Remote workers are a subset of those eligible to telework and may include, but are not limited to, employees working under reasonable accommodations and military spouses. Image: Tony Quinn/Shutterstock.com

Among the more striking statistics in a new OMB report on federal employees’ on-site versus off-site work — and one that will also likely attract the attention of members of Congress skeptical of off-site work — is the fact that one-tenth of federal employees work off-site full-time.

The report shows that the 24 ministries and the largest independent agencies employed a total of 2,277,000 people in May. They make up all but two percent of federal employees. Of these, 1,220,000 must work full-time on-site and 1,057,000 are allowed to work outside the office – 228,000 from home.

When working remotely, an employee is not expected to report to an agency on a regular basis, whereas telecommuting requires them to do so.

This report came just days after OPM issued separate guidance to agencies to help them decide whether a remote work assignment is appropriate given the nature of the job and the value of in-person interaction—the latter of which is especially worth considering for new hires.

In that report, OPM stated that “although telework has become more commonplace since the pandemic, only a relatively small percentage of federal employees have telework arrangements” – which is likely to raise questions on Capitol Hill about whether 10 percent is considered “relatively small.”

The OMB report added: “Teleworkers are a subset of those eligible to telework and may include employees working under reasonable conditions, spouses of military personnel, domestic workers teleworking overseas, and a certain number of employees better classified as mobile workers. Some agencies also have large numbers of short-term or overdue employees in telework roles tailored to specific mission requirements (e.g., most of the SBA’s teleworkers are in temporary disaster roles, the NSF’s temporary experts and consultants (less than 130 workdays/year are teleworkers).”

By including part-time and non-permanent employees in the numbers, the OMB data also complicates another key set of numbers in the report, namely the total number of employees in federal buildings. This has become a major problem in efforts to encourage or force agencies to reduce their use of space and save the associated costs.

According to the report, teleworkers, excluding contingent workers, spend 61.2 percent of their hours on-site. That’s actually above the administration’s overall goal of 50 percent teleworker on-site work. However, the report says even agencies where the average is less than half — including VA, Commerce, Education, HUD, Labor, GSA, EPA, NSF, NRC, SSA and Treasury — are still being pushed to reduce on-site work to meet the 50 percent goal.

The report also says that 79.4 percent of total hours are worked on-site when counting full-time on-site employees and telecommuters. However, this figure again excludes the share of the workforce that works from home. Including them would reduce this number, although the exact amount would depend on the actual hours worked by part-time and on-demand workers in this category.

White House defends offsite work and pushes for lower prices

Report on offsite work shows little impact on productivity and space utilization

Remote work is ‘not appropriate’ in some situations, OPM tells agencies

Senate supports standard 2 percent pay raise for federal employees; location-dependent share likely to be 0.5

Major bills in the Senate and House of Representatives differ on many federal jobs issues

FERS employees could soon reach the TSP investment limit and miss out on matching contributions

See also,

Deferred and deferred pensions under CSRS and FERS

FEHB insurance for young adult children

How children’s eligibility for state benefits is changing

Is 100 percent in the C fund a good idea?

Best TSP Investment Strategies in 2024

My career in public service. Was it a good decision to leave the private sector?

You have $1.5 million in your TSP? Don’t worry, FERS and Social Security will make up for it

Calculator: Check out your pension estimate!

FERS Retirement Guide 2024