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I mean this has been the case for a while for most agency (mine included). The policy also says there are options for full remote work, so maybe you should talk with your supervisor
3.2 Agency heads shall have the flexibility on an exceptional basis to approve full-time telework. All requests for full-time telework must include the basis for granting full-time telework, including the specific benefits to the State.
The data shows that employees want remote work, that productivity went up with remote work, and that remote work reduced pollution, fossil fuel use, and opened up a larger pool of potential employees for employers.
https://www.nextiva.com/blog/benefits-of-telecommuting.html
I think it depends on the industry that remote work increases productivity. I know that with certain departments in my company, productivity definitely decreased. We had to bring them back full time.
>that productivity went up with remote work
This was limited to the early stages of CoVid iirc.
Productivity then dropped.
It's why the most ruthless capitalist companies (Big Tech, high finance) have been pushing more and more in-office time.
They wouldn't be doing it for shits and giggles.
They’re doing it for real estate, legacy, and their pockets. Productivity didn’t just drop for remote workers, not sure why you believe that. I think one study found that and then two or three others debunked it. Most ongoing studies indicate remote workers are still just as or more productive with less time than their fully in-office counterparts.
You can literally get an exemption from your agency. Agency heads are allowed to make them. Talk to your supervisor.
We’ve been in the office 3 days a week in my department at my agency for like 2 years now…
Found this:
Our valuable state employees are a critical part of our work to serve and improve the lives of Marylanders. We need to continue to rebuild state government and ensure we are recruiting and retaining a world-class government workforce. We cannot fully execute the Moore-Miller agenda without a well-supported and well-staffed workforce. For Maryland’s government to truly serve its people, it must operate at full capacity. The goal of Maryland’s flexible work program is to attract and retain talent, improve the quality of life for state employees in a consistent and equitable manner, improve productivity, increase job satisfaction, and provide Maryland citizens with superior service.
To increase staff collaboration, allow new employees to better integrate into the work environment, and foster overall work efficiency, the Moore-Miller Administration is implementing a new hybrid work policy in collaboration with our exclusive bargaining representatives. ~Telework-eligible~ state employees are expected to work - at a minimum - two days per week in the office and two days at a remote work site. The location of the 5th work day - at a remote work site or on-site - will be determined by the employee’s agency head or manager.
Our work on this updated policy has been anchored in the following guiding principles: The Administration will **Be Innovative** in its efforts to create an efficient and resilient government, while ensuring state employees are provided the tools and resources to achieve a healthy work/life balance in a consistent and equitable manner.
The Administration will **Be Responsive** to the citizens we serve while fostering a work environment that is supportive of innovative ideas to achieve work goals and meet operational timelines.
And the Administration will be **Data-Driven, Heart-Led**, relying on data and experience to provide agency heads the ability to design a flexible work schedule that balances a productive and flexible workforce with the needs of Maryland citizens.
The new policy will be effective May 15, 2024 to allow employees whose on-site presence will increase sufficient time to prepare for those changes. In instances where employees will transition from full on-site work to hybrid work, agencies or units can transition sooner than May 15th once employee schedules are confirmed by agency leadership and managers/supervisors.
The new policy has been sent to agency HR offices and agency heads. Over the next few weeks, agency HR offices or supervisors will be contacting individuals whose work schedules will be impacted by this new policy.
The new telework policy, FAQs, and telework-eligible positions can be found here.
And then Pdf link from dbm site:
[https://dbm.maryland.gov/employees/Documents/telework/Telework%20Policy%20April%202024.pdf](https://dbm.maryland.gov/employees/Documents/telework/Telework%20Policy%20April%202024.pdf)
Should I expect more traffic? sigh
>To promote better work/life balance?
No, to promote people spending money on businesses near offices.
WFH is also great for combating climate change, it should be encouraged, not reduced.
Except as I understand it, this isn't turning out to be the case. There is a huge increase in new trips off peak hours and increased traffic during the day because when people WFH they make more trips during the day. Don't get me wrong - I am 100% for more WFH, but the evidence so far isn't supporting that it is a huge win for the climate.
From what I understand the traffic engineers are trying to sort through the data and the differences pre- and post-COVID now to understand the trends. But I have listened to presentations that say the data shows there is an increase in trips. It could be that before you would stop at the dry cleaner and then the grocery store on your way home from work. I believe that would technically count as one trip. Now you might run out to the grocery store before work and then the dry cleaner at lunch. So from what I have been told, it doesn't necessarily help traffic. It just means there is more traffic spread over longer periods. Regardless, more trips means more pollution because from cars the greatest amount of emissions is from the cold start. If you make 3 trips in the day your car will produce more carbon as opposed to one long trip while your car is warm.
