From the President NARFE’S MISSION STATEMENT To support legislation and regulations beneficial to federal civilian employees and annuitants and potential annuitants under any federal civilian retirement system and to oppose those detrimental to their interests. To promote the general welfare of federal civilian employees and annuitants and potential annuitants, to advise and assist them with respect to their rights under retirement, health and other employee and retiree benefits laws and regulations, and to represent their interests before appropriate authorities. To cooperate with other organizations and associations in furtherance of these general objectives.
Two Years Later
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n 2020, the Trump administration declared that federal agencies were moving to maximum telework due to the spread of
the COVID-19 virus. Many federal employees headed home indefinitely, while others had to continue reporting in person. Throughout the United States, there was uncertainty about the disease and how to stay safe, fear of getting sick, and logistical hurdles for everything from setting up home offices to caring for dependents. More than two years later, COVID-19 and its variants have become a part of life to an extent few people imagined. Regarding federal employees, some have switched jobs, relocated to be near family, and postponed or hastened retirement plans, while others learned how to Zoom. Many saw friends and family members fall ill. Some employees returned to the office, while others decided they will never go back. These have not been normal times. President Biden is beginning to bring employees back to traditional work sites with new telework and remote work policies that have expanded from prepandemic levels. Highlights may include a new hybrid work environment with agreements on telework and remote work. Additionally, returning to the office may include enhanced safety measures, including requiring masks in locations with high coronavirus community transmission levels and allowing managers to approve situational telework. Nailing down a policy that both works now and can scale up safety measures in the event of another flare-up of COVID-19 cases makes negotiating the return to office both frustrating and rewarding.
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NARFE MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2022
As a result of the last two years, large portions of the workforce found that they preferred to telework. Reviewing and incorporating flexibilities such as telework into departmental and agency human capital strategies and personnel policies will improve the civilian employee experience while encouraging innovation and productivity. Additionally, President Biden has signed a spending bill funding the government through September 30, 2022. In conjunction with the bill, the appropriations committees directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to make recommendations for “remote work post-pandemic,” develop a strategy for boosting the government’s cadre of employees in STEM fields, study the Department of Veterans Affairs’ streamlined hiring practices, and increase the number of interns working for federal agencies. The committees also directed OMB to report to Congress “on how the federal government can reduce its office space requirements based on lessons learned from the use of telework during the pandemic.” The bill adds funding for the IRS, enabling it to hire more employees to deal with backlogs; it also creates a new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health within the National Institutes of Health that would operate outside of most civil service rules. A lot is happening. Stay safe.
KENNETH J. THOMAS NARFE NATIONAL PRESIDENT natpres@narfe.org
