At the Internal Revenue Service, which ordered its workers back to the office four weeks ago, the $1 limit caused significant problems for those back in the office. “They have no soap, toilet paper, or paper towels anywhere in the building. Their water machine is broken. Many cannot get on LAN, and the Wi-Fi keeps going down,” one IRS employee tells WIRED. Another SSA employee says that they were told to “ration paper.”
“Supplies are limited because no one has purchasing authority,” the Treasury employee tells WIRED. “It’s a running joke that we bring our own pens and paper. We have a bit of a stock of pens in my department but can’t order more. We are out of notebooks, though there are some partially used legal pads from meetings available.”
Employees say the return-to-office mandate has also negatively impacted their productivity. “My whole team had been, probably to a fault, working long hours on quick turnaround projects,” a source at the Army Futures Command, which operates under the DOD, tells WIRED. “We were able to do a lot of this at home after dinner in the evening, because we’ve all got kids and family obligations. [Return to office] has ended all of that.”
Some federal employees say the return-to-office mandates are having a negative impact on their health.
One employee at the SSA, who identifies as queer and uses they/he pronouns, is also disabled and suffers from chronic pain and mobility issues. Still, they were left with no option but to make the long journey from their home to the office once the return-to-office mandate was enforced.
“With no car, I am walking a mile to the train, and from the station to the office on concrete and metal, limping along, using elevators when I can,” they say, adding, “While I can ask for Reasonable Accommodations, our DEI offices were gutted, so despite being directed to apply through the proper channels, there’s no one there to process them.” In the weeks since they’ve returned to the office, nothing has improved.
“I’m not sleeping well, I can’t have access to chairs and desks and monitors at proper heights to make me more comfortable,” they say. “I’ve had to start revisiting my orthopedic doctor to pursue treatments and start physical therapy again.”
A USDA employee says that returning to an office has aggravated their long-dormant carpal tunnel symptoms.
“I got an old wooden desk that is not intended to be a workplace,” the employee tells WIRED. “As a result of the table being too high for the chair they gave me, my carpel tunnel has been aggravated with numbness and piercing pain in the hand. My carpel tunnel has not been an issue for about 25 years now.”
A Treasury employee says that people on her team have had to quit due to stress stemming from the return-to-office mandate and the uncertainty of what’s next. “People here love their jobs. We love what we do,” they say. “Getting fired would mean so much more than just losing a paycheck.”
Some employees say these fears, combined with the poor working conditions, are impacting their mental health as well.
“I’m just going through a depressive episode in part because of the nonstop uncertainty and stress,” says an employee at the DOD. “Even the hardcore military bros in my agency are feeling grim about everything that’s happening.” A USDA employee told WIRED that they are now dealing with severe depression due to these mandates and general fear.
The threat of a reduction in force, or RIF, remains a constant concern for employees as they return to federal offices.
“There is just a lot of very dark humor at the office,” the Treasury employee says. “I think all of us are expecting to get RIFd or fired or something, but we are just waiting. Business as usual while everything is on fire.”