Maddy McCarty’s Post

Given the moves back to full-time office working for some and the increase in flexible working by others, I found this an interesting read. South Cambridgeshire District Council pilots a four-day week and enjoys faster decision-making, increased staff retention and budget savings with just a couple of factors seeing a minor decrease in performance. Is it time to reopen the wider conversation with the changes in tech, business culture and staffing pressures? https://lnkd.in/e4R3gxK2 #Flexibleworking #hybrid #FourDayWeek

While noting the lack of data on public servant productivity and the difficulty of meaduring it ( made even harder when a new government renders allbthebproductive output of previous governments "waste," by dunping policy work or outcomes with or without good evidence), the later paragraphs of this article does include a graph and other key points about bad things if you force public servants back to work in the office. I especially like the data on office space costs and the final paragraph. https://lnkd.in/gm-i4gkx

In our Q3 Flex Report for 2024, we observe striking regional differences in work location flexibility across the United States. The South stands out, claiming most of the top spots for states with the highest percentage of firms requiring full-time in-office presence for corporate employees. Mississippi leads with 32%, followed closely by Kansas and Arkansas. We'll keep tracking these trends to see if full-time office requirements in these states continue to rise or decline. Read the full report 👉https://bit.ly/4cz9f2E

NYT “#Almost all U.S. #cities have been #hit hard by #workers turning #away from #downtown offices, #but few have been hit #harder than #Washington. The #International Monetary Fund recently #identified Washington as #one of the #three American #cities with #especially weak #commercial real estate #sectors. But #unlike the #other two, #Seattle and #San Francisco, #Washington is #not a #technology hub #but a #company town that #relies on a #single employer to a #degree not seen #elsewhere. The #local economy is #powered by about 160,000 #federal workers in the #district, who are #only now #slowly returning to their #workplaces from their #suburban home offices. #Last fall, an #annual survey of 625,568 #federal workers #found that #more than #two-thirds were #still working #remotely some of the #time. Nina Albert, the #district’s deputy mayor for #planning and #economic development, said #working with the #federal government to #persuade #workers to #return to the #office was a “#challenge.”

Glasgow as a city has the highest proportion of Public Sector workers of any other city in the UK, with over 50% of buildings public sector owned. It's interesting to read the results of the action taken in South Cambridgeshire District Council’s controversial experiment of reducing to a 4-day working week, but how many of these workers carried out their work sitting behind their desk at home? What is the current utilisation in the offices post-pandemic? We all talk about how we can get the local economy growing, increase development, and see our city thrive. Is this one of the answers on a local level? https://lnkd.in/eQJv5J_5

Almost all U.S. cities have been hit hard by workers turning away from downtown offices, but few have been hit harder than Washington. The International Monetary Fund recently identified Washington as one of the three American cities with especially weak commercial real estate sectors. But unlike the other two, Seattle and San Francisco, Washington is not a technology hub but a company town that relies on a single employer to a degree not seen elsewhere. The local economy is powered by about 160,000 federal workers in the district, who are only now slowly returning to their workplaces from their suburban home offices. Last fall, an annual survey of 625,568 federal workers found that more than two-thirds were still working remotely some of the time. Nina Albert, the district’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said working with the federal government to persuade workers to return to the office was a “challenge.” “We would like the federal government to make a more concerted effort to have people return to office because we think it’s better for the federal government — as well as better for us,” she said. Those dynamics have put real estate companies and local businesses at odds with the federal government. The businesses said the thousands of federal workers still sitting in their suburban home offices were hastening Washington’s fiscal and social decline. “The federal government is now a drag rather than a benefit to the district,” said Steven Teitelbaum, a former real estate lawyer who now teaches at American University. A collapse of the commercial real estate market — vacancy rates climbed above 20 percent in Washington at the end of 2023 — would affect not only landlords and developers but also the district itself. As buildings lose value, tax revenue could decline: Last year, the city’s chief financial officer projected Washington could stand to lose $464 million from 2024 to 2026. Executive branch agencies have issued return-to-office plans, but, in a town with strong worker protections, those directives can be difficult to enforce. Each agency has its own return-to-office rules. In September, the Department of Justice told its 115,000 employees (about 20 percent of whom work in Washington) that they were expected to work in the office for six days every two weeks. However, the notice made it clear that managers could issue exceptions to the new rule. And it was unclear how the six-day minimum would be enforced.

Great observations Marilyn. I think it is time for another workplace survey and evaluation about the success of this decision? The results might be surprising...or unwanted! I suppose there is no tweak possible in this policy, and yet I understand the concern about 'presenteesim'. Just go to Costco on a Friday afternoon or any afternoon...jam packed... Anecdotally, I find in my wandering around the public service the same scenarios you describe. Employees going in dutifully only to find collaboration spaces empty, team members distributed in different buildings (still isolated), and admonishments from senior executives about how the stats are not favourable. Plus...no suggestions on what to do, actions to be taken are unidentified, and above all no dialogue on how to do best work in a hybrid workplace. Apologies about the negativity. My whole career has been about contributing to achieving excellence in the public service. Change management is about full engagement to execute with best results in mind, testing for inclusiveness and then course correcting! #changemanagement #transformation #values #leadership

Great to see Gusto sick time and PTO data included in this article. We found that during election weeks in 2016 and in 2020, workers were taking 10% more sick time than in comparable non-election years. Thanks Te-Ping Chen for reaching out about this!

Attention Canadian Federal Public Servants - Re: Return to Office Changes See the post below from Ksenia Cheinman and link to help you send a message to communicate your support of teleworking / virtual working. This is an equity issue, talent pool issue, effectiveness and efficiency issue, cost saving issue for the government and employees, environmental issue, quality of life issue. As a neurodivergent member of the workforce who has a desk job, I find I am a great deal more productive (more work and better work) when I work from home with very limited distractions. I also find I can equally collaborate with my nationally distributed colleagues as or more effectively from home. Going to the office for a virtual meeting has no added value. Yes, there are also quality of life benefits, that come at no negative cost to the employer. Teleworking / virtual working is a win-win on numerous dimensions for all parties. #EvidenceBasedDecisionMaking #RemoteWorkWorks

As a working mum with a young child, flexible working is essential for my work/life/family balance. The NSW Government, the biggest employer in the country, has made a hugely sad and disappointing decision to end flexible work for working parents. A blanket, one-size-fits-all policy is extremely short-sighted in 2024. Managing a workforce of over 400,000, many of whom are front-line workers, is complex, but a one-size-fits-all approach isn't the answer. Ending flexible working arrangements undermines the progress made in diversity, inclusion, and work-life balance for workers. It's essential to consider the varied needs of a diverse workforce. It feels like we are being dragged back to 2019..... I'm sure this is not the end of the of the return to office debate https://lnkd.in/eDHy-AgP #flexiblework