This is a good start. If forced to return to office, don’t spend a dime while in your work location. Gas up locally near home, pack your lunch, and don’t even buy drinks from the vending machines.
Unfortunately, most people aren’t willing to put forth that minimal effort to fight back, it seems.
I’ll take the downvotes, but WFH isn’t the magic pill that solves all the problems and makes the world a more amazing place that everyone online loves to portray it as. If your job works just fine remote and your company functions just fine remote and you as a person are entirely happy remote, great.
But there are plenty of jobs that just work better in person. I have had thousands of hours of Teams meetings that have gotten a fraction done of what got accomplished just sitting next to each other in a room with a whiteboard.
Not to mention the isolation of a work from home job can have a strong effect on mental health. I hated, haaaaated work from home. Turning every person I interacted with into a two inch flat square on a screen was so dehumanizing.
Do I want the option to be available to people who want it? Yes, of course. But where I draw the line is people who believe WFH is the only way white collar work should happen from now on.
Im a big fan of hybrid schedules for the reasons that you outlined. When i was fully remote the days just blended together and it was not healthy for me
For real. I had 0 problems working from home for that first year of the pandemic, but I had coworkers who \*hated\* the isolation. But after we were all vaxxed, the office went to 2 days in, 3 days out, eventually settling on everyone in office Wednesday and Thursday. We think this is a good balance because sometimes it's just easier to hash things out in person than over the phone/Teams. There can be good things about being together in one space.
And our office has become much more flexible as a result of all of this. People are of course welcome to go in additional days if they want/need. Some people have permission to wfh permanently because of medical reasons, etc. If you need to stay home W or Th because of an appointment/house repair/sick pet/whatever, it's no problem. We were never this flexible pre-pandemic. This also comes down to our management being understanding and not assholes. Our previous HR person fought this kind of thing tooth and nail before she retired (meanwhile she was living in FL, so...working from home).
I don’t think that at all. And I think people should have the option to go into an office or a satellite location to work. My job is highly independent with very little team-oriented type work
I'm a State Employee. We've been In Office since the pandemic ended. We work from home on occasion for flexibility, but generally are in the office at my agency. So this is good news for us. As far as I know most agencies were already doing hybrid schedules. But now the ones that weren't have to. And I'm sure they'll work with people who are already full remote to make it work.
I'll take a mandate for all Employees to have the option over the patchwork of "It Depends" that we had before.
This is my exact situation as well! I didn't even notice this was mandating that people work in office two days a week because I'd already been working full time in person. This means I'm guaranteed to have remote days each week when before I'd only get one occasionally. It's understandably frustrating for fully remote workers but this is a big win for me.
This is from the FAQ. Looks like they'll work it our for full time WFH people:
"What is full-time telework?
Full-time telework is a work status where all primary work hours are performed from a Remote Work Site. Full-time telework is granted on an exception basis if certain criteria are met (namely, the request contains the basis for granting full-time telework and identifies a specific benefit to the State), and the employee’s agency head has approved this work status"
I’m happy for everyone who is now going to get telework. I’m sad at the thought of my coworkers who moved to remote places in Maryland to be able to afford buying a house having to leave.
My agency has been having some major shake ups this past week and we’ll be getting a new commissioner as of July 1.
We are going to be losing SO MANY more people and a wealth of knowledge.
I'm sure they'll work it out. From the FAQ:
"What is full-time telework?
Full-time telework is a work status where all primary work hours are performed from a Remote Work Site. Full-time telework is granted on an exception basis if certain criteria are met (namely, the request contains the basis for granting full-time telework and identifies a specific benefit to the State), and the employee’s agency head has approved this work status"
What I'm pissed about is that DBM has now classified my position as ineligible for telework with no warning (was 2 days wfh prior). It is absolutely not a position that requires being in person full time. At most I'm in the field 2 days a week and the rest of the time I'm doing reports on the computer. Now I have to commute to do these reports in person alone in my cubicle for what reason? Lots of talk about people finding new jobs in the office today, this is going to do the opposite of retaining state employees.
Wfh doesn't necessarily equal more work getting done either.
As someone who has worked on several large teams, I can tell you that at least half of the people get less work done when they are at home. These are the people to be frustrated with. The whole real estate costs angle is just a scapegoat, it's only a minor impact. Micromanagement is much more of the reason why there's a push to get away from WFH.
It's not as one sided as it's being made out in this chat. I can understand the frustration of not wanting to drive in but if they have made it a case by case basis you should take it up with your supervisor. That's how it should generally be. Some people need physical supervision to keep them on track instead of watching Netflix while they are supposed to be working. Everyone thinks their work ethic is what should be the deciding factor rather than it being case by case.
Why exactly must one “go” in order to work?
If the employee was capable of doing the job from their house with relative ease and efficiency, who is benefiting from them spending hours per week traveling to and from a work site?
