Portland city employees, councilors question Mayor Wilson’s return-to-office mandate

Days before a return-to-office mandate kicks in for city managers, Portland city councilors got an earful from workers.

“We are operating the city with incredible expertise,” said Leah Espinoza, a manager at Portland Parks & Recreation, testifying before the city council’s Labor and Workforce Development Committee on Thursday. “Instead of increasing barriers to our jobs, how about you let us do our jobs with autonomy? How about you trust us? We are the ones keeping the city running.”

In January, Mayor Keith Wilson announced that all city managers and supervisors must return to working in office full time by April 7. The mandate impacts about 1,000 employees. About 30% of those supervisors and managers already work entirely in person.

“There is no replacement for the creative energy, team-building, leadership and learning that comes from in-person managers and supervisors,” said Wilson, who gave testimony about his policy at the start of the meeting.

Related: Portland Mayor Keith Wilson mandates in-person work for all city managers beginning in April

Portland Housing Bureau administrator Anna Shook told the five-councilor committee it was the first time in 18 years as a city employee that she has felt disrespected by elected leaders.

“This is insulting to all office workers,” Shook said. “I implore you to understand what you are doing to morale.”

Shook joined more than a dozen city employees — both managers and lower-level staff — urging city councilors to push Wilson to drop the policy.

The April mandate is a walkback of Wilson’s earlier proposal to require all 7,000 city staff work at least four days a week at the office — up from the current mandate that they work in person for half of their work week. That “hybrid work” requirement was established on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered many city offices.

The drive to bring more city employees to in-person work began under Wilson’s predecessor, Ted Wheeler.

Wheeler’s theory was that the economic stability of downtown Portland relied on workers returning to downtown office buildings, where they would spend money at restaurants and shops impacted by the economic downturn.

While Wilson has suggested the change will show an “investment” in Portland’s future, he hasn’t publicly said it will boost the economy.

Wilson said that bringing managers back to in-office work will set the tone for their staff to follow suit.

“The more we work shoulder-to-shoulder and face-to-face,” he said, “the more effectively we collaborate and the more we’ll succeed.”

Wilson left after his testimony, meaning he couldn’t answer questions and concerns raised later in the meeting.

Mandate expected to have greater impact on women

Employees argued that forcing managers to return to in-office work is inequitable to people with disabilities and caregivers, and increased commutes to work could impact the city’s emission reduction goals.

According to city data, about 54% of all city staff currently work in person. After the April mandate goes into effect, that number is anticipated to increase to 64%.

It will likely disproportionately affect female employees. Currently, 41% of all employees who work in person are male, while only 11% of people working in person are women.

Espinoza said she was actively applying to other jobs that would allow for remote work so she can spend more time with her kids. If the mandate goes into effect, she said, “we will lose people who are struggling to work.”

Related: Portland city employees balk at Mayor-elect Wilson’s return-to-office proposal

Several criticized Wilson’s theory that in-person work leads to better collaboration and outcomes.

Bureau of Environmental Services employee Grace Savina said that, because of her disabilities, her productivity skyrockets when she’s working remotely. “I ask you this,” Savino said, “why doesn’t the mayor and the city want me to produce quality work for the community on my hybrid schedule?”

Committee members echoed employees’ concerns. Councilor Jamie Dunphy asked Human Resources Director Tracy Warren if the decision to mandate in-person work was based in any data on remote work leading to poor productivity. She said it was not.

“If we don’t know what success is, we can’t judge these folks against it,” Dunphy said. “I’m worried that we are potentially taking away something that will risk really good employees who want to be here.”

Councilor Sameer Kanal said he had “immense reservations” about the policy going forward.

The committee can’t force Wilson to change his mandate. Councilor Loretta Smith, chair of the labor committee, said she intends to request a work session with the full council to further discuss the policy. This will likely take place after the mandate goes into effect.

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Grace Savina’s last name. OPB regrets the error.