Philly workers furious over mayor’s order that they return to their offices

Philadelphia city workers said they are "pissed off" about being forced back into the office, running into what they say is a shortage of space and resources. On July 15, Mayor Cherelle Parker’s return-to-office mandate went into effect, mandating municipal workers be in-person five days a week.

City officials said about 80% of its workforce — including firefighters, police officers and Water Department workers — was already working on-site before the mandate took effect.

“I know when I made my decision regarding the return-to-office, the change to location of where work would take place, that there were some people who were not going to be happy about the decision that I made.” Parker said at a news conference July 10.

One worker told PBS News he was concerned about his jam-packed train commute and the lack of office space in city buildings. He claimed that before the mandate, hybrid workers would usually share desks on different days. Now, some are assigned to work in different conference rooms with nearly a dozen others or they don’t have access to computer monitors or outlets to charge their electronics.

To try to make the change more palatable, the Parker administration offered French fries from a local chicken place, which some workers told PBS was an insulting move.

Others said they felt their commutes weren’t worth the office time. Only contract workers receive SEPTA train passes, so most city workers are back to paying for their commutes out of pocket.

Dissatisfied city workers could pose big problems for Philly’s already years-long understaffing crisis. In April, it was reported that Philadelphia had 6,200 open positions.

Earlier in July, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported a judge said he will hold Philly’s prison system in contempt of court over its understaffing crisis as the city has a shortage of more than 800 corrections officers.

The city’s chief administrative officer said the administration will continue creating an enjoyable work experience for city workers.

Some workers said the new changes are causing them to apply for other jobs.

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