Federal workers in health care roles at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have expressed concerns about delivering sensitive information to patients over the phone as they fear they will work in “cubicle farms” when they return to work.
Upon assuming office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning federal workers from working remotely and demanding that remote and teleworkers transition to in-person roles. This was implemented in February.
In March, CNN reported that some of the crisis responders who answer the mental health-related Veterans Crisis Line are now answering calls in open cubicles around other federal workers instead of having their own office space, which was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The outlet said some workers had taken calls in their car for privacy. Between the pandemic and now, those workers had worked remotely.
Speaking to Newsweek under the condition of anonymity, two VA workers expressed concerns that a similar setup might be implemented for their work.
Pete Kasperowicz, VA press secretary, told Newsweek that the department will make accommodations so that employees “have enough space to work” in “secure facilities” that are appropriate for their roles.
He said: “Veterans are now at the center of everything VA does. This is a change from the Biden Administration, which too often put lavish employee benefits like nearly unlimited telework ahead of Veterans’ needs.
“Under President Trump, VA is no longer a place where the status quo for employees is to simply phone it in from home. We’re bringing thousands of employees back to the office so we can work together as a team to deliver Veterans the best care and services possible.”
However, an oncology clinical pharmacist who runs a telephone and video clinic covering Ohio, Michigan and northern Indiana expressed concerns about working in cubicles and said having candid conversations about “end of life” while other people can hear “will have detrimental effects to veterans’ expectations of health privacy as well as their comfortability to open up.”
He said: “I have appointments with veterans throughout the week counseling them on their chemotherapy, including how to take the medication and what to watch out for. Unfortunately, my visits also frequently involve discussions about their cancer progressing and even concepts of end of life and stopping treatment.”
“Our concern is that, due to lack of space at most VA facilities, we will be put in ‘cubicle farms’ reminiscent of a telemarketing call center, where these conversations will be public with many others hearing the discussion,” he added.
He said his other colleagues might need to have candid conversations about other heath topics including HIV status, mental health, substance abuse and other sensitive topics.
“Would you want your provider talking to you, or your family members, about these sensitive medical issues out in the waiting area for everyone else to listen in?” he asked. “Because doing these phone and video visits in a public cubicle space offers essentially the same amount of privacy. We feel the return to office order will have detrimental effects to veterans’ expectation of health privacy as well as their comfortability to open up about these topics.”
Another VA employee who works remotely as a clinical social worker, providing health care and mental health support in an Arizona clinic, said she was concerned about maintaining privacy when her return to office order goes into effect in May.
She said some offices had used white noise machines to avoid being overheard in cubicles. “This does not suffice,” she told Newsweek.
Meanwhile, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has overseen a wave of job cuts in the federal government, and recommended firing more than 200,000 federal workers.
The cuts, in the name of government efficiency and reducing spending, have been criticized by opponents. Last week, two federal judges granted a preliminary injunction to reinstate thousands of fired probationary workers at federal agencies.
The post Federal Workers Raise Privacy Concerns Amid Return to Office Order appeared first on Newsweek.
