Eric Adams reverses policy, grants work-from-home privileges to city workers

New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, has granted work-from-home privileges to city employees.

The initiative proposed on Tuesday February 14, 2023, will signal a major policy reversal for Adams, who required in the past that all city workers report to work in person for every scheduled work day.

The move then caused much consternation among rank-and-file municipal employees, leading to an exodus from city jobs.

Since then, Adams has been consistent in justifying the decision, arguing that since many city jobs require workers be on site to perform their duties, it would be unfair to grant work-from-home privileges to some and not others, according to a report.

He has also contended that such a prohibition against working from home would help jumpstart ailing businesses in Midtown and lower Manhattan that suffered when foot traffic in those neighbors began evaporating due to the COVID pandemic.

Speaking about the new initiative, Adams stated that it is essential to maintain a fair playing field. He, however, said “there might be a compromise”.

“What do we do for the people who can’t work from home? What do I do to my school crossing guard, my nurse, my doctor? What do I do for the police officers? How do we make sure that we don’t create a two-tier system where some can work from home and others cannot?” he said, answering in the affirmative when asked if a change to the city’s work-from-home prohibition is on the table.

“We want as a team to say, how do I look out for my fellow civil servant to say, ‘You have to come in, so how do we compensate you in some way?’ And that is what we need to do.”

Adams stated further that his team has sent out surveys to city agencies seeking “creative ways of having flexibility.”