Trump bans WFH for federal workers 

As newly re-elected US President Donald Trump’s inauguration continues to put the internet in a frenzy, hybrid and remote workers have been the latest targets as Trump plans to “terminate” flexible working arrangements.

Mass changes right across the American workplace are already underway on day one of Donald Trump’s second term as President of the United States, with the announcement of his executive orders that will come into effect almost immediately.

Trump wasted no time in making controversial decisions by announcing that all federal workers shall return to the office five days a week, scrapping flexible working arrangements for a wide range of workers.

The executive order listed on the White House’s website states: “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.

“This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law.”

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos – who both attended Trump’s inauguration – have previously been strong advocates for a shift away from flexible working arrangements. In the past, Musk has labelled the desire to work from home as “morally wrong”.

“There are some exceptions, but I kind of think the whole notion of work-from-home is a bit like the fake Marie Antoinette quote, ‘Let them eat cake,’” he said. “You’re going to make people who make your food that gets delivered [that] can’t work from home; the people that come fix your house, they can’t work from home, but you can?”

“Does that seem morally right? That’s messed up,” said Musk.

Bezos, on the other hand, has been far more deliberate with his actions, as his company, Amazon, recently implemented a full return-to-office mandate, as Andy Jassy, current chief executive at Amazon, claimed that it was to “strengthen our culture”.

“When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant,” Jassy said.

“We’ve observed that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from one another are more seamless; and teams tend to be better connected to one another.”

Despite these proclamations of the benefits that an RTO mandate can offer, a vast majority of workers are extremely disgruntled with the workplace shift – favouring the flexibility it offers. As RTO mandates increase, a wedge between both employees and employers may continue to expand.