Govt Work at Home May Be Over

[SamSpade]

Ive known a couple empty buildings on base, it has nothing to do with employment or teleworking, they are basically condemned and awaiting the slow government process of approval to be torn down and replaced.

Some years back the entire site of our compound went through asbestos abatement - at any given time, as much as half of the building was empty. But never fear! We were still there - just either in trailers or other offices we rented out - or in a few cases, crammed into another building on site.

Occupancy rate doesn't say anything.

 

[SamSpade]

If you signed a Telework agreement... ANY telework agreement through PAX (local or remote) there is a stipulation that is agreed to that you can be recalled to PAX for any reason and at any time. At least that is what the SES told me when we were discussing it.

I don't work at PAX. I have no knowledge of these.

Simple. You posted:

• Among all federal employees, excluding remote workers that do not have a work-site to
  report to, 79.4% of regular, working hours were spent in-person.

And I asked "If they have no work site to report to, then WHERE ARE THEY SPENDING THEIR TIME "IN PERSON?"

So, non-remote teleworking federal employees are spending almost 80% of their work time reporting in-person to NOWHERE?

STILL not following you. REMOTE workers don't have a site - non-remote ones - do. I don't see your confusion.

 

[SamSpade]

They are spending their time working at a remote location. They report at a remote location. Not really difficult to understand that, is it?

We have THAT also - usually for those for whom a remote office that isn't home is more convenient. I've never used those.
Some people do NOT have a home setup OR a home suitable for telework, so they report to an office away from HQ.

 

[stgislander]

As an American taxpayer I want the government to have the smallest possible physical footprint as possible. Why not let your employees pay for their office expenses, the cost to heat their workspaces, even their toilet paper.

If I remember correctly, all these expenses can still be charged back to your employer.

 

[SamSpade]

If I remember correctly, all these expenses can still be charged back to your employer.

If that's true I don't know anyone who has ever done that. I suspect I might be missing out on a tax break or two also.
FWIW - all of my telework equipment - laptop, headphones etc - are from work. I agree to take care of them.

 

[stgislander]

If that's true I don't know anyone who has ever done that. I suspect I might be missing out on a tax break or two also.
FWIW - all of my telework equipment - laptop, headphones etc - are from work. I agree to take care of them.

But you can still write them off on your taxes correct?

 

[SamSpade]

But you can still write them off on your taxes correct?

No I think I can claim an office space on taxes - maybe. I suspect it only pertains to running a home business.
I think the tax laws allow you to deduct the percentage of the home used as an office and deduct accordingly.
AND - I think it just pertains to stuff like rent or mortgage - not toilet paper or heat.

I think I looked years ago and decided I wasn't eligible. I'm on eleven years of working partly from home.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Simple. You posted:

• Among all federal employees, excluding remote workers that do not have a work-site to
  report to, 79.4% of regular, working hours were spent in-person.

So, non-remote teleworking federal employees are spending almost 80% of their work time reporting in-person to NOWHERE?

Do you not see the word excluding in there?

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[LtownTaxpayer]

Ive known a couple empty buildings on base, it has nothing to do with employment or teleworking, they are basically condemned and awaiting the slow government process of approval to be torn down and replaced.

Want to see an unused government facility go to Lakehurst, the government could get a ton for that land, except it would probably be an EPA Superfund site before it could be released by the government. I was told not to drink the water (never do at military bases). It seriously looks like a landscape from The Walking Dead

Depending on why they were condemned, you may see a miraculous resurrection of those buildings. Our mom worked for PW at Pax River. There were multiple buildings that were condemned and later brought back on line. If one board was left of the original, it was repair work. Chiefs Club is the classic example.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Depending on why they were condemned, you may see a miraculous resurrection of those buildings. Our mom worked for PW at Pax River. There were multiple buildings that were condemned and later brought back on line. If one board was left of the original, it was repair work. Chiefs Club is the classic example.

Oh they are gone now, one is a flat field and another had a parking lot built over it with a new building nearby.

 

[OccamsRazor]

Do you not see the word excluding in there?

Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words

The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years!

www.dictionary.com

Regardless, I still think its BS.

80% of their time was spent in-person? Laughable Unless the "in-person" part means they actually were inside their home instead of at Target or building their deck.

 

[thurley42]

Depending on why they were condemned, you may see a miraculous resurrection of those buildings. Our mom worked for PW at Pax River. There were multiple buildings that were condemned and later brought back on line. If one board was left of the original, it was repair work. Chiefs Club is the classic example.

My office is in a bldg that was formerly condemned. We secured the funding to renovate it and now it only looks condemned from the outside.....can't have people driving by and seeing something nice....

 

[LtownTaxpayer]

Oh they are gone now, one is a flat field and another had a parking lot built over it with a new building nearby.

Pax River? Or Dahlgren.

 

[LightRoasted]

For your consideration ...

Please let us know which bodily orifice you pulled that 20% error rate amount.

I was simply saying to reduce the calculable possible building occupancy rate by 20% in response to Prople's Elbow post of me, "making the assumption building capacity is the number of employees they have."

If the total of all those building's occupancy capacity, is a possible 38,433 employees, let's say that instead of the assumption that 38,433 people occupy every available work space, at the total possible capacity, reduce it by 20%, 7,686, to get to 30,746 people working instead. Meaning a more likely number of people that actually fill those seats to account for a more probable occupancy count.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Pax River? Or Dahlgren.

PAX

 

[PeoplesElbow]

My office is in a bldg that was formerly condemned. We secured the funding to renovate it and now it only looks condemned from the outside.....can't have people driving by and seeing something nice....

That is so true, we renovated a building and someone more important came along and took it afterward. My boss was sitting in his office and some guy just came in and started measuring it.

 

[thurley42]

That is so true, we renovated a building and someone more important came along and took it afterward. My boss was sitting in his office and some guy just came in and started measuring it.

My team has had that happen twice....we learned this time.

 

[SamSpade]

That is so true, we renovated a building and someone more important came along and took it afterward. My boss was sitting in his office and some guy just came in and started measuring it.

Many years ago I got laid off under similar circumstances. A new division head came into my office - never even spoke to me. I had a large corner office to myself because my office mates had retired or relocated. He looked around. The next day I was laid off - and he moved in.

 

[SamSpade]

Regardless, I still think its BS.

80% of their time was spent in-person? Laughable Unless the "in-person" part means they actually were inside their home instead of at Target or building their deck.

This is actually fairly simple math. The numbers they use INCLUDE the huge majority of persons who ALWAYS report in person, because they are ineligible for telework or remote work.

There are about 2.7 million federal workers and about 300,000 of them work in the DC metro area. Most federal workers are never going to be working from home. Of those who are teleworking - most of those are in a hybrid category of working either from home or a designated remote place some part of the week - or in person, in some staggered desk sharing mechanism - the rest of the time.

It is not hard to figure that the total in person numbers would be high. Since only a portion of those eligible for telework make use of it - and most of it hybrid - I am surprised it isn't a little higher, since you are averaging their hours with those not teleworking at all.

 

[DogWhisperer]

People who have moved away from the location of the office during Covid will likely not return to work. I think there are a lot of people who fit into this category. Early move to where they wanted to retire when that day eventually came, and it came early in the form of Covid and offices condoning it or, more likely, were never informed of the move.