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Hundreds of Virginia public employees have resigned in the past two months since Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a new telecommuting policy.
New policy pushes employees back into office after coronavirus-related job closures lead to work-from-home options
Many government employees have chosen to resign because of the loss of flexibility and benefits that working from home provides.
More than 300 state employees have resigned since the policy was announced, WRIC-TV reported.
ALEXANDRIA, VA – FEBRUARY 3: Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin leads a roundtable meeting with parents and two of those secretaries at a Safeway grocery store in Alexandria, Virginia on February 3, 2022. (Photo by Rob Hill for The Washington Post via Getty ( (Photo by Rob Hill for The Washington Post via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The back-to-office plan, originally announced on May 5, requires employees who wish to continue working from home to go through an extensive approval process that includes a signature from Youngkin’s chief of staff.
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“Government employees who requested to keep telecommuting had to go through a three-tier approval system. For those who wanted one day a week, they had to get approval from their supervisor. Those who wanted two days a week had to get approval from their cabinet secretary’s department. It took three or more days for the governor’s chief of staff to sign it,” the Washington Times reported. It went into effect on July 5.
The resignations included 183 from the Virginia Department of Transportation, 28 of whom specifically cited telecommuting opportunities as their reason for leaving.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin leads a roundtable meeting with parents and two of those secretaries at a Safeway grocery store in Alexandria, Va., on Feb. 3, 2022. (Photo by Rob Hill for The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Photo by Rob Hill for The Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Virginia Department of Health had 78 resignations, while 37 employees resigned from the Virginia Employment Commission, seven resigned from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and six resigned from the Division of Emergency Management Virginia, according to the report.
Although more than 21,000 government employees are eligible to telecommute, WRIC reports that many government employees are not allowed to work from home, including police, corrections officers and health care workers.
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Critics of Youngkin’s policy say it unnecessarily turns away good workers.
“Despite our best efforts, Youngkin refused to reconsider his disastrous executive actions and moved forward despite long-standing state telecommuting policies,” Virginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, a Democrat, said in a tweet shortly after the policy was implemented.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin leads a roundtable meeting with parents and two of these secretaries at a Safeway grocery store in Alexandria, Va., on Feb. 3, 2022. (Photo by Rob Hill for The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
“Our community is losing talent, skills and institutional knowledge. Virginians are suffering,” she added.
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Despite our best efforts, Youngkin refused to reconsider his disastrous executive actions and moved forward, regardless of longstanding state telecommuting policies. Our community is losing talent, skills and institutional knowledge. Virginians are suffering.https://t.co/P43568kBuC
— Ghazala Hashmi (@SenatorHashmi) July 9, 2022
Youngkin was elected to lead Richmond last year and has made job growth in the state a pillar of his campaign.
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