Getting federal employees back to the office

OPINION:

President-elect Donald Trump’s dictate that federal workers should be working in their offices and not remotely has great appeal and would likely make the government more efficient. Some remote workers do well and put in 100% effort. At the same time, many more who are paid to work full time put in far less time than that, using the time for child care, watching Netflix and other personal interests.

Unfortunately, there is no accurate data on the productivity of remote federal workers — a workforce that has become greatly bloated during the Biden administration. It is also the case that remote workers have almost no interaction with either their management or their co-workers. In virtually no case can these remote workers deal “in person” with anybody, as all interactions have become virtual.

Mr. Trump’s idea of returning to an actual office could solve many of these problems. It is the same approach that both Elon Musk, who did this at X with great success, as well as JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon with the bank’s employees, with success as well. That said, it is easier said than done.

Where are these workers?

It is possible to think that the remote federal workforce is relatively near the offices they don’t use, which amounts to well over 90% of the federal workforce. Office space that the government is spending billions on is almost a ghost town.

While some of the remote workers are nearby, a significant fraction of these people have moved to California, Colorado and elsewhere — not exactly a quick drive from their “office” in Washington. Many employees of the National Institutes of Health appear to be in this category. Forcing their “return” would involve relocating their home, family and other considerations. Doubtless many will scream bloody murder in the process.

A larger group of these remote federal workers do live in areas around the District, Maryland and Virginia but have never been in their assigned office and may not even know where it is. Many have been hired since the COVID-19 pandemic started receding and began their federal service doing their job remotely, even though there was no guarantee that this would last forever — as President Biden is trying to do on his way out the door. Probably few have a parking place, and no computer or working phone in their assigned office that has not been permanently set to call-forward.

Gridlock on I-95

Consider the case of well-intentioned federal workers trying to heed Mr. Trump’s desire that they come to work — many of whom have long ago found more affordable housing in Maryland and Northern Virginia. Years ago, before COVID-19, morning and evening traffic on Interstate 95 into Washington was already gridlocked.

Now, with a far larger number of federal employees and contractors trying to get to work on I-95 and other key arteries, these highways cannot accommodate the load. Mass or public transit may provide some relief — but probably not much. A few civil servants may take to sleeping in their offices or nearby hotels during the workweek, but this is no long-term solution and does not make for happy families.

Still others may elect to move into Washington or other areas closer to their assigned workplace, where they can take the Metro or even walk to work. Doubtless many could use the exercise. In reality, however, there is limited housing in Washington in areas that are considered safe. For those with school-age children, there are few good options.

Shrinking a bloated workforce

Mr. Trump’s statement that those who still want to work remotely should do so — but not for the federal government — may be a blessing in disguise. As the informal Department of Government Efficiency is finding out, there are way too many people on the federal payroll now, and an even larger contractor base burning billions on useless programs.

Clearly there will be some disruptions in ending remote work, and there is some unknown percentage of the federal workforce that will leave for the private sector — even some doing important and essential jobs. In the end, however, this is a small price to pay for getting the nation back on track to a government that the taxpayers can afford that makes use of the workplaces they are supposed to be using.

• Abraham Wagner has served in several national security positions, including the National Security Council staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He is the author of the 2019 book “Henry Kissinger: Pragmatic Statesman in Hostile Times.”