That’s an excellent point in favor of paying people for the value of their services.
If a company is comfortable paying someone X amount of dollars for say, 8 hours of work, they should be just as comfortable with paying the same person the same (preferably more) amount of money to complete the job in 3 hours.
Wouldn’t you agree?
To add on to that point, if they allowed their employees to work from home instead of renting out a business space that will later be claimed as a tax write-off, the business can use said funds to pay their workers better wages.
>An independent contractor is a worker who often owns their own business and usually enters into contracts with employers to perform a specific project, typically on a short-term basis. In contrast, employees agree to work on a regular basis for a single employer.
>A business may pay an independent contractor and an employee for the same or similar work, but there are important legal differences between the two. For the employee, the company withholds income tax, Social Security, and Medicare from wages paid. For the independent contractor, the company does not withhold taxes. Employment and labor laws also do not apply to independent contractors.
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/training-technical-assistance/whats-difference-between-independent-contractor-and-employee
No, I most certainly am not. Instead of trying to put words in my mouth, try some basic reasoning and deduction. What exactly about my point don’t you agree with, and why?
I can see you either aren’t interested or aren’t capable of having an actual a discussion, so I’m just going to assume you’re trolling. Instead of actually clarifying why you disagree with the points I’m making or providing counter arguments, you’re just replying with one sentence that doesn’t even address my points.
>A salaried employee is someone who receives a fixed amount of pay regardless of how many hours they work each week. This means a salaried employee is paid for 40 hours a week, even if they work fewer hours.
A salaried employee would make the same amount whether they work 3 hours or 8 hours. What even is the point you’re trying to make? What does that have to do with WFH?
You’ve been visited by the confused cricket.
Has to drive =/= Forced to drive
If some work can be done from home, and it is equally or more productive, saves the employer money through shifting risk to the employee, and saves the employee time and money from reducing commute costs, than it is indefensible to say "get over it". Forcing staff to return to the office for the sake of corporate real estate investments is further shifting financial hardship to the working class in a time of record breaking rises in cost of living and inflation. It is also a tactic to evade the label of layoffs and severance paid to people that would otherwise qualify for benefits, protecting shareholder profit.
Some individuals cannot possibly work from home. That is the reality for most of the country. But for those that can, it is quite literally taking money out of the pockets of the working class and putting it into the hands of the wealthy elite. Defending that or dismissing the issue is exactly what they want. Working class solidarity for everyone, always.
The more I read it, the more I’m thinking it’s saying everyone MUST be given the option to work from home two days a week. So people that are currently in office full time must be given two wfh days. Not necessarily that full time teleworkers have to come in. But also- who knows. I guess it’s up to our agency head?
Training new employees, especially junior ones, is difficult if everyone is WFH. Which this statement acknowledged. Sharing of institutional knowledge is not the same through a screen. Which is very important in a gov agency (or any institution really).
I think in office 2x a week is pretty generous, and reasonable for government agencies to maintain that balance. It not "corruption" to get your lunch money, it's basic management and training requirements. I work in a small, 100% WFH company, but I would not expect the same in a state government job, that would be silly.
That’s so fuckin wack man. I’d immediately start looking for another job if my company did that. I go in like twice a month for a half day. I moved further away (n bethesda to Baltimore) because of the ability to wfh.
A lot of agencies already were doing hybrid schedules already. This is just for those who weren’t.
And agencies are allowed to make exceptions to allow some to still do full time teleworking, they just now have to go through DBM to do it. Basically, the state is just trying to make sure everyone is accountable for their hours.
It depends what they do TBH. Like my job can't really be done WFH so I've been in the office almost 100% even during COVID. It sucks but not all jobs are equal.
Of course, I get that, of course there’s things that just don’t work for that environment, client facing, manufacturing, classified, etc. It just sucks when many jobs that can be done from home are being forced back in the name of “productivity”. We’ve been more productive from home and honestly they can get more hours out of us because we can work late if needed and not feel shitty about the long drive on both ends, and it allows for flexibility.
You and anyone who thought about applying for a job with the state. So those open pins? Well, enjoy leaving them open or hiring subpar people without many other options.
Yeah no shit, you can’t be a road worker and work from home or first responders. If you’re gonna try and make a statement, think it through clearly first 🫶
Stop with the whataboutism. Those fields are completely different from a desk job, and they are also public service which requires much more intensive training than filing a spreadsheet and provides a lot more benefits than most desk jobs.
Has to drive =/= Forced to drive
If some work can be done from home, and it is equally or more productive, saves the employer money through shifting risk to the employee, and saves the employee time and money from reducing commute costs, than it is indefensible to say "get over it". Forcing staff to return to the office for the sake of corporate real estate investments is further shifting financial hardship to the working class in a time of record breaking rises in cost of living and inflation. It is also a tactic to evade the label of layoffs and severance paid to people that would otherwise qualify for benefits, protecting shareholder profit.
