President Trump Executive Order

[KMG 140]

President Trump just signed an executive order, stating that ALL federal employees must return to in-person work.  I am hoping this will contribute to speeding up processing times!

[OldUser 7,465]

I don't see a direct correlation between productivity and working in the office to be honest. Now people are going to waste time commuting. Office chatter doesn't help working quicker either.

[Ban Hammer 13,518]

23 minutes ago, OldUser said:

I don't see a direct correlation between productivity and working in the office to be honest. Now people are going to waste time commuting. Office chatter doesn't help working quicker either.

not all of them are productive.  i've seen emails replied to like they were sent usps.

[yuna628 9,712]

12 hours ago, OldUser said:

I don't see a direct correlation between productivity and working in the office to be honest. Now people are going to waste time commuting. Office chatter doesn't help working quicker either.

It's amazing how much work my husband can get done at home, and then when he goes to the office cannot because people refuse to shut up and the computer systems are so old they barely function. Half of the time the rest of the employees are just standing around doing nothing but chatting loudly, then go take extended lunches, and then by that time are leaving to pick up the kids. Complete waste of time. And yes, he can see when they are slacking off at home too, but for the most part there is far more productivity. It's a healthier environment overall being home - home cooked lunches instead of fast food that we can eat together on lunch break, no commuting, and even when it's bad weather you're still able to work. 

 

I don't know why people think it will somehow speed up the USCIS. We know the reasons why they are slow, and they were slow well before remote work was a thing.

[Dashinka 24,778]

On 1/21/2025 at 9:41 AM, yuna628 said:

It's amazing how much work my husband can get done at home, and then when he goes to the office cannot because people refuse to shut up and the computer systems are so old they barely function. Half of the time the rest of the employees are just standing around doing nothing but chatting loudly, then go take extended lunches, and then by that time are leaving to pick up the kids. Complete waste of time. And yes, he can see when they are slacking off at home too, but for the most part there is far more productivity. It's a healthier environment overall being home - home cooked lunches instead of fast food that we can eat together on lunch break, no commuting, and even when it's bad weather you're still able to work. 

 

I don't know why people think it will somehow speed up the USCIS. We know the reasons why they are slow, and they were slow well before remote work was a thing.

WFH is really dependent on the situation of the individual.  In my case, I can be very productive at home as I do not have any distractions such as small children, or other things.  I did a study with some co-workers, and the results were mixed.  I would say about 85% of those surveyed from my office wanted flexibility to WFH when needed, and the other 15% were either complete in office (too many distractions at home, having a need for some human contact, etc.), or complete WFH (no point going to the office to sit and look at their screen).  I myself fall into the 85% as there is some value with in person collaboration, but there are a lot of tools if that is not possible.  I like the flexibility, for instance today, we got 3-5 inches of snow in the AM, so why get on the roads to the office taking an extra 30-60 minutes to get to the office.  Instead I was able to start working around 5am, and am now just taking a short break.  I suggested to my wife that she should WFH today, but she decided to head to the office, it took her an extra 1.5 hrs to get there, essentially crawling at 25 mph.

 

There is a bit of hypocrisy with the senior leadership at large global companies.  They preach in person collaboration, but when it comes to collaborating with colleagues on the other side of the planet, we cannot travel there (even once or twice a year), but instead must use our collaboration tools provided by IT.

[Neonred 3,646]

Job wise I am 100% more productive when I am in the office.

 

[Crazy Cat 42,230]

On 1/21/2025 at 8:41 AM, yuna628 said:

It's amazing how much work my husband can get done at home,

That is great.  A lot pf people don't have that kind of discipline.

[Boiler 46,070]

Has he considered all the Federal Employees who have children to look after, dogs to walk?

 

 

[Dashinka 24,778]

6 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Has he considered all the Federal Employees who have children to look after, dogs to walk?

 

 

Entitled Deep Stater it appears.

[KMG 140]

While I agree, that many people can be more productive at home, which benefits many industries,  there is also a concern of personal information in people's homes and having no idea who is viewing the screen if the federal employee walks away to use the restroom, etc. Federal employees have access to a lot of people's info...

[Boiler 46,070]

I remember a friend of mind a long time ago, we called him At Lunch because when you called him his Secretary would usually say he was at lunch.

 

He came early to WFH, a big exponent.