AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin could once again change its work from home policy — this time, making it more flexible and giving individual departments more power.
“The City is reviewing its current work from home policy and is exploring possible updates,” a city of Austin spokesperson told KXAN.
In an Audit and Finance Committee meeting late last month, human resources staff told some Austin City Council members that the city was exploring allowing employees to work from home 60% of the time — or three days a week.
The new policy could also hand more power to departments to determine what works best for its individual teams.
“I think it’s a good, a better starting point than where we were,” said Carol Guthrie, business manager for AFSCME Local 1624, which represents city of Austin employees.
Last year, Interim City Manager Jesús Garza called people back to the office after the pandemic. For employees in management positions, that meant in-person full-time. For people who served as non-executive staff, they’re required to work in the office at least three days a week.
“It is imperative, in my opinion, that we work to ensure the public’s trust. We cannot completely do so if we are not present or responsive to their needs. With this in mind, we must address the various department policies surrounding telework,” Garza said then.
But some city employees like Marna McLain, an IT corporate manager for the city, weren’t on the same page.
“When I started teleworking five days a week, I saved 11 hours a week of not being in traffic,” McLain told KXAN.
Turns out, quite a few employees felt the same. A new audit from the Office of the City Auditor surveyed employees on retention, and found nearly 70% dislike the policy. Nearly half of all city employees took the survey, according to the audit.
It also found making that policy less restrictive would be a low-cost, perhaps even money-saving, retention incentive.
“We’ve done our own internal survey of our union members, and flexible work schedule is very important to individuals. Some will even take less pay,” Guthrie said.
The audit pointed to Travis County as proof. The county allows roughly 75% of its eligible workforce to work from home, the audit said. As a result, it saw thousands more job applications than before the pandemic.
It could also save the city money, which is your money. The report points to savings in utility costs and real estate. Austin’s Joint Inclusion Committee on Telework found long-term, Austin could save over $1 billion by leasing out office space, according to the audit.
“We appreciate the Auditor’s work and recommendations and are in the process of reviewing them to determine what changes — if any — should be implemented,” a city of Austin spokesperson said.