Gov. Ned Lamont has said for years that he wants more state employees back in the office on a regular basis.
At some point, he needs to prove it.
The Democratic governor recently had an opportunity to take a firmer stance, but, in effect, punted.
A labor agreement announced in April covering tens of thousands of unionized state employees delivered 2.5% annual raises plus step increases, but left remote work rules largely unchanged. Rather than renegotiating telework standards, the administration and unions agreed to form a working group that will study remote work policies and issue recommendations by early 2027.
That may be politically convenient in an election year, but it’s also a missed opportunity.
Connecticut’s embrace of remote work for state employees made sense during the pandemic, but we are now long past that public health crisis. Much of the private sector has already moved toward firmer in-office requirements.
A 2021 arbitration award established the framework that still largely governs state telework. It allows eligible employees to request telework schedules of any amount, while giving agencies broad discretion to deny or modify those requests based on operational needs.
In practice, that created a system that has proven difficult for the Lamont administration to meaningfully scale back.
During Hartford Business Journal’s May 13 Politics & Policy legislative recap event, I asked Lamont why he didn’t push harder on the issue during labor negotiations.
He said he still favors bringing more employees back into state offices, with a hybrid model that includes roughly three in-office days per week and scheduling flexibility worked out between employees and managers.
“I want more people coming into work,” Lamont said. “ … I know how vital that is for the city of Hartford. It’s vital for your businesses, it’s vital for state government.”
He also said in-person work remains important for mentoring and training newer employees.
On that point, he’s right.
This isn’t an argument for dragging everyone back to the office five days a week. The workplace has changed, and hybrid work is now part of the competitive labor landscape.
Connecticut employers across industries have had to adapt to recruit and retain talent in a still-tight labor market. The state faces those same realities.
But asking employees who can reasonably work in person to spend at least three days a week in the office strikes a fair and practical balance.
It would also help Hartford’s economic recovery.
State government remains one of the city’s most important economic anchors. Yet, Hartford is still dealing with the aftershocks of the pandemic-era office collapse. Retail storefronts remain empty, restaurants continue to operate in a fragile environment and office vacancy remains a serious concern.
Business leaders have become so worried about Hartford’s trajectory that some of the city’s most influential corporate executives have formed a Vision Committee to help chart a path forward.
One of that group’s early conclusions is that Hartford’s economic activity is too episodic. The city comes alive for sporting events, concerts and occasional attractions, but lacks the consistent daily foot traffic needed to sustain a vibrant downtown economy.
That diagnosis is right.
And while adding more downtown residents through office-to-apartment conversions is an important part of the solution, it won’t solve the near-term problem on its own.
The state has already invested heavily in Hartford’s revival, including support for office-to-residential conversions through the Capital Region Development Authority.
Those projects matter, but there’s a contradiction in simultaneously investing in downtown’s recovery while allowing one of the city’s largest workforces to remain largely dispersed.
There’s also the question of workplace performance.
Remote work can be effective, but it’s hard to argue broad telework is the best model for collaboration, mentorship, accountability and agency cohesion.
Lamont himself made that case at our event, citing the Department of Children and Families as an example.
“There’s nothing more vital for a DCF caregiver than to have a really strong mentor,” he said. “And you don’t do that on Zoom. You do that in person.”
If the governor believes that, the answer shouldn’t be another study group.
Yes, flexibility should remain. Employees with caregiving responsibilities or other legitimate circumstances may warrant accommodations. But exceptions shouldn’t define the broader policy.
Lamont said the issue will return to the bargaining table next year.
A reasonable statewide hybrid standard — such as a minimum three-day in-office expectation for eligible employees — would better serve taxpayers, strengthen agency culture and help support Connecticut’s capital city.
Hartford needs more feet on the street, and the governor can play an important role in helping make that happen.
