TechFlow news — On January 16, according to Fortune, Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z and venture capitalist, revealed on the Hoover Institution podcast that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is now focusing heavily on federal employees returning to office. He stated that current average occupancy in federal buildings stands at just 25%, with only security agencies maintaining full-time in-office operations, while most staff across other agencies continue working remotely. Some unionized federal employees have secured rights to remote work, required to come into the office only one or two days per month, and in certain cases, just two days every two months.
Andreessen said DOGE is currently concentrating on three key areas: staffing, government spending, and regulation—where the team has "very clever ideas." He questioned whether President-elect Trump has the authority to mandate return-to-office policies, emphasizing that this issue requires deeper consideration. Previously, a report released by the office of Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a supporter of DOGE, indicated that only 6% of government workers regularly work from the office. Elon Musk further pointed out on X that, excluding security and maintenance personnel, the proportion of full-time staff working 40 hours per week in offices is nearly 1%.
