[Real Beat] Musk's Blade, The Reason Why US Federal Employees Are Moving to Remote Work

Biden Administration Pushed Office Return
But High Remote Work Rate and Empty Offices Persist
Political and Business Sectors Dissatisfied... "Expect Voluntary Resignations with Remote Work Abolishment"

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is a shortened form of 'Jung Hyunjin's Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend,' a segment that showcases trends in changes in work.

"The COVID-19 emergency is over, and we will expand your 'in-person work.' This is the president's priority, and we hope individuals actively implement these changes."

In August last year, the Biden administration sent an email to all 2.3 million federal employees. It demanded that civil servants who had maintained some remote work due to the pandemic return to the office. This request came one year and five months after the White House first pushed for employees to return to the office in 2021, and after President Biden declared in a March 2022 speech that "most federal employees will work in the office." The Biden administration has thus been striving for years to bring civil servants back to the office.

Elon Musk nominated as head of the Government Efficiency Department in Donald Trump's second administration Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

However, a full return to the office by U.S. federal employees has not yet been achieved. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), currently 1.3 million federal employees have approved remote work arrangements, spending 40% of their working hours outside the office. Approximately 10% of those approved work fully remotely without coming to the office at all. Based on this, a survey conducted from October to December last year on office space usage in 24 federal agencies found that half of the office space was empty. In particular, the Social Security Administration (SSA) had an office usage rate of only 7%.

Meanwhile, remote work by federal employees has become a 'thorn in the side' for political and business circles. In April, Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Gary Peters (D-Michigan) introduced the Remote Work Transparency Act, requiring agencies to establish remote work policies, track the number of employees coming to the office, and provide this data to Congress. The intent is to consider unnecessary costs related to maintaining office space when budgeting. In September, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, expressed dissatisfaction at an event about Washington DC offices full of federal employees being empty and said all federal employees should return to in-person work.

One month later, on the 21st of last month (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an editorial titled "The Absence of Government Workers," pointing out that full remote work exists in the federal government and is costing taxpayers. It noted that salary levels vary by residence and that federal office space costs amount to $7 billion annually (approximately 9.8 trillion KRW). The media criticized federal employees for enjoying this 'perk' despite most Americans having returned from remote work to office attendance.

"If federal employees are required to come to the office five days a week, many will voluntarily quit, and we welcome that," said Elon Musk, nominated as head of the Government Efficiency Department in the second Trump administration. As the leader of companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), he is a prominent opponent of remote work. Even during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, he opposed federal government travel restrictions, and after acquiring Twitter in 2022, one of his first actions was to abolish remote work. In response to his stance, federal employee unions reportedly began various preparations. Attention is focused on which side will gain the upper hand in the upcoming battle over returning to the office.