Mayor Daniel Lurie is ordering San Francisco workers back into the office at least four days a week in an effort to enhance city services and turn the page on the shift to remote work during the pandemic, according to a memo obtained by The Standard.
The memo notes that most city workers are already in the office five days a week, but almost a third come in fewer than four days. Of those, most show up just three days a week.
Lurie is directing the Department of Human Resources to oversee the change, which has a target date of April 28 for “full implementation,” while giving notice to unions and opening discussions with labor leaders.
“Increased in-office presence provides critical operational benefits to the city as an employer, as well as in its primary mission in serving the public,” Lurie wrote in the memo. “Those benefits include improved overall personnel and departmental performance through enhanced communication and collaboration, a stronger team culture and better employee engagement.”
Reasonable accommodations will be made for people with disabilities while also abiding by the Family Friendly Work Ordinance, which allows for remote work for people who have unique situations in caring for children and relatives.
The memo asserts that bringing city workers back to the office will increase productivity, but the strategy also appears to be aimed at revitalizing the downtown core, which remains relatively empty compared with pre-pandemic times.
The decision to require workers to return to the office follows similar actions by large San Francisco companies that include Salesforce and Gap. Their requirements were met with excitement by small businesses, such as restaurants and coffee shops, located near the offices.
“It’s hard to argue with any moral authority to our large private-sector employers that their workers should come back to the office when many of our own city workers aren’t,” Supervisor Matt Dorsey said in a statement.
However, commercial office vacancies remain higher in San Francisco than in many other major cities. San Francisco’s overall office vacancy rate is 34.2%, according to real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
“Bringing our workers back to the office will make our services more effective and responsive to our residents,” Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with our partners across the departments and in labor over the coming weeks to implement the mayor’s plan.”
During his campaign last year, Lurie said “the key” to revitalizing downtown’s worker presence was “making them want to return, not trying to force them.”
He added, “That means making our streets safe and clean, closing the drug markets, supporting our small businesses, and setting the conditions for arts and cultural events to flourish downtown.”
It remains to be seen if other city and state government agencies will follow suit. There are thousands of state workers based in San Francisco, and most go into the office twice a week.