Like all workers, federal employees need to get back to the office

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/01/michael-bloomberg-federal-employees-offices-washington/

by intrasight • 3 years ago

10 27 3 years ago

intrasight2• 3 years ago

Tell that to the taxpayers who are footing the bill for empty floor space and the costs of maintenance, as the GAO emphasizes.

So close those offices. Why are you wasting my tax dollars?

Tell it to the small businesses that are suffering, whose tax payments fund city services.

It's not my duty as a taxpayer to subsidize these small businesses.

salawat• 3 years ago

Then why are you subsidizing large ones through tax breaks?

Honestly, If anything I'd think small businesses would deserve more subsidization than large. Alas, one of these can afford full time lobbying staff, while the other cannot. Soooo... Yeah.

retrocryptid4• 3 years ago

Small businesses more deserving of government support than large? It may be true, but it's never going to happen.

intrasight2• 3 years ago

I'm fine with more small business stimuli. Doing that by mandating return to office isn't the right approach.

mydriasis• 3 years ago

Hah! No they don't.

Tell that to the taxpayers who are footing the bill for empty floor space and the costs of maintenance, as the GAO emphasizes.

Hey, that's me! I'm going to pay a ridiculous amount in taxes regardless, and they'll only keep increasing. The least you can do is let government workers do their jobs from the comfort of their own homes.

retrocryptid4• 3 years ago

Maybe (bloomberg should) ask rate payers their opinion of footing the bill for $20B in petroleum subsidiaries before complaining about office space.

thal3s• 3 years ago

It's funny how they always leave out all the negatives in articles like these.

Increased traffic? Time away from family? Higher gas and food bills? Quality of life?

Never covered. Just reams of text about poor landlords.

bluefishinit2• 3 years ago

It's written by a billionaire (Bloomberg) and published in another billionaire's paper (Bezos). If anything this should be a call to arms for labor.

ryaneager• 3 years ago

Got my pitchfork and torch. Where to first?

JohnFen2• 3 years ago

Of course. How does the quality of life for us plebes protect or enhance the wealth of these people? It doesn't, therefore it's not worth mentioning (and may even be worth fighting).

bluefishinit2• 3 years ago

Ah Michael Bloomberg writing an anti-WFH opinion piece in Jeff Bezos's personal newspaper. Could anything be less ethical? Would anyone in their right mind take this seriously?

71a54xd• 3 years ago

If we stopped accepting jobs where they used surveillance software this problem would solve itself.

Startups have incredible precedent post-covid to not waste early capital on of all things... office space.

I used to be in the office camp, but you'd have to hold a gun to my head to waste 1/3 of my day sitting in traffic to sit in a desk to doodle on a computer somewhere else other than my home office.

That said, government employees in any form are stooges and the lowest of the bottom of the bucket. They're barely capable of doing their jobs in an office. (just renewed my passport)

Something1234• 3 years ago

You need to read some books on how governments actually function. The purpose of government is to be able to run on stooges.

And many of them are motivated and decent human beings interested in making a difference in as many lives as possible. You don't have to be so angry at them.

retrocryptid4• 3 years ago

Sometimes government employees don't explain themselves and sometime laws, regulations and policies are pretty confusing. But yeah, always seemed govt. employees I encountered were trying to do their job as best they could.

It always stuck me as odd that in the states we don't trust the government but we trust big business.

ddoolin• 3 years ago

Renewing your passport seems to me to be an exceptionally anti-citizen task. You can't do it in person (unless you're abroad, ironically), you can't do it online (pilot program which ended with no production in sight), you can't pay online, you must pay with a money order or check. The website looks to be about 30 years old and is janky to say the least.

cyanydeez• 3 years ago

What a bizzare opening. Offices aren't a endangered environment needing to be saved.

retrocryptid4• 3 years ago

I guess Michael Bloomberg has a lot of money invested in DC area commercial real estate.

Ancalagon• 3 years ago

Oh man, an opinion piece by a billionaire posted to HN via a billionaire-owned newspaper on why employees should return to office? That's like the definition of poking the hornet's nest.

nameless912• 3 years ago

lmao no they fucking don't.

I am in the enviable position of being able to afford to take a huge pay cut and go work for the US Digital Service. I would actually love to-I think good government needs good tech, and I believe in the ability of USDS to make (however small) an impact on peoples' lives and interactions with the federal government. However, I am _not_ going to move to DC to do so.

It seems like USDS would be an ideal candidate to allow a bunch of remote employees, and yet they don't, because...reasons.

toomuchtodo2• 3 years ago

USDS hires remote. I would encourage you to apply. Good people are needed for impactful work at scale.

https://www.usds.gov/apply

We’re currently hiring both remote employees and people who are local to Washington, DC. If you have additional questions about remote or in-person work, please reach out to the USDS Talent Team at talent@usds.gov.

(although not recently, have gone through an interview cycle with them when remote was not an option)

toomuchtodo2• 3 years ago

I would encourage you to apply.

I rescind this comment based on the latest actions (and emails) of White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.

https://www.axios.com/2023/08/04/biden-end-remote-work-feder...

biesnecker• 3 years ago

I interviewed with them in 2022 and was offered a position, but decided not to take it and pursue another opportunity elsewhere. At the time it was remote and I was told that "technically you could be asked to RTO at some point, but we don't expect we ever will be."

Honestly I love DC but would be pretty pissed right now if I'd taken that position expecting to work remotely.

avmich2• 3 years ago

The important words in the title are "like all workers". All workers don't need to. Same for federal employees.

A4ET8a8uTh0• 3 years ago

I don't often write shit like that, but I am tired of this push.

Maybe we need an actual WFH union, whose purpose will encompass everyone who wants to join and will push for an employee choice on whether they want to be remote.

I am extra pissy today about it, because our manager has suddenly also 'decided' its time to crack the whip.

Like all workers, federal employees need to get back to the office

Related Stories