Work here, there, everywhere
As omicron spreads around New York, appearing to bypass vaccine protections more easily than previous dominant coronavirus strains, municipal workers are again raising qualms around Mayor de Blasio’s rigid requirement that almost all of the city’s 300,000 employees work in person after an early pandemic period of remote work for many.
For now, there are some valid concerns around the danger posed by going back to the office, as the extent of omicron’s threat remains poorly understood and a sizable chunk of the city’s adult population has yet to receive a booster, which seems like the most surefire way to ensure that the variant results in mild symptoms in adults. Still, at some point, hopefully in the near future, fearsome COVID-19 will have been reduced to something like the flu — troublesome for all and dangerous for some, but not a clear and present public health crisis, and the pandemic-era rationale for work-from-home allowances will melt away.
But there are plenty of remaining rationales to consider a more flexible approach to in-person work for the city’s enormous workforce. It’s clear that some jobs must be done in person; teachers, cops, firefighters, building inspectors and others have indispensable hands-on tasks. But there’s no reason data analysts, agency lawyers and administrative staff, among others, can’t in some cases perform their duties largely from home, especially as many private sector employers in a tight labor market clamor for their skills, offering not just more money but the very flexibility that the city denies them.
The pandemic itself was a pilot of sorts. Hundreds of thousands of city workers proved that they can power through and deliver results while working from home. As he takes over this massive wellspring of human capital, which keeps the city running, Mayor-Elect Eric Adams should give serious thought to what it means to be an attractive and dynamic workplace post-COVID. It may take some trial-and-error to find the right balance, but incorporating workplace flexibility can keep top talent from heading out the door.