Mayor Adams announced Monday that his administration will allow a variety of city employees in managerial positions to work from home twice a week.
Tens of thousands of non-managerial city workers have been able to work from home for a few days since June under a pilot program developed by Adams’ administration and DC37, the city’s largest public sector union.
Under an expansion of that pilot program, roughly 16,500 non-unionized city employees in managerial roles will be eligible for the two-days-per-week hybrid schedule, Adams said in a statement released by his office Monday morning.
“With the success of our initial remote work pilots for tens of thousands of union-represented employees, we are proud to expand this benefit to the thousands of non-represented public servants who work tirelessly for our city day in and day out,” the mayor said.
Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
Mayor Eric Adams is pictured at City Hall on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)
The newly eligible workers are employed in various high-ranking positions across dozens of city agencies. Those positions include assistant commissioners, deputy commissioners, executive directors, directors, chiefs of staff, analysts, executive assistants, press officers and secretaries, a City Hall official said.
The pilot program expansion marks a major contrast to Adams’ June 2022 decision to eliminate nearly all forms of hybrid options popularized for the municipal workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frank Carone, Adams’ then-chief of staff, said in a memo at the time that while remote schedules were becoming increasingly common in the private sector, the mayor “firmly believes that the city needs its workers to report to work every day in person.”
Since then, the mayor has softened his stance amid indications that the remote work ban worsened the city government’s staffing crisis, as many employees left to take private sector jobs that allowed for hybrid schedules. The lack of remote work options has also complicated city agencies’ ability to attract new talent.
Amid subsequent staffing shortages, some city agencies have struggled to carry out basic duties. That includes the Human Resources Administration, which is failing to process most applications for food stamps and cash assistance within a time-frame required by federal and state laws.
Camille Varlack, Adams’ chief of staff who’s ostensibly eligible for a hybrid schedule under Monday’s announcement, acknowledged that offering remote options is ultimately about ensuring the city government can “attract and retain talented, passionate New Yorkers.”
“New York City would be nowhere without the thousands of dedicated public servants who keep this city running, and just like they have our backs every day, we will always have theirs,” Varlack said in a statement.
