Op-Ed: ‘One-size-fits-all’ is bound to be problematic with state employees

October 20, 2025  |  By Rep. Larry Satcowitz

Upon taking office in January, one of the first directives issued by President Trump was to order federal employees to report to work in person. It was clear at the time that this was done with the expectation that many of those workers would, in response, leave their jobs – helping to accomplish Trump’s goals of destroying large swaths of our federal government and concentrating power in his hands.

Here in Vermont, the administration of Gov. Scott announced in late August that state employees will be required to spend at least three days each week in the office starting Dec. 1.

They were told that more in-person days will enhance productivity and make use of existing, underutilized state office spaces. But the administration has not produced any data to indicate that productivity is likely to improve. And while it’s wasteful to maintain office space that’s not being used, we can consolidate state offices to a smaller footprint. Less office space means less expense. We should welcome that possibility.

Large organizations of many types have had varying experiences with remote work. For some, it seems to work quite well, and for others, not so much. We just don’t know if this kind of general return to office will lead to more productive work. The experts on the running of our state government – our state employees – were not consulted. 

What we do know is that this unilateral directive will result in the upheaval of many employees’ established, proven workflows, cause chaos in their family lives, and cost them precious time and money. I have personally heard from state employees that many have begun to look for work elsewhere. Of the hundreds of employees who live out of state, it seems clear that we’re at risk of losing a large proportion of them. 

While it’s not clear that this will make our government work better, it’s not hard to imagine how it could make things much worse. Hiring qualified people in the current environment is challenging at best, and impossible at worst. It’s not unusual for positions to remain open for long periods due to a lack of qualified applicants.  And given our housing shortage, we will likely lose out-of-state workers who would be willing to relocate but won’t be able to find an affordable place to move to. Positions are unfilled across state government, and the staff is stretched thin in many departments. This has already led to burnout and inefficiencies. With return-to-work, we could easily see a dramatic number of resignations that will exacerbate our current difficult situation.

If the governor’s plan is to make our government less effective, a general return-to-office, especially on such a short timeline, would be a good way to go about it. This is what Donald Trump has done to our federal government – with disastrous results.

Our state government is complicated, and our state agencies handle logistically complex operations all the time. Managing workers differently depending upon their needs and the requirements of their jobs is attainable and is exactly what good managers do. A one-size-fits-all approach is bound to be problematic and is a short-sighted way to handle a deeply nuanced issue. I urge the governor to work with his employees to find a better path forward.

Rep. Larry Satcowitz, D-Randolph, represents the Orange-Washington-Addison District in the Vermont House, where he is a member of the House Environment Committee