Do You Agree with SBA Administrator Loeffler that SBA Employees Should Return to Work?

Yes, SBA Employees Need to be in the Office 100% 

i think in today’s work environment, there needs to be some type of hybrid work environment as it is more efficient when you are able to save several hours daily in commute, getting ready, etc. but if the job is not being done, then the privilege needs to be modified or eliminated. Working from home is a privilege and some people take advantage of it.

Nice way to shake things up

Remote positions should be approved by department management for each position not a blanketed On-Site/Remote. I’m fully remote as a Director and do not have a physical office. Wasting unoccupied leased spaces is absurd. Maybe SBA turnaround time would improve if managed in-person. I talked to an SBA Loan Specialist about an approval, and she was working in her pool with loud music playing, unbothered with zero sense of urgency. A Litigation Plan request had 56-day response time.

We have experienced an SBA District Office with very little activity the last few years. Several LRS outright told us they would “Retire” rather than return to working regular office hours on premises. Don’t think we’ll be losing the Top Echelon with any attrition and may bring BACK a focus to supporting small business borrowers !!!

It is far past time for the United States Government to get back to work and become an efficient organization that provides goods and services for the Unted States citizens and to finally learn to avoid fraud and waste of the taxpayer money

Remote work company-wide reduces efficiency and teamwork. The rest of the world is back to work—it is time for the government to get there too.

It’s time to get serious again. Offices present opportunities to engage in spontaneous discussions, to collaborate, to serve the public in ways you can’t from home. It’s a step in the right direction.

The Agency is over centralized especially in loan administration and overly bureaucratic there too. Their decision cycle is far too slow to respond to participants requests for litigation approvals It was a mistake to fully centralize in 2003 and the agency has paid dearly in failure to detect fraud. It cannot attract workout talent due to cost differentials in DC The Herndon office needs to be decentralized with senior liquidators in each reaction to handle major issues face to face with lender

SBA employees need to return to the office to ensure the efficient operation of government programs. The current delays in processing are negatively impacting business owners and banks, who should be the priority. Government employees must recognize that their role is to serve American business owners and meet their needs, not the other way around. I fully support the President Trump’s position getting the workers back to the office. If they do not like it, let them resign. Go DOGE!

I honestly think it will make the SBA more efficient to have everyone back at the office.

work from home = not working for most people

Workers need to be concentrated in the office. A provision should be made for underwriters and other key workers that are the best hire but live outside of the DC area. The SBA world is a relatively small family across the country and having the best possible minds working for the agency is important even if they are somewhere else in the country.

SBA is slow and often takes a long time to get back to us on sensitive topics. In the past few years we have noticed they have become less knowledgeable about the SOP and screen out files that are eligible, citing old standards or not citing the correct standards.

I love it, SBA may now finally start getting work done timely. Govt employees working at home is a recipe for disaster, it should stop 100%.

There is incredible value in having the ability to collaborate with others in your organization. I think a hybrid with a day or two out of the office might be good but when teams are in office two things happen, collaboration and accountability.

Like many governmental agencies, communications and service quality have suffered in a WFH environment.

While I understand the benefits of working from home for the employee, I also believe collaboration within an organization is very valuable and cannot be replaced with Zoom. Since “Common Sense” is the theme of the new administration, those employees that demonstrate they can remain productive, should be able to work under a hybrid model.

Time to trim the fat. SBA is a bloated, inefficient organization. Clean it up and finally give some value to real Americans by eliminating the egregious 7a guarantee fee.

Inefficiency is unacceptable and if it takes everyone in a central location to help achieve efficiency then that should be the case. Working in an office is not a penalty, it is a privilege. think about how much you learn through “osmosis”, just being around a team. it’s a good move.

I think working 100% remotely is not effective for the majority of the population. There is also so much more that happens naturally when in person.

No, SBA Employees Do Not Need to be in the Office 100% 

Employees who work from home are just as effective as those who work in office. Her insinuation that SBA employees have been slacking for the past 5 years is insulting and untrue. Certain positions might require some in-office work but not all require it.

Some positions need to be in office. Most can be hybrid. Some are perfect for remote work. Even before COVID, we had flex schedules allowing us to work remotely 1-2 days a week. I was with a bank SBA department as Administrator.

Loeffler is completely wrong, out of touch with reality and making wild assumptions based purely on political motives and in an effort to promote her career. Her statements do not benefit the SBA, its employees or contractors and certainly not SBA borrowers.

If you have the right employees and accountability towards goals, where an employee sits should not matter.

In order to be effective in their role and provide great service the SBA agent needs to remain flexible. Their is no great benefit to going into the office in today’s environment of high frequency loan processing.

As Ms. Loeffler undoubtedly knows, “”people … not showing up for work”” is a wild accusation from an organization that recently welcomed remote work.

SBA could become wildly ineffective, for all of us, if the Administrator intentionally demoralizes her agency for the sake of political posturing.

With everything being connected these days there is not a problem of lost efficiency with off premises work. This all started in the private section and then the govt finally converted over and now it’s all turned bad. If the work is not up to a high standard, then of course that dept should have to come back into the office. The agency should be flexible.

