As news of an upcoming return-to-office plan reverberated within state government this month, the leader of at least one Vermont agency has looked to quiet the concerns of its employees.
In an all-staff email sent Monday, Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore told employees that the expected changes did not reflect on the professionalism or quality of their work.
But she indicated more in-office time could bring positive changes and urged staff to remain calm while details are developed.
“I understand this creates real challenges for many, and those concerns are valid. At the same time, this directive comes from the governor’s office as part of broader policy decisions about how state government operates,” Moore wrote. “I need everyone to focus on solutions rather than resistance, understanding that work arrangements can and do change, and our response must remain professional even when changes are unwelcome.”
Earlier this month, Gov. Phil Scott first signaled his intention to bring state employees back to the office on a hybrid basis. That move prompted Agency of Administration Secretary Sarah Clark to write to all state employees, assuring them that the plans are only in their early stages and will develop with input across departments.
But more details may arrive in the next two weeks. According to Moore, the Agency of Administration plans to share the timeline of the proposal and the number of in-office days expected by the end of the month.
Covid-19 transformed how the state did business, shifting work from downtown offices to video calls. Years later, some of the state’s more than 8,000 employees have started increasing their in-person presence, but remote work remains prevalent. For many, work location is handled on a case-by-case basis, according to the Vermont State Employees’ Association, the union representing the workforce.
On Tuesday, Steve Howard, the union’s executive director, said members have thus far overwhelmingly opposed the idea of returning to the office. Some people were hired under assurances that they could work remotely, he said, and may live 90 minutes from their potential offices.
“We’re hearing a lot from people who are saying how am I going to be able to pick my child up from child care,” he said.
Howard pointed to California, where the state auditor’s office determined a new hybrid return-to-office plan had not been fully studied by the governor, and that partial remote work would save millions of dollars. California’s governor refuted those findings.
It’s unclear how all Vermont agencies are handling the early stage discussions about a hybrid schedule. A spokesperson for the Vermont Agency of Education said the agency would keep its employees up to date but was still awaiting more details. The Agency of Human Services and Agency of Agriculture did not respond to requests for comment.
Moore said she first communicated with staff about the governor’s proposal earlier this month and welcomed feedback from employees.
Last week, the Department of Environmental Conservation, which is housed in the Agency of Natural Resources, hosted a “coffee talk” where Moore said she heard from more staff.
“The tone was moving in an unhelpful direction, I felt,” she said.
A more balanced approach to in-office time would strengthen relationships between employees who may work for different teams or departments, according to Moore.
“For me, there is something that I think we are in the process of losing,” she told VTDigger, adding that the agency also has customer-facing responsibilities that benefit from being in-person, such as reviewing state permits.
Of the agency’s roughly 650 full-time, year-round employees, about two-thirds have telework agreements that allow them to set flexible schedules, working remotely up to 40 hours per week, according to Moore. Generally, teams and programs have at least one in-office day per month, she said.
Natural resource staff are already making suggestions about how to optimize the changes, Moore said, like increasing Green Mountain Transit buses and designating quiet and collaborative spaces in the office.
As long as the conversation is constructive, Moore said she’s willing to discuss the impending proposal — just not whether it should be implemented at all.
“At the end of the day, that’s a decision the governor has made,” she said, “and it’s not up for discussion.”