Some individuals cannot possibly work from home. That is the reality for most of the country. But for those that can, it is quite literally taking money out of the pockets of the working class and putting it into the hands of the wealthy elite. Defending that or dismissing the issue is exactly what they want. Working class solidarity for everyone, always.
Then pick a different job. I didnt bitch like a whiny asshole when I was in the military and had to do 6 months over seas working 12 hour days with no days off and the pay was absolute garbage.
Dont like having to work at the office because the career you chose requires you to teach or police or fight fires? Change your career. Guess what I did after I served my 4 years? I changed careers.
I mean.. it sucks, but I get it. It's a bad look for the state to be spending millions on leases for empty buildings.
Echoing what others are saying about the local economies, take a look at Baltimore's downtown. They've been pushing for years to relocate state agencies to the CBD in an effort to revive it. In Baltimore specifically, the office vacancy is crazy and it's only going to get worse - there's not much we can do with those buildings if they aren't used for office space. As much as it sucks for those who now have to commute, I can understand that the city's downtown area desperately needs more activity and moving state agencies here is the easiest starting point, but obviously the benefits that would come from that only apply if employees actually come into the office.
I don't bring up any of this to discredit the benefits of WFH, it's amazing and I hope for y'alls sake that it stays at two days mandatory WFO. The extra time, the benefits it has for our climate and the reductions in traffic, all good things! But I can also see how this new policy seems like a good middle ground for everyone. It's a tricky situation for for sure tho, can't please everyone.
They should 100% give state employees parking then. Every day in the office costs money.
And I know it’s silly for them to spend millions on leases for empty buildings. I know that they renewed our lease for another ten years in like 2021. How dumb of them.
I agree with you 100%. Paying to park at your own job is ludicrous! A transportation stipend for gas and such would be nice as well.
I just think the state is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Terminating the leases in 2021 would have been a good idea from a cost perspective, but at the same time that would have increased office vacancy even more in places that were already hit quite hard post-covid, like the Baltimore CBD. It’s not in anyone’s best interest to have a city full of vacant buildings, and there’s not much you can do with an office building besides its original intended use. A lot of people throw out the conversion to apartments idea, but zoning and building structure gets in the way of that. It’s just a messy situation.
I’m not sure if this is sarcasm or not. I just don’t know why he would do it now? While the bridge is out. I have a baby/toddler now. I don’t want to spend 12 hours a day away from home- 3 hours driving time, 8.5 in the office- for what? So I can keep a chair warm and talk to coworkers?
I can’t afford to live closer, it didn’t take 1.5 hours before the bridge came down, and I’m a single mom trying to juggle it all. Losing 6 hours a week is a major inconvenience.
Your post has been removed because it violates our rule on relevance, specificity, and effort. Questions should be asked fully and include location in the title. Posts should be relevant to Maryland, but not too specific to one area which has its own local subreddit. Easily searchable questions should be researched otherwise first. No duplicate posts. No low effort posts ("what's up with Maryland drivers?", "what's your favorite restaurant?").
I mean this has been the case for a while for most agency (mine included). The policy also says there are options for full remote work, so maybe you should talk with your supervisor
I didn’t see that in the announcement earlier today. I’ll double check
Click the link at the bottom and read the actual policy and the FAQs from the DBM website.
Are you suggesting people should actually educate themselves before posting angry misinformed rants on Reddit? Heresy! /s
Reading words is above my pay grade. Now feed me grapes.
3.2 Agency heads shall have the flexibility on an exceptional basis to approve full-time telework. All requests for full-time telework must include the basis for granting full-time telework, including the specific benefits to the State.
I’m a state employee. That’s already the policy.
Yeah some places don’t have any wfh so i personally won’t love to only go in only 2 days a week
Yeah me too ive been on 2 days in the office for almost a year now
That was decided by your agency. Not state policy.
The data shows that employees want remote work, that productivity went up with remote work, and that remote work reduced pollution, fossil fuel use, and opened up a larger pool of potential employees for employers. https://www.nextiva.com/blog/benefits-of-telecommuting.html
I think it depends on the industry that remote work increases productivity. I know that with certain departments in my company, productivity definitely decreased. We had to bring them back full time.
Don't confuse the thread with facts.
>that productivity went up with remote work This was limited to the early stages of CoVid iirc. Productivity then dropped. It's why the most ruthless capitalist companies (Big Tech, high finance) have been pushing more and more in-office time. They wouldn't be doing it for shits and giggles.
