All three agencies declined to comment beyond the contents of their staff-wide memos released earlier this year.

Does in-person work yield more collaboration than telework?

All three departments cited the need for more collaboration and teamwork as reasons for bringing workers back to the office. But in their survey responses, CalEPA, CalHHS and EDD indicated that their employees collaborated quite efficiently through online platforms — even better than before the pandemic.

EDD Director Nancy Farias told staff in a Jan. 25 email: “I believe purposeful time spent in an office will provide more opportunities for engagement between colleagues and increase collaboration, especially for our newer employees.”

In contrast, the EDD’s survey response in December stated: “A greater number of staff collaborate today than historically on assignments.”

“Prior to telework and the use of virtual platforms, collaboration was often delayed or limited due to the availability of meeting rooms along with the expense and inconvenience of travel,” EDD’s response read. “Today, teams that are geographically separated throughout the state can now meet frequently without the extra time and cost associated with travel. This improves the efficiency, collaboration, and diversity of project teams and improves cohesion of the groups throughout the department.”

CalEPA’s response called telework an “efficient and effective way to conduct business” and “support worker retention and recruitment efforts.” The response also cited a recent all-staff telework survey that found most employees felt they had “effective team building opportunities while teleworking” and were able to “build great relationships with their coworkers”. The agency saw a “noted increase in employee engagement” due to boards, departments and offices “engaging their employees in a remote-centric work environment.”

CalHHS conducted its own employee surveys in 2021 and 2023 and found that remote work allowed for “improved employee collaboration,” as well as “better ability to focus” and “increased productivity.”

Departments say telework improved recruitment, productivity and morale

State employees have repeatedly said that telework boosted their mental health and well-being, as well as their productivity. CalEPA, CalHHS and EDD noticed these trends too, the internal survey data shows.

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