Speaking at a recent event organized by Nextgov, Bob Westbrooks shared “one of the great lessons” that public sector employers have learned—or should have learned—during the COVID-19 era.
“ … There’s a significant number of federal workers that can work better, as well or better, when given the choice,” said Westbrooks, who recently retired as the executive director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), a group of federal government agency inspectors general established to promote transparency and support independent oversight of the funds provided by the 2020 CARES Act and other related emergency spending bills.
At the Feb. 9 event, Westbrooks delivered “a wholehearted endorsement … of the enduring value of wide-scale telework practices that the federal government turned to in response to the coronavirus pandemic,” MeriTalk reported.
Describing himself as a “career watchdog, lawyer, CPA [and] certified internal auditor,” Westbrooks joked that his background qualifies him as “probably the most skeptical, cynical human being that you’ll ever run across in your life.”
Given his admittedly pessimistic bent, Westbrooks’ willingness to embrace remote work should be a strong sign that any organization can, he said.
“It’s all about the data, it’s all about whether there is a business case for remote work,” Westbrook told the audience, adding that data the group of inspectors general compiled during the pandemic has left him “absolutely convinced” that remote work is a viable long-term solution for the public sector.
The Value and Virtue of Remote Work
Not all government leaders share Westbrooks’ positive perception of remote work.
In fact, a piece of legislation recently introduced by House Republicans would require all federal entities to bring employees back to the office, and return to their pre-pandemic work arrangements, post-haste.
Writing about the recent transition to large-scale remote work for Government Executive, Westbrooks noted that, “while views vary vastly among leaders on the value and virtue of remote work, for employees, the genie is out of the bottle.”
Indeed, the pandemic gave many federal employees their first experience with remote work on a regular basis. And many not only adapted, but thrived, he said, pointing to recent surveys that show the majority of public sector employees would prefer to keep teleworking at least part of the time.
The arrival of the coronavirus in early 2020 meant that “working from home was no longer an option, but an order,” he wrote. The following months demonstrated that public sector workers were more than up to the task.
“During the pandemic, if you were a federal employee who secured our airports, delivered the mail or provided medical care to veterans, you knew that work was both something you do and a place you go. Mission and mise en scene are inextricably intertwined,” wrote Westbrooks, thanking these and other federal workers for their service in the midst of COVID-19.
“With the pandemic, we discovered there are also thousands of knowledge workers in the federal government who, when provided the right communication and collaboration tools coupled with the right culture, can get the work done from anywhere—just as well or even better for the American public.”
Speaking at the aforementioned Nextgov event, Westbrooks urged federal agencies to acknowledge this reality, accept that “the arc of work culture is bending toward flexibility” and lead accordingly.
“The people that I’ve seen in the federal government, and even in the private sector, the stars want to work in a place where there’s a compelling mission, a clear vision … and optimal autonomy. I’ve yet to find a star that doesn’t want to work in that environment.
“We’ve got such a compelling mission [at] so many of our agencies, why aren’t we giving folks that clear vision and trying to figure out how to give them optimal autonomy?” Westbrooks asked.
“I know it’s hard, I know it’s very difficult, but for God’s sake, we just shot a Chinese spy balloon out of the sky … we should be able to figure out how to do remote work.”
22 February 2023
Category
HR News Article