Following Trump’s lead, Abbott orders state workers to return to offices

Gov. Greg Abbott’s office has quietly directed heads of state agencies to phase out hybrid-work schedules and require all employees to return to the office five days a week “as soon as practicable” under state law, according to multiple accounts from state employees.

Abbott’s mandate comes as President Donald Trump doubled down during his Tuesday night address to Congress, saying federal workers will return to offices “or be removed from their job.”

In a statement, Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said “any (state) remote work policies must ensure taxpayer dollars are being utilized efficiently” in light of federal efforts to get employees back to work.

“Texans expect their public servants to be present and engaged in the work on their behalf,” Mahaleris said. “With remote federal workers returning to the office where possible, it’s important that state agencies ensure they do the same.”

Staffers from the governor’s office spoke with agency commissioners and directors this week to announce the policy, according to employees who spoke to KUT. The employees spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs.

No written policy was given to directors or department heads, according to accounts, but some agencies are already planning to transition to in-person work by the end of the month. Agency heads were directed to follow through with the transition “as soon as practicable” under state law, though it’s not clear whether there is a hard deadline or if state law could allow agency heads to permit some workers to continue to work remotely.

Myko Gedutis, vice president of the Texas State Employees Union, told KUT he’s heard from confused staffers at scores of agencies, including the Texas Workforce Commission, the Health and Human Services Commission, Child Protective Services and the Department of Family and Protective Services.

So far, the details aren’t clear, Gedutis says.

“The governor’s directing all commissioners to notify employees, everybody’s going to come to the office full-time (but) there’s no effective date,” he said. “And there’s no real details on how they’re going to sort out office space, since so many offices have consolidated. There’s just a lot of unanswered questions.”

Texas, like many employers, pivoted to allow remote work during the pandemic, and since then, it’s been well-received by state employees and agencies.

A recently published survey from the Legislative Budget Board, the agency that helps guide the state’s budget and policies, found the majority of agencies viewed remote work positively.

According to the LBB, 80 agencies said the policy led to better retention and recruitment, while 46 agencies said having the option to work from home led to increased productivity. Twenty-nine agencies said the policy reduced overhead for office space and administrative costs, while also reducing turnover.

Gedutis said clawing back that perk could increase turnover.

“It’s clearly being driven for political reasons, for political posturing, not for anything else. So I think most folks get that and they understand, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not going to be some serious consequences for this,” he said. “Turnover is going to be driven up. That means there’s less folks to serve the Texans in their communities.”

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