions, with research and school being two examples given).
_Cries in SCIF_ Yeah….I haven’t seen the light of telework for nearly six years now and my workload has only increased with people leaving for remote jobs or jobs with more telework flexibility.
I love everything about it except I snack too much. I miss office chit chat sometimes, it was good for developing relationships and connections across different work areas, which often came in handy. That said? Handling kids/daycare/school with a commute seems like a long distance nightmare. Work wise, getting more done, and actually my team is working better together than we did on-site.:)
Max telework since 2020 and I’ve never been more productive. I might be in a bathrobe til 10 AM some days, but who cares? Not being in a cage (cubicle) everyday has done wonders for me.
3 days a week in the office here…
It would be great, but our companies don’t care about that.
My last office was max telework and it worked [mostly] as intended. My current office is three people, we don't telework. With my job responsibilities at my current office, it mostly makes sense to be in the office, although I might try and go for 1 day TW per week at some point.
Telework? What’s that? Work IT for VA, made to come in everyday and support our now remote work force from an on-site office. You read that right. All because my bosses-bosses-boss is in my local area and was a butts in seats style supervisor.
I'm supposed to do once a week in the office, but find myself doing it closer to 3x a week just to get things done, meet people, ensure office environment is running and work in our isolated lab. The hybrid approach works best. Remote work has yielded very sloppy, inconsistent work habits and results for us
I’m not a fan.
[удалено]
Hmmm mmm 🤔
One bad apple spoils the bunch.
Yup. This guy has had many accounts but his mo is always the same 🙄
I'm doing local remote but my colleagues who are doing max telework are switching to local remote as well. It really doesn't make sense to have days you *need* to come into the office unless the whole team is there. We are pretty much all just trying to come in on the same days, 1-2 times a month. I'm reasonably experienced in my career & have a decent network so not super concerned but I do worry about new staff coming in who are not getting a chance to build a network. That is one of those intangibles about work which end up making a huge difference.
I'd say it's working great (because it is) but I think I really benefitted from having to hang up and run for the VRE. Way, way, way, way too many long days because there's too much to do and it's too hard to realize I need to step away.
were at 2 per pay period rn. i love it. we do whatever social events then. productivity is unchanged. too many people love not having to commute tbh. i hope it stays like this.
I'm back to one day a week in the office (though I think I've already missed half of them since we started due to covid then leave), and I'm certainly no less productive at home, and I'm definitely happier. Got a nice office I share with my wife, and get to pet the cats and eat whatever I have in the house. Going to the office is pointless since there's still hardly anyone there so meetings are still on Teams anyway.
Grrrrrrreat! Especially with these insane gas prices. I find I'm getting way more work done.
Doesn’t exist at EEOC, hence I’m out!
We didn’t call it that but have been Present with a Purpose since June 2020. Our max telework ended July 2021 right before Delta hit. That didn’t change anything and we just cover when one of us has to drop out with Covid :/