- Trump orders government workers to return to office full-time
- Federal workers will have weakened job protections
- Resignations and workforce changes are expected
US government officials have been mandated to return to the office full-time under the new Trump leadership, marking an end to hybrid and flexible working setups.
Tech companies have broadly implemented office-working policies, ranging from three to five days per week, in recent years following pandemic-induced remote options, and it’s now the turn of the US government to follow suit.
Trump’s new policy, actioned on the day of his inauguration, will require US federal workers to return to in-person office working on a full-time basis.
Trump issues full-time RTO to government workers
A short statement reads: “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.”
The new President has also reinstated the so-called Schedule F “immediately” and “with full force and effect,” which effectively weakens job protections for civil servants.
Critics argue that the move could help Trump replace certain employees with a more loyal workforce. The National Treasury Employee Union, which represents federal government employees, has already taken to a federal court in Washington to sue Trump (via Reuters).
Moreover, a hiring freeze and the formation of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed up by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, will further affect the size and makeup of the federal government.
Musk is also a fan of in-person working – in a statement to Tesla employees, he claimed remote work was “no longer acceptable.” Voluntary resignations across government agencies are predicted as a result of the latest changes led by Trump and, possibly, Musk.
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