Walz’s back-to-the-office edict will harm many Minnesota families

Like multiple state employees I was shocked by the March email from Gov Tim Walz announcing that state employees will be required to work in-person at least of the time starting June While plenty of questions remain about the procedures change such as whether there will be enough desks after agencies downsized their spaces and what prompted this abrupt shift one thing is clear this change will cause considerable avoidable harm to various Minnesota families The state workforce s shift to remote work began in response to COVID- but records shows that remote work is highly effective for the state The commissioner of the Department of Revenue in recent times highlighted the benefits of the agency s hybrid model noting increased productivity improved employee recruitment and retention expanded job access in Greater Minnesota and cost savings of million annually from reduced office space necessities Remote work hasn t just improved outcomes for state services it has also allowed employees to effectively balance their work and family responsibilities There has been a lot of talk about state employees in the media but I sought to share directly how the remote work has helped plenty of state workers to keep their families afloat particularly as they address systemic issues facing Minnesota like rising childcare costs strained school finances and a shortage of direct care workers One colleague shared that she enrolled her - and -year-old children who do not need direct supervision but are too young to spend all day alone in a summer venture that runs from a m to p m due to the shortage of full-day summer care options She had planned to work late to make up for the time she d spend transporting them but is now uncertain how her children will get to and from the scheme especially given the strict nature of the new approach Several other colleagues are equally frustrated that the governor s return-to-office mandate was declared long after majority full-day summer childcare options were filled Parents are scrambling to find solutions but with no clear direction on the implementation of this program they don t even know which days they ll need to be in the office A colleague from a small town in northern Minnesota who has two school-aged children with autism expressed to me that this plan will be devastating for her family Due to insufficient funding for full-time paraprofessionals her children attend partial school days and her husband cares for them during the remainder of her workday Given the shortage of direct care staff and health providers in her area she is already struggling to manage meeting her children s requirements alongside her job She explained this guidelines will force her to choose between her career and her children compounding an already overwhelming situation Another colleague shared that working from home has been more than just a convenience for her family This colleague lives in a multigenerational household with her father-in-law who has disabilities that limit his mobility and often confine him to a wheelchair His quality of life depends greatly on the promotion she has been able to provide while working from home including helping him with his meals on her lunch break and assisting him to his handicap transportation during her break time If she were to return to working from the office her father-in-law would require a home healthcare aide to assist him with these tasks She also shared that her father-in-law has experienced emergencies where her presence in the home was likely lifesaving Nearly all of my colleagues have expressed that remote work has made them more productive and engaged employees The peace of mind that comes from knowing their family s necessities are met allows them to work at full ceiling without sacrificing work-life balance something they could not achieve in an office setting Annie KrapekThe negative impacts of this guidelines won t be limited to just state employees It will lead to increased absences and resignations among the state s workers undermining the state s ability to effectively administer key programs like the governor s child tax credit and paid family leave activity Return-to-office mandates are rarely popular but the governor s rushed implementation lack of coordination with unions that represent state workers and disregard for the wellbeing of employees and their families are at the root of countless state workers frustrations with this framework It s time for the governor to pause this hasty initiative and collaborate with unions and state agencies to ensure any return-to-office policies assistance the soundness and vitality of Minnesota s families Annie Krapek MPH is a current state employee Outside of work she is an advocate for healthy and equitable communities The views expressed in this article are her own and do not represent that of her employer the state of Minnesota or her colleagues The post Walz s back-to-the-office edict will harm various Minnesota families appeared first on MinnPost