Federal workers are split on the Trump administration's return-to-office mandate, with 25% saying they are actively looking for another job, according to a new poll released Saturday by The Washington Post.
Hundreds of thousands of U.S. federal government employees, many of whom have been working from home since the COVID-19 pandemic, were ordered back to their offices full time by President Donald Trump on January 20.
Fifty percent oppose the return-to-office mandate while 49% support it.
Some workers at the Food and Drug Administration told Regulatory Focus they are considering quitting over the policy because of long commute times, lack of workspaces, difficulty parking and additional expenses.
The poll also found that among federal employees who say their duties can be performed from home, 85% oppose the return-to-office policy. But 70% who say they can't work from home back it. To date more than 100,000 workers have left the federal government after being fired or taking a buyout, according to Trump administration figures and a Reuters tally of those fired. More large-scale cuts are under way.
The Washington Post-Ipsos poll of 571 current civilian federal government workers as of Jan. 1, conducted Feb. 28-March 10 has a margin of error of +/- 5.3 percentage points. Of the 268 remote-capable federal workers, the margin of error is 7.7 points. And of the 185 who prefer working from home at least most of the time, the margin of error is 9.3 points.