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A federal review has urged policymakers to reissue guidance on remote working across agencies, despite the Trump administration’s decision to bring the majority of government employees back to physical offices five days per week.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that thousands of federal workers, including military spouses and employees with disabilities, continue to operate remotely under approved exceptions. While the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had previously directed agencies to study the effects of remote work on recruitment and operations, that guidance was withdrawn in August 2024.
“Conducting such assessments would provide agencies with important insights into how their use of remote work could be improved,” the GAO stated.
The OPM defended its decision to cancel the prior guidance, arguing it had not produced actionable data and was inconsistent with current White House policy. Even so, the agency confirmed plans to collect additional data to evaluate “the benefits and costs when offering remote work positions.”
Remote hiring expands applicant reach
In June 2024, more than 207,000 employees across 24 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies worked remotely, accounting for roughly 9% of the total federal workforce. Those employees were based in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
GAO’s findings pointed to clear hiring advantages for agencies that offered flexible roles. Job announcements that allowed for remote work attracted an average of 366 applications, compared to just 51 for on-site-only listings. The report concluded that agencies with a higher share of remote job postings were better positioned to meet recruitment goals for mission-critical roles.
The GAO issued one recommendation for OPM - reinstate agency-level assessments to evaluate both the benefits and the financial tradeoffs of remote arrangements. OPM partially agreed, stating it would rely on future data collection efforts rather than reissuing the canceled directive.
Census and private firms show remote persistence
The push-and-pull over federal remote work comes as national trends show continued employer interest in hybrid models. Stanford economist Nick Bloom highlighted findings from the US Census Bureau’s survey of 150,000 firms conducted between November 2024 and January 2025.
The survey found that most employers plan to maintain at least one work-from-home day per week through 2029. Industry-specific differences remain stark, with tech sector employees enjoying the most flexibility and food service workers the least.
“Will this stop the misleading anecdotes from some execs, office brokers and management ‘experts’ claiming that WFH is ending? No – probably not – but at least we know the truth,” Bloom wrote on LinkedIn.
