Back to offices for state employees

Finally, after more than 2.5 years of living with COVID-19, Gov. Lujan Grisham is telling State employees they need to return to their offices on January 1. The Rio Grande Foundation recently spoke to KOAT Channel 7 about the issue and the fact that $18 million annually was being wasted on empty office buildings.

While there is understandably some pushback from government employees to returning to their offices, the fact is that in most cases state workers are better paid with better benefits and less stress than most any other equivalent job.

According to a 2014 report from the American Enterprise Institute New Mexico government employees receive 24% greater overall pay and compensation benefits than their private sector counterparts (that’s “only” 20% if you don’t include job security which we ALL saw the value of during COVID. See chart below:

So, if New Mexico government employees don’t want those jobs anymore, good luck to them. If the State wants to manage up and create clear policies to make sure the work gets done in a telework environment that would be fine, but why do that after 2.5 years? (many complain that government workers didn’t do much work remotely).