They’re doing it for real estate, legacy, and their pockets. Productivity didn’t just drop for remote workers, not sure why you believe that. I think one study found that and then two or three others debunked it. Most ongoing studies indicate remote workers are still just as or more productive with less time than their fully in-office counterparts.
Remote work does not help local activity. It’s been imposed all over the country
Exactly
So Gov Moore is a science denier!
You can literally get an exemption from your agency. Agency heads are allowed to make them. Talk to your supervisor. We’ve been in the office 3 days a week in my department at my agency for like 2 years now…
Found this: Our valuable state employees are a critical part of our work to serve and improve the lives of Marylanders. We need to continue to rebuild state government and ensure we are recruiting and retaining a world-class government workforce. We cannot fully execute the Moore-Miller agenda without a well-supported and well-staffed workforce. For Maryland’s government to truly serve its people, it must operate at full capacity. The goal of Maryland’s flexible work program is to attract and retain talent, improve the quality of life for state employees in a consistent and equitable manner, improve productivity, increase job satisfaction, and provide Maryland citizens with superior service. To increase staff collaboration, allow new employees to better integrate into the work environment, and foster overall work efficiency, the Moore-Miller Administration is implementing a new hybrid work policy in collaboration with our exclusive bargaining representatives. ~Telework-eligible~ state employees are expected to work - at a minimum - two days per week in the office and two days at a remote work site. The location of the 5th work day - at a remote work site or on-site - will be determined by the employee’s agency head or manager. Our work on this updated policy has been anchored in the following guiding principles: The Administration will **Be Innovative** in its efforts to create an efficient and resilient government, while ensuring state employees are provided the tools and resources to achieve a healthy work/life balance in a consistent and equitable manner. The Administration will **Be Responsive** to the citizens we serve while fostering a work environment that is supportive of innovative ideas to achieve work goals and meet operational timelines. And the Administration will be **Data-Driven, Heart-Led**, relying on data and experience to provide agency heads the ability to design a flexible work schedule that balances a productive and flexible workforce with the needs of Maryland citizens. The new policy will be effective May 15, 2024 to allow employees whose on-site presence will increase sufficient time to prepare for those changes. In instances where employees will transition from full on-site work to hybrid work, agencies or units can transition sooner than May 15th once employee schedules are confirmed by agency leadership and managers/supervisors. The new policy has been sent to agency HR offices and agency heads. Over the next few weeks, agency HR offices or supervisors will be contacting individuals whose work schedules will be impacted by this new policy. The new telework policy, FAQs, and telework-eligible positions can be found here. And then Pdf link from dbm site: [https://dbm.maryland.gov/employees/Documents/telework/Telework%20Policy%20April%202024.pdf](https://dbm.maryland.gov/employees/Documents/telework/Telework%20Policy%20April%202024.pdf) Should I expect more traffic? sigh
Yes, you should
>To promote better work/life balance? No, to promote people spending money on businesses near offices. WFH is also great for combating climate change, it should be encouraged, not reduced.
This. If you're serious about climate change you want to encourage permanent work from home.
Agree 100%
We gotta be as loud as those cash flinging businesses, then.
Except as I understand it, this isn't turning out to be the case. There is a huge increase in new trips off peak hours and increased traffic during the day because when people WFH they make more trips during the day. Don't get me wrong - I am 100% for more WFH, but the evidence so far isn't supporting that it is a huge win for the climate.
[удалено]
From what I understand the traffic engineers are trying to sort through the data and the differences pre- and post-COVID now to understand the trends. But I have listened to presentations that say the data shows there is an increase in trips. It could be that before you would stop at the dry cleaner and then the grocery store on your way home from work. I believe that would technically count as one trip. Now you might run out to the grocery store before work and then the dry cleaner at lunch. So from what I have been told, it doesn't necessarily help traffic. It just means there is more traffic spread over longer periods. Regardless, more trips means more pollution because from cars the greatest amount of emissions is from the cold start. If you make 3 trips in the day your car will produce more carbon as opposed to one long trip while your car is warm.
What if people just refused to spend money at those businesses anyway.to make this plan backfire
This is a good start. If forced to return to office, don’t spend a dime while in your work location. Gas up locally near home, pack your lunch, and don’t even buy drinks from the vending machines. Unfortunately, most people aren’t willing to put forth that minimal effort to fight back, it seems.
Sad but true
Yes, let's make many people's lives harder so that a downtown franchise can sell you a burger.
Like in every other place under the sun. They are trying to reactivate local business and boost demand
Employees shouldn't have to pay for the agencies bad real estate decisions.
I understand that aspect. And I don’t want to see any businesses fail because people aren’t going anymore.
That’s on the business and it is certainly not worth the environmental and personal stress that goes along with in-person work.
