A new bill proposed by State Senator Doug Mastriano ® would require state employees to return to their designated in-person workplaces.
According to its memo, the State Employees Return to Work Act aims to improve the delivery of public services, enhance employee efficiency, elevate workplace coordination, and revitalize the local economy by bringing workers back to in-person workspaces.
“In-person work fosters team building, spontaneous problem-solving, and stronger relationships among colleagues,” the bill’s memo said. “As we rebuild our workforce culture, it is essential that employees are given the opportunity to interact directly, share knowledge, and support one another in their work.”
The memo says employees would be given sufficient notice, and clear guidelines would be established via a structured and phased approach to returning employees to their workplaces, starting with departments where in-person presence is “most essential.”
Flexible working hours and hybrid work options would be available where applicable and feasible, the memo added.
The bill has not yet been submitted for introduction to the state legislature.
During the pandemic, after directing all non-essential employees to work from home wherever possible, my employer’s CEO noticed that all the work was getting done the same as before. His reaction, “why were we paying for all that expensive real estate if all those people could work from home?”
We are a non-profit. Our mission is apparently not to prop up the profits of commercial landlords. There were some old-school “business” people who resisted briefly, but it quickly became clear that work from home was permanent.
Now we can hire people out of state. Even people who provide on-site support do so in a rotation that allows them to work from home some days.
Routine meetings are via teams. Our group tries to get together regularly for purely social interaction (Christmas party, Spring cook-out in the park, etc.)
The only reason justification for not working from home
My job in December 2020: We need everyone back in the office
In the office: 90% of meetings were done on teams because people were spread out over a dozen locations
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