The share of federal employees working in-office is up sharply from last year, rising nearly 30 points in the second quarter to 46%, according to a Gallup survey released on Wednesday.
That means federal government workers are now twice as likely to work in-office as employees overall nationwide, as nationwide only 21% of employees in remote-capable jobs were working fully on-site.
The return to in-office work by federal employees followed President Donald Trump's return-to-office order, issued when he began his second term in January. Axios reported the move was part of the administration's early efforts to encourage federal workers to leave their jobs.
The order also signaled early on that the administration would not honor contracts the government had signed with federal unions, many of which guaranteed hybrid and remote work arrangements, Axios reported. Since the order was signed, nearly half a million federal employees have been stripped of their union rights.
But despite the push inside and outside government for employees to return to offices, Gallup found hybrid work arrangements are here to stay, with 51% of workers in such setups.
Gallup surveyed 17,660 adults working full- or part-time, focusing on those in "remote-capable" jobs — about half. Within that group, Gallup analyzed responses from 542 federal employees.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.