President Donald Trump has officially ordered federal workers to come into the office full-time. It has some employees rethinking their careers, while others see value in the new mandate.
The return-to-office requirement is one of Trump’s first moves, and it could reshape the federal workforce. In late November, Elon Musk — the head of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency — and former DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy proposed the RTO mandate as a cost-cutting measure. They argued that it would effectively weed out employees who didn’t want to go back.
Now that federal RTO is set to become reality, Business Insider spoke to a collection of federal workers who offered split perspectives on the order. Employees were granted anonymity to allow them to speak freely about their work situations. Their identities have been verified.
Detailed below are some of the main issues highlighted by frustrated federal workers, as well as the reasoning behind those in support of RTO.
More demanding commutes
One employee at the Department of Justice told Business Insider that one reason they took the job was because of the flexibility offered by telework. Now that they’re facing a potential five-days-a-week requirement, their total weekly commute time could increase to 15 hours, up from six hours a week.
“You work for the government, it’s supposed to be the best place to work, and suddenly you’re seeing that you’re not getting the same flexibilities that you’ve been living with and adjusting your life for, for the last couple years,” the employee said.
An employee named Tyra, who works in the Health Resources and Services Administration, said the flexibility of remote work has allowed her to work out regularly after her shift ends. She now faces a 90-minute commute each way into Washington DC, something that could cut into her training to become a Pilates instructor.
“A lot of people live a little bit further away,” Tyra said. “It’s just a lot to consider and change abruptly.”
Another federal worker said having to work in the office every day would mean “at least 10 stressful hours a week wasted in traffic,” in addition to the time spent making lunch and other elements associated with getting ready for work.
“It will cost more money in gas, car wear and tear, parking fees, and business attire,” they told BI.
Family-life complications
A veteran and four-year federal employee is trying to figure out how to restructure their family’s life within the RTO mandate. They told BI that they had been teleworking since they started their job, which allowed flexibility for childcare. They haven’t received any formal guidance yet from their agency, but they’re starting to look at other career opportunities outside the federal government.
“Everybody’s trying to figure it out, and we’re trying to do it with limited time and on the fly,” the worker said.
A clinical psychologist for a federal entity said they won’t be able to work their job if it’s not remote. As a military spouse, the employee is required to move around often, making it impossible to commute five days a week to a single location far from where they’re stationed.
“It honestly makes me consider just leaving entirely in the first place,” they said. “I can’t be working for anyone where there’s this much uncertainty when I have to support my family and when I have small children.”
Those who support RTO
But not everyone is opposed to the RTO mandate. One federal employee says that while they’re only required to work in the office two days a week, they would be willing to expand that.
“You need us to come in five days, we’ll come in five days,” the employee said. “We’re adapting as we go along.”
The employee added that they expect to see some workers retire earlier than planned due to this mandate. While they recognize the challenges it could bring, they’re grateful for the employment and willing to work with it.
“There’s a majority of Americans who probably would kill to have that opportunity, and they probably don’t want to hear somebody complaining about, ‘Well, I got to return to the office,’” the employee said.
Another worker in the Department of Homeland Security, who has already been going to work in-person the majority of the time, told BI being in the office “really enhances collaboration,” adding that “decisions often happen more quickly.” They also said working in the office can create clearer “boundaries between work and home life.”
“I think it’s overall a positive change in our work environment,” the employee said.
Depleted morale and ‘brain drain’
A Social Security Administration employee who works from home twice a week said the new RTO mandate will hurt organizational culture by deepening existing worker dissatisfaction.
“Morale is so low right now in this agency,” they said, adding, “we’ll have even more people wanting to leave.”
In addition, one Treasury employee said the RTO order would lead to losing staff, including pushing some people into retirement.
There’s going to be a possible “brain drain of senior, knowledgeable employees,” they said.
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