Federal employees nationwide, many of whom have been teleworking since the COVID-19 outbreak, returned to their respective offices this Monday following President Donald Trump’s directive to resume in-office work.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who currently heads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency and is tasked with identifying governmental inefficiencies, issued a stern message on Monday through his platform X, addressing this transition.
Musk cautioned, “Starting this week, those who continue to avoid returning to their offices will be put on administrative leave.”
Meanwhile, Lee Zeldin, who has been appointed as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, echoed the sentiment on X, formerly known as Twitter. He stated, “The era of full-time remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic is OVER under the leadership of @POTUS.”
In a video shared by Zeldin, he highlighted that in the previous year, Monday and Friday attendances at the EPA headquarters were below 9%.
“Our vast and beautiful EPA headquarters stretches across two blocks in Washington, D.C., covering five buildings,” Zeldin said. “However, the hallways have seen a lack of activity, with desks and chairs remaining unoccupied more often than not.”
It seems that some federal agencies are not fully prepared for the transition of remote workers back to the office.
In a communication to U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid employees, accessed on Friday, officials noted that specific regional offices in Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco were not yet equipped for returning employees. Moreover, employees residing over 50 miles from certain regional offices would not be obligated to resume office work by Monday.
“Think of it as the first day of school—allocate some time to reacquaint yourself with the surroundings, navigate your way through, and understand the conference room connections,” the email advised. “Undoubtedly, some will get lost, arrive late, or struggle to find a seat due to unforeseen issues.”
The communication also indicated that while some staff members would start attending office Monday, others were scheduled to gradually transition back through April and beyond.
Mike Galletly, President of American Federation of Government Employees Local 4016, expressed the challenges faced by IT workers he represents at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These workers have been making efforts to cope with the back-to-office directive.
Galletly remarked, “My unit members have been busy securing necessary hardware such as monitors and docking stations. An office previously accommodating four now has to accommodate double.”
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has instructed its remote workers to transition back to office life, even if they were initially employed in a remote capacity.
Employees of the department, particularly those who live more than 50 miles from a regional office, received this formal notification on Monday. The message indicated they would be required to report to a designated office by April 28.
As of the previous November, the federal government employed over 3 million individuals, making up nearly 1.9% of the civilian workforce in the United States, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
