A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Federal agencies have submitted plans for their workers to return to the office full time for the first time since the pandemic, as directed by President Trump. That means thousands of government workers will likely descend on Washington each day. Scott Maucione from member station WYPR reports from Baltimore.
SCOTT MAUCIONE, BYLINE: It takes Lane (ph) 20 minutes to drive to the train station in Baltimore.
LANE: The train ride is anywhere from about 40 minutes to an hour. I wake up at 4:10 in the morning and I get to work bright and early between about 6:00 and 6:15.
MAUCIONE: Lane's a Federal employee and works in-person two days a week, a common setup for some Federal workers. NPR is only using her middle name because she fears speaking out about the new telework policies may jeopardize her job. Lane says she works those two in-person days back-to-back, finishing up at the office around 3:00 p.m. and getting back home around 5:00.
LANE: You know, I'm so exhausted at the end of the day. By that third morning when I'm, you know, waking up and teleworking, I am just so brain dead. It's actually hard to focus that next day. I cannot imagine trying to get in the car and go in a third day.
MAUCIONE: Lane, like many of the more than 300,000 Federal employees in the surrounding DC area, may have to find a way to make it into the office five days a week, depending on how agencies implement a new executive memo from the Trump administration. While DC is home to many federal agency headquarters, many employees choose to live outside the city. David Johnson, the Deputy Director of Maryland's MARC train service, says they're ready for new commuters.
DAVID JOHNSON: We are currently at about 50% pre-pandemic ridership, so we do have capacity to accommodate additional passengers.
MAUCIONE: The Trump administration's memo claims that telework has degraded government services and made it difficult to supervise workers. However, Federal agencies have had telework policies and agreements with employees for 15 years. The Office of Personnel Management has produced numerous studies that show Federal teleworking improves morale, retention and stress.
Some agencies have done studies that showed productivity increases when people telework because they have more flexibility. For some workers living outside the city, it's also a cheaper option. According to Zillow, the average home in DC is more than $600,000 and the average rent is between 2,200 and $2,500. Lane moved from DC to Baltimore about 40 miles away 20 years ago when her spouse got a job there.
LANE: We were actually able to buy a house here where we couldn't in DC due to cost. You know, at this point, we have a life here. So moving back to the DC area is not something that's particularly financially feasible, and not a particularly pleasant option, either.
MAUCIONE: Lane says there are people in her office who live as far away as Delaware or Pennsylvania. Some of them rent rooms and shared houses for the days they have to be in the office. She says, for her and for many other Federal employees, no telework options would likely make her reconsider staying at her agency. For NPR News, I'm Scott Maucione in Baltimore.
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