Adapting to return to office for employees, leadership, and families 

• By: Brandie Vance, LSW | Social Worker- NPN Case management

In early January, the Trump administration announced a new policy, tasking all departments and agencies to take necessary steps to return employees to in-person office roles on a full-time basis. Since then, millions of federal workers have returned to the office. This has led employees, leadership and management, and families of workers to adapt to a new normal, including potentially implementing new strategies for childcare, looking after relatives, transportation, and understanding what benefits are available to them through the government. 

This need for adaptation is not solely required of federal workers – early this month, Governor Newsom of California implemented a new policy requiring at least four days a week in office for government workers. This comes at a time when many leading corporations are implementing return to office (RTO) policies as well, as the lasting effects of the pandemic on the workforce begin to decrease in their influence. 

As this widespread evolution of workforce strategies and policies continues, it’s important that federal workers understand what support is available to them and their families, and that management and leadership communicate details around these benefits, and support workers in readjusting to a full-time office schedule. 

Communication and readjustment of home and office lives 

As workers return to the office, management should ensure they are fully aware of assistance that is available to them and their families. Federal agencies provide a variety of benefits to support workers with children, including on-site childcare, referral services, and childcare subsidy programs, to name a few. Workers may also have access to the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account program, which can help support in affording childcare or camps. 

Other offerings can include broader childcare subsidies for lower income families, guides to identifying quality childcare options, worksite lactation options for new and/or expecting parents, and educational training, which can include webinars, lunches, or other formats. Beyond children, workers can find resources if they are caring for aging parents, elderly relatives, or family members with special needs. 

It is key, however, that agency leadership fully inform their workforce of the specifics of the benefits, support systems, and resources available to them, as they can vary across agencies. As workers adjust from work from home (WFH) or hybrid work schedules, it is crucial that they be supported in the transition back to office through fostering a productive work environment and providing resources to ensure that their home lives remain as unchanged as possible. 

Creating a productive work environment 

The mission of creating a productive and supportive work environment and strong culture should be top of mind for leadership and management as the largest workforce in the country returns to the office. Key strategies include creating a collaborative workplace that supports ideation, new efficiencies, and cross-disciplinary efforts that source expertise from a number of teams. 

Other points of emphasis should be placed on mentorship programs, training and development of new skills that provide workers with the opportunity to grow and set them up to find success in other roles or with other agencies. With the goal of creating a high-functioning workforce that supports people across America, it is paramount that federal workers be diverse in their skillsets and prepared for the next steps in their careers. 

For management and leadership, these strategies will also be necessary during the RTO transition to mitigate against concerns around employee retention and workers who may be hesitant to work in the office five days a week. By creating a strong federal workforce culture, retention and recruitment can be improved at the same time. 

Conclusion 

With millions of workers returning to in-office roles in the federal government, and many more returning to state government roles as new policies are put into place, the burden on leadership to streamline the transition will be significant. But through implementation of strategies that create a productive atmosphere that reintegrates workers into these new schedules, and through comprehensive education around family and childcare benefits, workers can have fewer obstacles in their way as they adapt their office and home lives, and operations can be expected to continue without interruption.