The should be allowed hybrid work. The morale at the agency is SO bad. I left 6 years when we didn’t have remote work but about everyone else I knew has left.

It is a waste of taxpayer dollars to pay for all that empty office space. Instead of forcing your employees to come back to the office to justify all the money you spend on the space, just get rid of the space. Problem solved. Hiring someone who was forced to sell their WNBA team as the face of the SBA was a silly decision and two days in she’s proving this statement right.

Remote work allows SBA to attract top tier talent. This will be a loss for the SBA

Return to work efforts are myopic and quixotic. I think the SBA is better under a remote work structure, as it helped to break up many of the cliques and other power systems that leadership and charismatic coworkers could use to impose informal control beyond the normal structure. Workers have been more willing to speak up since going remote. I like what Trump and Elon are doing — except for this. Sunshine is the best disinfectant.

Each person’s position should be evaluated whether the need for in office is necessary. If the employee has been performing well remotely, leave that employee’s working location the same. This is going to cause disruption in processing loans and harm small businesses as some employees leave and response times grow from few staff and disgruntled staff.

The rental cost savings to the Agency by allowing remote work and thus resulting in significantly lower office size requirements has been proven. This change will cost the Agency significantly more $$ is occupancy costs and will more negatively impact women and people of color.

WFH can offer a better work-life balance. Increased productivity- Many find they focus better without office distractions and avoid fewer interruptions. Health Benefits- Working from home allows for a more relaxed atmosphere, potentially reducing stress and offering better work-life integration.

Employees don’t have to be in an office cubicle in order to do their job. In fact it has been proven that employees are more productive working from home. No commute. No water cooler talk.

Work life balance is important. If SBA management has production issues with their employees, those employees should be let go. It’s been shown that remote work can be more productive.

She should focus whether the work is done not where it is done studies clearly show workers are more productive when they can work from home. Not that a trump appointee would care that the workers are happier too

It would be ideal for everyone to be in-person, but the agency has allowed remote work (partially, a few days a week I believe) for so long that I think this will only lead to more workers leaving an already understaffed agency. With the current state of the federal government, those positions may not be refilled, leading to perpetual understaffing for at least the remainder of this administration.

The cancellation of remote work will lead to resignations or firings of valuable and productive SBA employees. Ms. Loeffler should focus on increasing the SBA maximum to $10 million.

It’s 2025, not 1985. I’ve been working from home for two years. I have never been more productive.

Blanket employee edicts and policies like this are harmful and short-sighted.

I don’t necessarily agree with being in the office makes one more productive. If it was a periodically set time for teambuilding, I would feel better about it.

I think some jobs can be done remotely and at least a hybrid schedule should be offered to senior level employees. For employees that are customer facing or under-performing, they should be in the office with a supervisor. If new hires are being trained, then the senior people training them should be in the office.

People can perform their jobs just as well from home, if not better, than they can in the office. It’s unreal that people still can’t comprehend this.

working remotely in no way impacts performance-it is a outdated way of thinking-the issue is taking directions from a real estate investor whose sole thought process is real estate valuations-get rid of the real estate keep the happier more engaged employee

As a client user of SBA products, the efficiency with SBA has never been better. This will only disrupt the process.

I live in a rural area and have no desire to leave my hometown. Work from home allows me to have a great career in SBA lending without leaving my community. I believe SBA staff should have the same opportunity as SBA lenders to live where they want.

Remote work can be a highly productive and efficient management structure if proper controls are established for everyone involved, resulting in a dynamic work environment. Like all small businesses, the workday doesn’t always start and end at the office. Work to the rule often stifles creativity and lessens motivation of purpose.

I worked on a 4 year appointment with the SBA for PPP and we all worked very hard from home and were probably much more productive than if we would’ve been in an office. We interacted with many amazing and hardworking career employees also working from home. I’m sure there are some people that are just not disciplined enough to be productive working from home. I don’t think fed employees will be as productive when FORCED to commute to the office. Unfortunately the best employees will leave first

Don’t think that it will make a difference.

Unsure Whether SBA Employees Need to be in the Office 100%

I think if the work can be done remotely & is getting done in a productive manner, it should continue. I know not everyone is happy with that, so maybe make a hybrid schedule with people alternating the days of the week they are in the office. Then they could get rid of some of the office space & possibly reduce overhead costs. As long as the work is getting done in a satisfactory manner it shouldn’t matter where it’s getting done from, one thing COVID showed us is that working from home works.

There are situations where remote work is effective and results in higher productivity. Much of that is dependent on the individual employee and their personal work ethic.

Not all employees are more efficient in the office. Sometimes you can also get more qualified staff if they don’t have to relocate. On the flip side, if RE is being maintained and not utilized that needs to be reviewed as well.

Has anyone looked at productivity pre and post remote work?

It depends – a few examples of things to consider. 1. Has SBA been paying rent for the last few years when no one was going into the office? Then yes! 2. Timing – Do SBA employees need time to make arrangements for things like caring for someone (child, elder, other) that they’ve been able to do while working from home? 3. Transportation – Are there people who need time to arrange transportation to/from work? 4. Did people move during the “”work from home”” and are not near the old office?