Government Executive June 2019 Poll: Metro Closures Threaten Majority of Federal Employees

As reported exclusively by Government Executive.

The Washington Metrorail is undergoing long-term track work this year, with six Metro stations south of Reagan National Airport closing for the summer of 2019 and many other stations being affected in the next year. This poses a challenge to federal commuters during a time of conflicting changes to telework policies. 

To understand what impact the closures are having, Government Business Council (GBC) polled a random sample of federal employees based in the Washington Metropolitan area. The results show a noticeable rift in telework flexibility and support among the agencies. For example, 35% of employees say their agency has become less flexible over the past 2 years versus 45% who feel their agency has become more flexible. 

More than half of federal employees (53%) say their organization is not at all or only slightly supportive in offering situational telework in light of scheduled metro closures, and 23% of respondents say these restrictive policies will have a major or severe impact on their ability to do their jobs.

See below for the full presentation of findings.

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Methodology

Government Business Council and GovExec released a poll in June of 2019 to a random sample of Government Executive, Nextgov, Defense One and Route Fifty subscribers employed by the Federal government and residing in the Washington DC Metropolitan area (including Virginia and Maryland suburbs). After quality control, 426 government employees are included for representation. 

Survey Findings