The Federal Government’s Remote Work Crackdown: More Harm Than Good for Women
For years, remote work has given moms the ability to provide for their families while managing the realities of caregiving. It wasn’t just a luxury, it was a lifeline. Now, the federal government is rolling back that progress, forcing employees back into offices under the claim that it will “increase efficiency” and “cut waste.”
But here’s the reality: this isn’t making the government work better, it’s just making life harder for women.
Is This Really About Efficiency?
The push to end remote work is happening despite overwhelming evidence that federal agencies met or exceeded performance goals while employees worked from home. In fact, many government workers are commuting to the office just to sit at a desk and log into the same Zoom calls they could have attended from home.
And yet, the government is still spending millions of taxpayer dollars maintaining office spaces that employees don’t actually need. While forcing those same employees to spend hundreds of dollars per month on gas, parking, and childcare just to be physically present.
So, what’s actually being improved here?
Efficiency isn’t the problem. Outdated workplace structures are. And as usual, the burden is falling hardest on women.
This Isn’t Cutting Waste, It’s Harming the Mom Next Door
Women make up more than half of the federal workforce, and remote work has allowed many of them to stay in the workforce without sacrificing their families. But now? They’re facing new challenges that feel like a step backward, not forward.
Here’s what this policy shift really means for working moms:
Higher childcare costs: Many moms will now have to pay for extra daycare hours or after-school care to match their longer office hours.
More time away from their kids: School drop-offs, mid-day check-ins, and even simple moments like lunch together at home are disappearing.
Increased burnout: Juggling caregiving and a full-time job was tough before. Remote work helped lighten the load. Taking it away just adds more stress.
Unnecessary costs: With gas prices high and parking expensive, many federal workers are now spending hundreds per month just to sit in an office doing the same job they did at home.
More barriers for caregiving: Whether it’s caring for kids, aging parents, or loved ones with special needs, remote work gave families flexibility. Now, those same families are being forced to make impossible choices.
And for what? To sit in half-empty government buildings, using the same virtual tools they used from home?
This isn’t reform. This isn’t about making government work better. This is a direct hit on the mom next door, the one who finally found a job that worked for her life.
A Step Backward, Not Forward
At Every Mom, we know how much flexibility means to mothers. We hear the stories of moms who had to leave their careers because childcare costs became impossible. We know the struggles of balancing work, caregiving, and just trying to get through the day without burnout.
This isn’t just happening to “federal employees.” It’s happening to moms in our own community. It’s happening to the mom juggling early school drop-offs, the mom caring for an aging parent, the mom trying to stay in the workforce while being there for her kids.
If the government truly wants to build a stronger, more efficient workforce, it needs to stop pushing women out and start supporting the real-life needs of working moms.
That means:
Expanding hybrid and remote options for roles that allow it
Recognizing that productivity isn’t measured by office presence, but by outcomes
Creating family-friendly policies that actually support working parents
This isn’t cutting waste, it’s cutting working moms out of the workforce.
At Every Mom, we stand for a world where moms don’t have to choose between work and family. We believe in policies that support mothers, not punish them for needing flexibility.
Let’s talk about it. Let’s support each other. Let’s push for real solutions.
Because when moms thrive, everyone thrives.
