**Elon Musk Unveils Plans for Federal Employees’ Return to Office**

The discourse around the return-to-office (RTO) policy has taken an intriguing turn with Elon Musk, now spearheading the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E), asserting strong opinions on the matter. In a recent op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Musk, alongside his co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy, outlined a strategy aimed at cutting down government size and expenses, prominently featuring a mandate for federal employees to resume working from their offices five days a week.

According to Musk and Ramaswamy, this move could trigger a wave of voluntary resignations, which they welcome. They argued that if federal employees are unwilling to return to office, they shouldn’t be compensated by taxpayers for the "COVID-era privilege of staying home." This aligns with a concern raised by some critics who suspect that stringent RTO directives are, in fact, a covert tactic to reduce workforce numbers. Supporting this notion, a recent survey revealed that about 25% of C-suite executives are hoping that RTO policies will prompt employees to quit voluntarily, ultimately saving on severance costs.

This perspective isn’t isolated. Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, conveyed a similar sentiment during an all-hands meeting last month, indicating that the company is unfazed if some employees prefer not to work in office environments. However, this stance faced internal backlash, with employees arguing that such statements do not accurately reflect their working experiences at Amazon. Contradicting the claims, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy emphasized that their RTO policy is not designed to reduce costs by laying off employees.

The federal government, as the largest employer in the United States with over 2.2 million civilian employees, currently allows each agency to determine their workplace policies. As of August, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget reported that around half of Federal workers are on-site, while approximately 10% of the total workforce hold fully remote positions with no in-person work expectations. Those eligible for remote work, however, spend about 60% of their working hours on-site.

The feasibility of Musk and Ramaswamy’s ambitious plan to enforce a five-day office return for all Federal workers remains uncertain. Moreover, it also raises the question of whether such mandates will see these high-profile CEOs themselves returning to office settings, a development that is yet to unfold.