Conflicting Data on Federal Teleworkers

Federal teleworkers have come under increasing scrutiny as a slew of legislation has been proposed to address what some lawmakers perceive as a problem that diminishes government productivity. However, there seems to be some confusion regarding how many federal employees telework and how often.

Out of Office

A federal telework report from the office of Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, titled Out of Office points out that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, only three percent of the federal workforce teleworked on a daily basis, a figure provided by Memorandum M-21-25. The report continues by stating that pandemic-era policies have become a “presumed public employee perk,” which has led to only six percent of employees working in-person full-time while nearly a third of the government workforce is entirely remote.

But these later figures were taken from an April 2024 Federal News Network article and are the result of “a non-scientific survey of respondents who self-reported that they are current federal employees, and who were self-selected.” A recent OMB report paints a much different picture.

OMB Report to Congress

Appropriations legislation passed by Congress for fiscal year 2024 mandated that the White House provide extensive data on federal agency telework practices. The Office of Management and Budget delivered this to Congress in August, via a nearly 3,000-page report, which also addresses under-utilized office space.

By the Numbers – As of May 2024

• The federal government employs 2.28 million civilian personnel
• 54% or 1.2 million work entirely in person due to the nature of their positions
• 46.4% or 1.1 million are telework eligible
• 10% or 228,000 work fully remote with no expectation of in-person work
• 79.4% of all hours worked by federal employees were in person*
• 61.2% of all hours worked by telework-eligible federal employees were in person*

* Excludes remote workers that don’t have a work site

The OMB clarifies that these are averages based on a government-wide snapshot and there is variation by agency on the amount of time teleworkers report in-person. You can access the full report here.

Continued Legislative Action

Lawmakers have introduced several bills proposing various changes to teleworking policies, from returning to office to monitoring productivity.

• Federal Employee Return to Work Act – would eliminate locality pay for those who telework at least one day per week.
• REMOTE Act – would require software to monitor employees’ computer use and tie performance reviews to productivity.

Several other acts have been proposed to assess the impacts of teleworkers on government efficiency and productivity and establish guidelines for the future. With change on the horizon, it’s a good time to speak with a Federal Retirement Consultant who can assess your financial situation and help you prepare for the future.