President Donald Trump’s push to bring federal employees back to the office has led to a significant increase in the share of government workers coming back to the office, new data show.
The percentage of federal employees working on-site is up to 46 percent, a nearly 30 point increase from last year, according to Gallup data released Wednesday. Federal employees have returned to the office in significantly greater numbers than Americans overall: Only 21 percent of workers with remote-capable jobs are working on site full time and 51 percent are in hybrid arrangements.
Gallup polled 17,660 adults working full-time or part-time with a focus on jobs that employees can work remotely. The survey included 542 federal employees.
It marks a victory for Trump’s effort to end remote work throughout the federal government and better monitor federal employees to ensure productivity and compliance with his agenda. On day one, Trump instructed federal agencies to end remote work and require employees to return to the office.
The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget quickly issued guidance for agencies to implement Trump’s plans and bring employees back to the office. With help from the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump has reduced the federal workforce and targeted government unions that openly oppose his administration’s agenda.
“The days of bureaucrats working from home in bubble baths or phoning it in from the golf course are over,” said Senator Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), a leading crusader against remote work and government inefficiency.
“I partnered with the Trump administration to stop telework abuse after exposing that just 6% of telework eligible federal employees were showing up to work under Biden. The Gallup poll confirms that Washington is back in the office and serving the American people,” she added.
Ernst released a report last year showing only 6 percent of federal employees worked in the office full-time, even though the U.S. government spent billions of taxpayer dollars maintaining office buildings. She has led the charge to sell unused government buildings and compel employees to return to the office with the goal of spurring productivity.
“There is no time to rest on this victory! Next, I will work to consolidate unused office space and sell off the thousands of vacant and underutilized buildings that cost taxpayers billions of dollars,” she said.
Maintaining and leasing government buildings costs an estimated $8 billion annually. Another $7.7 billion is spent on energy bills to keep the facilities running. Selling them could be a quick revenue generator, although it will not make a noticeable impact on the national debt.