Federal RTO Is Backfiring on Productivity in Public Service
Chaos, frustration, and a deep sense of unease have swept through countless federal offices ever since President Donald Trump announced a blanket return-to-office mandate. For many employees, it feels like an unexpected reversal of the remote work system they had come to rely on. Where some officials once found autonomy, focus, and family balance, they now encounter daily commutes, cramped workspaces, and a scramble for the most basic supplies. Many have spoken about sitting in offices with shaky internet while logging into the same virtual meetings they previously attended from home. The order was intended to unify and boost productivity, yet numerous accounts from federal workers reveal a very different story.
Federal RTO Disruptions for Veterans and Their Caregivers
The Department of Veterans Affairs, one of the largest and most critical service agencies in the federal system, has found itself at the epicenter of the turmoil unleashed by the recent government-wide return-to-office mandates. More than twenty House Democrats recently raised alarm bells, warning that the mandate threatens not only the mental health of VA employees but also the quality of care delivered to veterans. These concerns stem from the abrupt shift away from remote work, a system that had, until recently, enabled a broad and efficient workforce to deliver services across the country—often from remote locations with limited physical infrastructure.
The sudden transition has been anything but smooth. At some VA facilities, employees report being crammed into inadequate workspaces, including makeshift offices in converted showers and crowded open floor plans that threaten both professionalism and privacy. These are not isolated anecdotes but rather symptoms of a broader dysfunction. Mental health counselors who once led private, secure telehealth sessions now scramble to maintain confidentiality behind thin cubicle dividers while coworkers conduct noisy calls nearby. For a system built on trust, this erosion of professional standards isn’t just demoralizing—it directly impacts veterans’ access to care.
What’s more, thousands of these employees were hired with the understanding that their roles were remote by design. Forcing them into physical offices not only disregards operational efficiency but also threatens the continuity of care in essential services like trauma counseling, case management, and behavioral health. As lawmakers push for exemptions and reexaminations of the blanket policy, one truth is becoming increasingly evident: a rigid one-size-fits-all approach is undercutting the very mission it aims to uphold.
From Teleradiology to Toilet Paper Shortages
The Veterans Health Administration isn’t alone in facing operational gridlock. The American College of Radiology has voiced grave concerns about the impact of the mandate on the VA’s National Teleradiology Program, which processes more than 1.5 million imaging exams annually. These radiologists, previously functioning with precision and speed from decentralized locations, are now being asked to work from centralized offices—an adjustment that experts warn will bog down turnaround times and, ultimately, delay diagnosis and treatment for veterans.
Dr. Dana H. Smetherman, CEO of the ACR, highlighted the chain reaction this shift could spark: overcrowded radiology centers, physician burnout, and cascading delays that impact clinical outcomes. It’s a logistics nightmare rooted not in technological constraints but in a policy misalignment with the realities of modern healthcare delivery. Worse still, this disruption doesn’t just threaten today’s efficiency—it puts the training of tomorrow’s radiologists at risk by reducing mentoring capacity within already-stretched teams.
But even beyond medical services, the mandate has exposed severe infrastructure shortfalls across multiple agencies. At the IRS, for example, a federal spending cap of just $1 per purchase has led to startling shortages of basic office necessities, from soap to paper towels. At the Department of Agriculture, the chaos manifests in IT bottlenecks and Wi-Fi failures as staffers struggle with unfamiliar on-site systems. In one case, employees hired for fully remote positions now find themselves conducting private meetings from parked cars outside agency buildings due to inadequate workspace. Ironically, many are still using Microsoft Teams and other virtual tools—only now with more stress, less efficiency, and significantly higher overhead.
Working Moms and the Economic Ripple of Federal RTO
Nowhere are the consequences of these mandates more profound than in the lives of working mothers, especially those without a co-parent to share the burden. One long-tenured federal employee, a single mother, was compelled to resign after receiving a non-negotiable return-to-office directive. Her story is a stark example of the impossible choices many women face in this new landscape: continue earning a living or be there for your child.
For her, remote work wasn’t a luxury—it was a lifeline that allowed her to keep a career while being a present and dependable parent. Losing that balance meant losing the job altogether. Another mother, employed by the Department of Homeland Security, managed to remain in her role but only after scrambling to secure daycare at $1,600 per month—a cost that now strains her family budget to the breaking point.
The broader implications are alarming. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 60% of women say job flexibility is a deciding factor in accepting employment. That figure becomes even more telling when considering that women are either the sole or co-breadwinners in over half of American families. Federal data already shows that women account for just 45% of the government workforce, trailing the private sector’s 58%. If the current trend continues, the federal government could see a mass exodus of experienced female professionals, setting back years of progress in gender equity.
Kate Bahn, chief economist at the IWPR, warns that these losses won’t stay confined to individual households. They ripple outward, weakening organizational performance, reducing overall economic productivity, and stifling diversity in critical leadership pipelines. When working parents leave or reduce hours due to inflexible mandates, it’s not just talent that’s lost—it’s institutional knowledge, community trust, and the potential for a more inclusive and innovative public service ecosystem.
An Unraveling Standard
What’s unfolding across federal agencies is more than a policy disagreement—it’s a deterioration of morale, productivity, and the psychological contract between government employees and their leadership. While return-to-office mandates were framed as a means of reuniting teams and driving cohesion, in practice they’ve led to scattered workforces, diluted efficiency, and a pronounced decline in well-being.
Reports from the Department of Defense and the Department of Housing and Urban Development detail surging rates of burnout, anxiety, and even depressive episodes. For many, the daily grind has become both physically and emotionally exhausting. A worker from the Army Futures Command recounted how flexible hours once allowed for concentrated focus during off-peak times, especially for time-sensitive projects. Now, fixed schedules and mandatory commutes have undone that progress, with no measurable gain in collaboration or outcomes.
This sentiment echoes through hallways and government forums alike: workers are eager to contribute, committed to public service, and proud of their roles. But they’re equally exhausted by policies that ignore the nuanced realities of their work and lives. From teleradiologists to tax examiners to trauma therapists, the through line is clear—mandates that disregard flexibility are draining purpose and performance alike.
Congressional voices, veteran advocacy groups, and professional associations continue to advocate for reform. They argue that adaptive, role-based work policies aren’t just a kindness to employees—they’re essential to the functioning of an effective, resilient public sector. The question remains whether those in power will listen before more skilled workers walk away.
In an era where trust in government is already fragile, this crisis of workplace policy risks compounding institutional weaknesses. The future of federal work doesn’t need to mirror the past. It demands creativity, empathy, and a willingness to embrace what the last few years have taught us: flexible work isn’t a threat to productivity—it’s a pathway to sustaining it.
Key Take-Away
Federal RTO mandates have sparked chaos across agencies—disrupting veteran care, driving out working moms, and straining infrastructure. Share on XImage credit: Ketut Subiyanto/pexels
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was named “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times for helping leaders overcome frustrations with hybrid work and Generative AI. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Gleb wrote seven best-selling books, and his two most recent ones are Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams and ChatGPT for Thought Leaders and Content Creators: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI for Innovative and Effective Content Creation. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist, with 8 years as a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill and 7 years as a professor at Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.