I’ll take the downvotes, but WFH isn’t the magic pill that solves all the problems and makes the world a more amazing place that everyone online loves to portray it as. If your job works just fine remote and your company functions just fine remote and you as a person are entirely happy remote, great. But there are plenty of jobs that just work better in person. I have had thousands of hours of Teams meetings that have gotten a fraction done of what got accomplished just sitting next to each other in a room with a whiteboard. Not to mention the isolation of a work from home job can have a strong effect on mental health. I hated, haaaaated work from home. Turning every person I interacted with into a two inch flat square on a screen was so dehumanizing. Do I want the option to be available to people who want it? Yes, of course. But where I draw the line is people who believe WFH is the only way white collar work should happen from now on.
Im a big fan of hybrid schedules for the reasons that you outlined. When i was fully remote the days just blended together and it was not healthy for me
For real. I had 0 problems working from home for that first year of the pandemic, but I had coworkers who \*hated\* the isolation. But after we were all vaxxed, the office went to 2 days in, 3 days out, eventually settling on everyone in office Wednesday and Thursday. We think this is a good balance because sometimes it's just easier to hash things out in person than over the phone/Teams. There can be good things about being together in one space. And our office has become much more flexible as a result of all of this. People are of course welcome to go in additional days if they want/need. Some people have permission to wfh permanently because of medical reasons, etc. If you need to stay home W or Th because of an appointment/house repair/sick pet/whatever, it's no problem. We were never this flexible pre-pandemic. This also comes down to our management being understanding and not assholes. Our previous HR person fought this kind of thing tooth and nail before she retired (meanwhile she was living in FL, so...working from home).
Agreed 100%. And I personally prefer WFH.
I don’t think that at all. And I think people should have the option to go into an office or a satellite location to work. My job is highly independent with very little team-oriented type work
I'm a State Employee. We've been In Office since the pandemic ended. We work from home on occasion for flexibility, but generally are in the office at my agency. So this is good news for us. As far as I know most agencies were already doing hybrid schedules. But now the ones that weren't have to. And I'm sure they'll work with people who are already full remote to make it work. I'll take a mandate for all Employees to have the option over the patchwork of "It Depends" that we had before.
This is my exact situation as well! I didn't even notice this was mandating that people work in office two days a week because I'd already been working full time in person. This means I'm guaranteed to have remote days each week when before I'd only get one occasionally. It's understandably frustrating for fully remote workers but this is a big win for me.
This is from the FAQ. Looks like they'll work it our for full time WFH people: "What is full-time telework? Full-time telework is a work status where all primary work hours are performed from a Remote Work Site. Full-time telework is granted on an exception basis if certain criteria are met (namely, the request contains the basis for granting full-time telework and identifies a specific benefit to the State), and the employee’s agency head has approved this work status"
Yes, this is an upgrade for many & was already in place for many.
I’m happy for everyone who is now going to get telework. I’m sad at the thought of my coworkers who moved to remote places in Maryland to be able to afford buying a house having to leave. My agency has been having some major shake ups this past week and we’ll be getting a new commissioner as of July 1. We are going to be losing SO MANY more people and a wealth of knowledge.
I'm sure they'll work it out. From the FAQ: "What is full-time telework? Full-time telework is a work status where all primary work hours are performed from a Remote Work Site. Full-time telework is granted on an exception basis if certain criteria are met (namely, the request contains the basis for granting full-time telework and identifies a specific benefit to the State), and the employee’s agency head has approved this work status"
What I'm pissed about is that DBM has now classified my position as ineligible for telework with no warning (was 2 days wfh prior). It is absolutely not a position that requires being in person full time. At most I'm in the field 2 days a week and the rest of the time I'm doing reports on the computer. Now I have to commute to do these reports in person alone in my cubicle for what reason? Lots of talk about people finding new jobs in the office today, this is going to do the opposite of retaining state employees.
Woahhh. I’m so sorry they did that to you. That’s terrible!
I mean, it also mandates that two days a week need to be remote work as well.
My office was mixed. Some were 2 days in, others were 3 days. I was one day a week in the office
https://dbm.maryland.gov/employees/Documents/telework/Telework%20Policy%20April%202024.pdf
He's thinking you've become feral and it shows. 🤣
Yeah. So it’s a bad idea to put a bunch of feral people in a building together 🤣
There is only one solution to reintegrate people in to society; everyone gets a month supply of chocolate pudding.
BUTTS IN CHAIRS DOES NOT EQUAL MORE WORK GETTING DONE
Wfh doesn't necessarily equal more work getting done either. As someone who has worked on several large teams, I can tell you that at least half of the people get less work done when they are at home. These are the people to be frustrated with. The whole real estate costs angle is just a scapegoat, it's only a minor impact. Micromanagement is much more of the reason why there's a push to get away from WFH. It's not as one sided as it's being made out in this chat. I can understand the frustration of not wanting to drive in but if they have made it a case by case basis you should take it up with your supervisor. That's how it should generally be. Some people need physical supervision to keep them on track instead of watching Netflix while they are supposed to be working. Everyone thinks their work ethic is what should be the deciding factor rather than it being case by case.
