"Not Just a Company Concern" What Do You Think About Remote Work for Public Officials? [Jjinbit]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] 'Public officials will be able to work remotely from study cafes.'

This is part of the 'Basic Plan for Innovation in Public Service Culture' announced by the Ministry of Personnel Management on the 17th. The plan was introduced to create a flexible and efficient working environment. It expands remote work, which was previously only possible from home or smart work centers, to places like study cafes and policy sites. Working hours can also be divided by the hour instead of by the day for remote work. This change was triggered by the continuous departure of young public officials, such as the MZ generation (born early 1980s to early 2000s), from organizations. The need to transform rigid organizational cultures into more flexible ones has increased.

Whether to expand remote work is one of the concerns companies face. This year, global companies have repeatedly reported difficulties with employees returning to the office on Jjinbit. Apple was a representative case. Recently, Apple announced that it will reintroduce the mandatory three-day-a-week office attendance policy starting next month on the 5th, after several delays due to employee opposition. The opposition was so strong that in May, machine learning expert Ian Goodfellow decided to move to Google. The market is now watching whether the three-day office attendance policy will be successfully implemented and settled. Discussions about work styles inevitably consider the balance of power between employers and employees.

Partial content of the 'Basic Plan for Innovation in Public Service Culture' announced by the Ministry of Personnel Management

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Personnel Management's plan to expand remote work shows that concerns about office returns and work styles are not just corporate issues. In the wake of changing perceptions about work and work styles triggered by COVID-19, the government must compete with private companies for talent while maintaining high productivity, leading to deep concerns. Intense debates about public officials' remote work are occurring not only in Korea but also in major countries like the US and the UK. In this Jjinbit, let's take a look at the discussions happening in various countries.

◆ "Preventing Waste of Taxes" UK Government and Unions Clash Over 'Office Return'

The UK is the country where debates about public officials returning to the office after adopting remote work due to COVID-19 are most intense. Led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the government's efficiency minister and a hardliner on civil service reform, the government has been vocal throughout the first half of this year about getting public officials back to the office. Rees-Mogg, who views empty offices as a waste of taxpayers' money, personally visited central government offices and left notes on empty desks saying, "Sorry you were not at your desk when I visited. See you soon at the office," which was reported as an anecdote.

UK's Jacob Rees-Mogg, Minister for Efficiency in Government
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary and a leading candidate for the next UK Prime Minister, also expressed support for Rees-Mogg on the 4th (local time), saying, "I support Minister Rees-Mogg. We will closely monitor the situation," and emphasized, "We need more people in the office, and I think that is important."

Looking at the office attendance rate of UK public officials, according to the UK media Daily Mail, only about half of the desks in Whitehall, the UK administrative offices, were occupied between the 25th and 29th of last month. The lowest attendance was in the Scotland office at 27%, and the Foreign Office was at 34%. Even the Cabinet Office, where Rees-Mogg belongs, had an attendance rate of 55%. Although the survey period coincided with the summer holiday season, considering that the average office attendance rate was 46% from February to June, the UK government’s senior officials seem to judge that the rate of remote work among UK public officials remains quite high. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly urged public officials to return to the office, but the situation has not significantly changed.

Not only the UK government but also the Bank of England (BOE) has been caught up in remote work debates. In May, the BOE recommended employees come to the office one day a week but faced political criticism accusing them of neglecting work amid soaring inflation and economic difficulties. According to Bloomberg, Andrew Bailey, the BOE Governor who had emphasized the benefits of hybrid work during the COVID-19 period, said in a broadcast last May, "I want more employees to return. Face-to-face conversations can provide things that screens cannot," and stated efforts to find a balance between office attendance and remote work.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

The UK government's strong messages about office attendance come amid preparations for a large-scale civil service reform. According to The Guardian and others, in May, Prime Minister Johnson announced plans to reduce the size of the civil service, which had rapidly increased during the COVID-19 period, by about 20%, or 91,000 employees, to reduce government costs and ease household living expenses. The government also plans to reduce severance payments to these employees to further improve efficiency. Public officials strongly oppose this, and the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union plans to initiate procedures for strikes and other industrial actions. This situation is likely to significantly impact remote work among UK public officials.

◆ "To Compete with Private Companies..." US Faces Talent Acquisition Challenges

Now, let's take a look at the situation in the United States. Criticism of public officials' remote work has also been frequent in the US. Bloomberg editorialized in May, "The government faces crises requiring attention, from soaring inflation to the Ukraine war, yet a significant portion of the 2.1 million federal employees have not returned to the office," and criticized, "While private sector employees benefit from maintaining hybrid work, public officials are different. They must return to the office."

On the 21st of last month, at a House Government Operations Subcommittee hearing on the future of the federal workforce, Republican Representative Jody Hice criticized the Biden administration for expanding telework and remote work for public officials, saying, "President Biden told federal employees to return to the office, but they have not yet done so," and labeled remote work, pay raises, and leave as luxurious benefits for public officials.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

However, the US government's stance differs from the UK's hardline approach. At the House Government Operations Subcommittee hearing, Kiran Ahuja, Director of the US Office of Personnel Management, revealed the US government's concerns. According to TechTarget, a data marketing service company, Ahuja said, "We are truly competing with private companies. Telework and remote work are important tools for recruitment." Jason Miller, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, also stated that considering the current labor market situation, they are reviewing giving agencies and employees more discretion regarding work schedules, locations, and mobility.

Ultimately, the US government cannot ignore workforce shortages when considering public officials' return to the office. The US unemployment rate remained at 3.5% last month, the lowest since 1969. Although layoffs have been announced mainly by IT companies, competition to secure talent in specific fields such as technology remains fierce. The government must compete with private companies for this talent, but it is realistically difficult to attract them if office attendance is mandatory.

Additionally, private companies can adjust work styles and compensation more flexibly and quickly than the government, putting the government at a competitive disadvantage. Julia Pollak, Chief Economist at ZipRecruiter, a US job site operator, told Axios last month, "People have left the public sector for the private sector, which offers higher bonuses and faster pay raises." Axios also reported that public officials are leaving US schools and post offices, and the government is struggling to fill these positions.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Japan is in a similar situation. The Japanese government also recognizes the need to create a flexible working environment to secure talented personnel. Like Korea, young public officials are leaving in large numbers, and Japan's National Personnel Authority, similar to Korea's Ministry of Personnel Management, is considering expanding telework. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the Personnel Authority issued a report in July calling for more flexible working hours and plans to finalize a report on improving public officials' work environments by June next year, including further discussions on expanding telework. Nihon Keizai reported, "Based on the expansion of COVID-19, flexible work and telework have rapidly spread in private companies," and "The goal is for national public officials to have flexible work environments to secure talented personnel."

As such, perceptions and responses to public officials' remote work vary by country. This is likely because various factors must be considered, including each country's labor market situation, government productivity and efficiency, and talent acquisition strategies. It will be interesting to see how the future changes in work created by COVID-19 will transform not only companies but also government organizations worldwide.

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is short for ‘Jeong Hyunjin’s Business Trend’ and ‘Real Business Trend,’ a corner that showcases trends in corporate management such as organizational culture and personnel systems. Based on analyses of foreign media and major overseas institutions that have not received much attention, we will deliver fresh and differentiated information and perspectives.