While the Covid-19 pandemic may have caused lasting changes to the federal workplace, a recent survey indicates that the effects of these changes may be fading. According to the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, offsite or "remote” work has been steadily declining for the last two years. Currently, 36% of federal employees report that they are working onsite all of the time. Comparatively, 29% of federal employees reported returning to full-time in-person work in 2021, and 17% of federal employees worked onsite in 2020. While federal agencies push for a return to normalcy in their offices, reinstating full-time onsite work is sure to cause difficulties for federal managers.

After years of offsite work, federal managers may experience pushback from their employees when they attempt to bring everyone back into the office on a fulltime basis. The long duration of remote work policies and much of the media coverage afforded this phenomenon has given the impression that fully remote workplaces could be permanent. If an employee feels as though the new return-to-office policies are unfair, they may react by acting out against their manager. This can take the form of complaints and allegations of wrongdoing that result in EEO, WPA, or other allegations and investigations, requiring managers to pay for outside legal counsel to defend themselves, even if the allegation is ultimately proven untrue.

Additionally, while full-time telework has decreased, federal employees who do telework do so for a substantial portion of their week. Having employees in and out of the office at different times may create a disconnect, decreasing efficiency and increasing the possibility of errors. Any alleged oversight, failure, inaction, or action will lead to scrutiny, criticism, and demands of accountability from the agency, members of the public, Congress, or other entities, putting federal managers at risk of being the subject of complaints, allegations, investigations, disciplinary actions, or even civil lawsuits.

As a federal manager, a critical part of your job is making tough decisions that impact your staff, your agency, and the general public. Unfortunately, good conduct does not prevent federal managers from being accused of wrongdoing. FEDS Protection understands the risk inherent in your federal managerial duties and will help protect your career and your finances.