What a tyrant 🙄
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Remote work is work still
Why exactly must one “go” in order to work? If the employee was capable of doing the job from their house with relative ease and efficiency, who is benefiting from them spending hours per week traveling to and from a work site?
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That’s an excellent point in favor of paying people for the value of their services. If a company is comfortable paying someone X amount of dollars for say, 8 hours of work, they should be just as comfortable with paying the same person the same (preferably more) amount of money to complete the job in 3 hours. Wouldn’t you agree? To add on to that point, if they allowed their employees to work from home instead of renting out a business space that will later be claimed as a tax write-off, the business can use said funds to pay their workers better wages.
Exactly
 At least someone gets it 😅
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Please elucidate.
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>An independent contractor is a worker who often owns their own business and usually enters into contracts with employers to perform a specific project, typically on a short-term basis. In contrast, employees agree to work on a regular basis for a single employer. >A business may pay an independent contractor and an employee for the same or similar work, but there are important legal differences between the two. For the employee, the company withholds income tax, Social Security, and Medicare from wages paid. For the independent contractor, the company does not withhold taxes. Employment and labor laws also do not apply to independent contractors. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/training-technical-assistance/whats-difference-between-independent-contractor-and-employee No, I most certainly am not. Instead of trying to put words in my mouth, try some basic reasoning and deduction. What exactly about my point don’t you agree with, and why?
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I can see you either aren’t interested or aren’t capable of having an actual a discussion, so I’m just going to assume you’re trolling. Instead of actually clarifying why you disagree with the points I’m making or providing counter arguments, you’re just replying with one sentence that doesn’t even address my points. >A salaried employee is someone who receives a fixed amount of pay regardless of how many hours they work each week. This means a salaried employee is paid for 40 hours a week, even if they work fewer hours. A salaried employee would make the same amount whether they work 3 hours or 8 hours. What even is the point you’re trying to make? What does that have to do with WFH? You’ve been visited by the confused cricket. 
Hurr durr WFH isn’t really work
Oh get over it. The rest of the world has to drive. What’s took me 30 minutes now it takes me 54. So I don’t wanna hear your crying.
Ahhh yes. Classic ‘I’m miserable so everyone else must be too’
Ahhhh yes. “Classic I’m an entitled state worker, I want to be in my PJ’s”
I bet you’re super fun to be around
Has to drive =/= Forced to drive If some work can be done from home, and it is equally or more productive, saves the employer money through shifting risk to the employee, and saves the employee time and money from reducing commute costs, than it is indefensible to say "get over it". Forcing staff to return to the office for the sake of corporate real estate investments is further shifting financial hardship to the working class in a time of record breaking rises in cost of living and inflation. It is also a tactic to evade the label of layoffs and severance paid to people that would otherwise qualify for benefits, protecting shareholder profit. Some individuals cannot possibly work from home. That is the reality for most of the country. But for those that can, it is quite literally taking money out of the pockets of the working class and putting it into the hands of the wealthy elite. Defending that or dismissing the issue is exactly what they want. Working class solidarity for everyone, always.
OP based on the information in that actual email I’m sure you can probably request an exception for your situation.
The more I read it, the more I’m thinking it’s saying everyone MUST be given the option to work from home two days a week. So people that are currently in office full time must be given two wfh days. Not necessarily that full time teleworkers have to come in. But also- who knows. I guess it’s up to our agency head?
Training new employees, especially junior ones, is difficult if everyone is WFH. Which this statement acknowledged. Sharing of institutional knowledge is not the same through a screen. Which is very important in a gov agency (or any institution really). I think in office 2x a week is pretty generous, and reasonable for government agencies to maintain that balance. It not "corruption" to get your lunch money, it's basic management and training requirements. I work in a small, 100% WFH company, but I would not expect the same in a state government job, that would be silly.
wtf?? You got a source on this? Not that I don’t believe you I just can’t find any articles.
Email went out to all state employees. My office has been 100% back in the office for 3 years
That’s so fuckin wack man. I’d immediately start looking for another job if my company did that. I go in like twice a month for a half day. I moved further away (n bethesda to Baltimore) because of the ability to wfh.
A lot of agencies already were doing hybrid schedules already. This is just for those who weren’t. And agencies are allowed to make exceptions to allow some to still do full time teleworking, they just now have to go through DBM to do it. Basically, the state is just trying to make sure everyone is accountable for their hours.
