NYC considering allowing city employees to work remotely: Adams

New York City is considering allowing some city employees to work remotely again, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday.

When asked during a news conference if he would consider allowing city employees to work from home, Adams said he has already asked city agencies to “come up with creative ways of having flexibility.”

Adam’s commitment to operating “as a team” and accommodating remote work is a drastic shift from his stance just a year ago when he decried remote work and famously told New Yorkers: “You can’t stay home in your pajamas all day.”

At the time, Adams argued that remote workers were hurting service-oriented businesses that rely on a steady stream of customers.

“That accountant that’s not in his office space is not going to the cleaners,” Adams said during a speech last February at the state Democratic Committee’s Nominating Convention.

“It’s not going to the restaurant. It’s not allowing the cooks, the waiters, the dishwashers [to make a living],” Adams added.

In being flexible, Adams noted his administration is working to keep things fair for city employees and make sure they avoid a “two-tier system where some can work from home and others cannot.”

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

It’s unclear what kind of “flexibility” some city agencies would be granted, which agencies would be included and when that change may take place.

His pledge to being flexible also comes as the city — and the country as a whole — are struggling to fill thousands of jobs.

Adams said the city plans on becoming competitive in their recruitment to fill civil service jobs.

“We have to be clear now. To keep hearing everybody report it’s a New York City crisis, it’s a national crisis of how do we shift to a post-pandemic work environment.”

Adams’ change in tune on remote work also comes as it was reported that work from home has caused Manhattan to lose at least $12.4 billion a year, as workers in Manhattan are spending about $4,661 less per person in the areas near their offices.