We’re all for businesses allowing employees to work remotely a day or two a week – and this is becoming more common for private sector workers.

But what’s happening in the federal government (“Club Fed”) borders on the absurd – or should we say the obscene. A recent survey by Federal News Network of federal workers, finds just 6% are working in the office full time and 30% work from home all the time. Office buildings in Washington have become city-block-long ghost towns with some having empty desks more than 80% of the time.

While exact comparisons between public and private employees are tricky and inexact, the best estimate we can find for remote work in the overall economy comes from WFH Research. They found that as of May 2024, 36% of all workers were working from home or remotely some or all of the time. That number has declined from a peak of about 60% during COVID lockdowns.

This means that federal employees are nearly THREE TIMES as likely to be working remotely either some or all of the time.

What is doubly infuriating about these attendance records, is that (as regular HOTLINE readers know) government employees are paid roughly 40% more than comparably skilled private workers, when their exorbitant benefits are included.

Here is our solution. Fire roughly one-third of federal employees immediately. Reduce the federal workforce through attrition. Impose a hiring freeze until the budget is balanced. Sell federal buildings that are less than one-half occupied.