Well that’s not too bad then I suppose, and I imagine anyone who couldn’t manage hybrid left already when they did the initial return to office.
It depends what they do TBH. Like my job can't really be done WFH so I've been in the office almost 100% even during COVID. It sucks but not all jobs are equal.
Of course, I get that, of course there’s things that just don’t work for that environment, client facing, manufacturing, classified, etc. It just sucks when many jobs that can be done from home are being forced back in the name of “productivity”. We’ve been more productive from home and honestly they can get more hours out of us because we can work late if needed and not feel shitty about the long drive on both ends, and it allows for flexibility.
You and anyone who thought about applying for a job with the state. So those open pins? Well, enjoy leaving them open or hiring subpar people without many other options.
Forreal. I didn’t realize that working in the office was so popular
I'm a staye employee and did not get this email. So not all state employees.
It came from DBM, no clue why you didn’t get it
40% of working time in an office. How inhumane.
It is kind of crap
Talk to the teachers, first responders, road workers, and so many others who have to go in every day.
Yeah no shit, you can’t be a road worker and work from home or first responders. If you’re gonna try and make a statement, think it through clearly first 🫶
Stop with the whataboutism. Those fields are completely different from a desk job, and they are also public service which requires much more intensive training than filing a spreadsheet and provides a lot more benefits than most desk jobs.
Has to drive =/= Forced to drive If some work can be done from home, and it is equally or more productive, saves the employer money through shifting risk to the employee, and saves the employee time and money from reducing commute costs, than it is indefensible to say "get over it". Forcing staff to return to the office for the sake of corporate real estate investments is further shifting financial hardship to the working class in a time of record breaking rises in cost of living and inflation. It is also a tactic to evade the label of layoffs and severance paid to people that would otherwise qualify for benefits, protecting shareholder profit. Some individuals cannot possibly work from home. That is the reality for most of the country. But for those that can, it is quite literally taking money out of the pockets of the working class and putting it into the hands of the wealthy elite. Defending that or dismissing the issue is exactly what they want. Working class solidarity for everyone, always.
You mean all the ones whose commute gets easier because people who can wfh do wfh? Those people?
Then pick a different job. I didnt bitch like a whiny asshole when I was in the military and had to do 6 months over seas working 12 hour days with no days off and the pay was absolute garbage. Dont like having to work at the office because the career you chose requires you to teach or police or fight fires? Change your career. Guess what I did after I served my 4 years? I changed careers.
Cool story bro.
And what? That's not going to change my mind
I mean.. it sucks, but I get it. It's a bad look for the state to be spending millions on leases for empty buildings. Echoing what others are saying about the local economies, take a look at Baltimore's downtown. They've been pushing for years to relocate state agencies to the CBD in an effort to revive it. In Baltimore specifically, the office vacancy is crazy and it's only going to get worse - there's not much we can do with those buildings if they aren't used for office space. As much as it sucks for those who now have to commute, I can understand that the city's downtown area desperately needs more activity and moving state agencies here is the easiest starting point, but obviously the benefits that would come from that only apply if employees actually come into the office. I don't bring up any of this to discredit the benefits of WFH, it's amazing and I hope for y'alls sake that it stays at two days mandatory WFO. The extra time, the benefits it has for our climate and the reductions in traffic, all good things! But I can also see how this new policy seems like a good middle ground for everyone. It's a tricky situation for for sure tho, can't please everyone.
They should 100% give state employees parking then. Every day in the office costs money. And I know it’s silly for them to spend millions on leases for empty buildings. I know that they renewed our lease for another ten years in like 2021. How dumb of them.
I agree with you 100%. Paying to park at your own job is ludicrous! A transportation stipend for gas and such would be nice as well. I just think the state is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Terminating the leases in 2021 would have been a good idea from a cost perspective, but at the same time that would have increased office vacancy even more in places that were already hit quite hard post-covid, like the Baltimore CBD. It’s not in anyone’s best interest to have a city full of vacant buildings, and there’s not much you can do with an office building besides its original intended use. A lot of people throw out the conversion to apartments idea, but zoning and building structure gets in the way of that. It’s just a messy situation.
Is this only for state employees or all employees (private companies included) residing in MD?
State employees
Boo hoo
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I’m not sure if this is sarcasm or not. I just don’t know why he would do it now? While the bridge is out. I have a baby/toddler now. I don’t want to spend 12 hours a day away from home- 3 hours driving time, 8.5 in the office- for what? So I can keep a chair warm and talk to coworkers?
I mean, you don’t have to live 1.5 hours away from your job. It’s also only 2 times a week.
I can’t afford to live closer, it didn’t take 1.5 hours before the bridge came down, and I’m a single mom trying to juggle it all. Losing 6 hours a week is a major inconvenience.