I recently interviewed for a position at DOJ (my first time interviewing for a Fed role), and I think there's a pretty good chance they're going to make me an offer. They scouted me aggressively for this job, the interview went really well, and they have recently been calling my references, including a former boss who told me that the hiring manager explicitly said I was their preferred candidate.
The job seems amazing, and I'd be thrilled with an offer. There's just one big problem: I live in Chicago, and I'm not interested in moving to DC. Not only do my wife and I have hard-earned roots, family, and friends here, but my wife's career is completely based on her network, which is 100% in Chicago, and not the kind of thing you can pick up and move. On the other hand, the DOJ job is a sit-in-front-of-a-computer-all-day gig that seems totally doable remotely (it's GS-13, if that matters).
So my goal is to try and negotiate teleworking full-time from Chicago. Given that everyone has been successfully working remotely for several months, this seems like the ideal time to make such a long-shot request. I've been doing research to try to make the best case I can. Here's what I'm planning to offer:
-I'll come to DC for 2-3 full weeks for onboarding (assuming they're back to doing that in-person by then)
-I'll fly out to DC regularly (even every month, if needed) for any major events or meetings that require me to be there in-person
-Since this team values close collaboration across DOJ, I'll promise to meet benchmarks for "virtual coffees" and relationship-building with colleagues across the Department
-I'll offer to implement (at my own expense, if necessary) any cybersecurity requirements in my home to ensure secure transfer of sensitive data
-I'll keep EST hours, so that I'm in-sync with the rest of the DOJ
And if there's (inevitably) resistance about how this could work, I'm prepared to make the following arguments:
-How do they know I'll be a good remote employee? I worked remotely full-time for two years previously with great success, in addition to the last 3+ months. I'll offer to put them in touch with colleagues who can attest to that. I'll also cite an OPM study finding that telework among federal workers was strongly associated with higher performance, and increased likelihood of staying in one’s job
-What if the hiring manager says, "I'd love to say yes, but it's not my call"? I'll note that OPM guidance states that "supervisors generally have discretion to implement telework to fit the business needs of their organizations”
-What if there are security concerns about accessing data, etc? I'll note that DOJ has been doing this successfully and safely for several months. In fact, in a recent webinar, the Chief Information Security Officer for the DOJ stated: “It’s gone very well, and I expect that there will be an increased utilization of teleworking going into the future. This event has helped us lay the groundwork to allow us to be able to support that with a lot better quality, which is probably one of the fears folks have had in the past. So we can support it a lot better nowadays. So I expect that we’ll see more of it."
Also, I'll note that there's likely to be a second wave of COVID, meaning we may not be in the office for much of the coming year, anyway. (Indeed, according to a recent NY Times story, the majority of epidemiologists say they won’t be comfortable working in a shared office for another 3 to 12 months.)
On top of all that, I'll note that this could be a win-win that goes beyond just me and the office I'd be working for. If we can set a precedent for full-time telework, think about the nationwide talent that DOJ could suddenly have access to! I really think it could be a game-changer for DOJ and the Federal gov, and this is the moment when such a change might just be possible.
I'd love to know... what do you all think of this plan? Is there a way I can make a stronger argument? What am I not thinking about? What are the odds of something like this actually panning out?
Would appreciate any feedback from Feds who have inside knowledge of DOJ, who successfully negotiated a similar kind of arrangement, or who tried and failed to do what I'm doing. Thanks!
Edited by user Saturday, June 20, 2020 7:58:52 AM(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
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