In a concerted effort, the Biden administration is calling for federal workers to abandon remote work arrangements and return to physical offices by the fall. White House chief of staff, Jeff Zients, communicated this directive in an email to cabinet members, highlighting the target timeframe of September to October for workers’ reintegration. President Biden had previously championed this cause in his March 2022 State of the Union address, urging Americans to revitalize downtown areas that have been left deserted due to empty office spaces in Washington DC.

Zients stressed the importance of in-person work for the well-being of teams and to drive better outcomes for the American people. He emphasized that this shift is a top priority for the President and called for a forceful implementation of the plan in September and October. Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, also expressed his support for this initiative, citing the detrimental impact of remote work on customer service within federal agencies.

This move to bring federal workers back to physical offices comes as office vacancy rates in DC continue to rise. Vacancies have surged from 14.8% before the pandemic to nearly 20% at the beginning of 2023. A report by the Government Accountability Office in July revealed that numerous federal agencies were utilizing only 25% or less of their headquarters’ capacity on average.

The Biden administration’s approach marks a departure from the previous trend of downsizing federal offices and transitioning to digital record-keeping during the administrations of Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Biden himself. The administration believes that resuming in-person work will amplify productivity and enable better service to the American people.