As debates intensify in Congress over whether federal employees should be required to return to the office, a new study sheds light on the potential benefits of allowing public sector workers to continue teleworking.
Alessandra Fenizia and Tom Kirchmaier, researchers from the George Washington University and the London School of Economics, focus on productivity effects of work-from-home arrangements in public sector jobs. The results show that public employees working remotely recorded a 12 percent increase in productivity compared to when they were in the office — a remarkable finding that runs counter to the assumptions underlying current Congressional proposals to force federal employees back into the office.
The pressure for federal workers to return to the office has been mounting. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have introduced the Back to Work Act, which seeks to limit telework to a maximum of 40 percent of workdays, arguing that taxpayer-funded office space remains underused and federal offices are largely empty. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) has sponsored a parallel bill in the House, contending that telework impedes the federal government’s ability to effectively achieve its mission and deliver services.
The prevailing sentiment is that physical presence ensures better accountability and productivity. However, the study’s findings suggest that these arguments might be more rooted in perception than reality.
The Fenizia and Kirchmeier study, which evaluated detailed administrative data from........