Government Employees Still Working from Home
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article outlining the US Government’s difficulty getting employees back in the office. Naturally, government workers are no more interested in getting back into the office than non-government employees. What is also true is that if federal government employees are not going back into the office, municipal government employees will use this information as a weapon when they are asked to return to their desks. While most enterprises would like to have their employees back in the office for more of the work week, the degree to which their presence can be considered “essential” is likely up for debate. Governmental bodies however….they have real incentive. And yet…they don’t seem to care.
On one hand, the Biden Administration is telling federal employees to get back in the office. According to the staff at WSJ, the administration has been amping up pressure on federal agencies. But like anything else, if you want people to do something that they don’t want to do, there must be a consequence if they don’t. So far, a fear of employee exodus has kept that pressure a lot lower than it needs to be. The consequences of not applying real pressure (threatening to fire people if they don’t come in), is likely to be felt most acutely on a municipal level, where property taxes fund large portions of government operation. When transactions finally take place in office buildings, the pricing has been MUCH lower than it was on their last trade, and if tax rates stay where they are, there will be material state and municipal deficits. Is that not enough incentive to get back behind that desk?!?!?!
It certainly doesn’t feel that way yet, but perhaps the answer is that it’s just going to take time. Government officials, like their private sector brethren, will eventually be too expensive to employ. If employment is tight, return to office is difficult. There is still no fear as it relates to employment. Most workers feel they could be employed quickly, so they don’t have to listen to a boss that demands a 4 day in person work week. Perhaps as importantly, the dynamics of a full workforce return require leadership, some degree of collusion among employers of all sort, and capitulation from the workforce. That is a lot to ask, but it’s time that the US Government led the charge.