Thousands of state employees will be impacted by a move to get workers back to the office. Photo by Niki Kelly, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Niki Kelly
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — State government officials rescinded 8,486 hybrid remote work agreements Tuesday as Gov. Mike Braun’s push to return state employees to the office takes full effect.

Indiana Secretary of Management and Budget Lisa Hershman said there will be no more hybrid arrangements — employees will either work solely in state offices or solely at home. Each agreement applies to a single employee.

“We looked at what makes sense to maximize value and productivity, and so we didn’t have a steadfast goal, but we knew that we were missing out on collaborative opportunities,” she said.

The state dropped from 10,588 active remote work agreements in January when Braun’s executive order was issued to 9,293 as of June 23.

As of July 1 that number is down to 537, the state personnel department reported Tuesday, June 1. But they are still documenting employees who have always worked entirely off-site or whose roles have been identified as best performed remotely full-time per the new policy. Once those records are captured, the number of active agreements should rise by roughly 1,200 over the next few months.

“That’s working fine,” Gov. Mike Braun told reporters recently. “Some, of course, didn’t like that. Most, I think, have come back. You know we’ve got a low unemployment rate in the state, so everybody’s going to be able to find something else. But that’s gone pretty smoothly.”

According to the Indiana Transparency Portal, the total number of state employees fell from 32,212 in December 2024 to 31,222 as of Saturday, June 21 — a drop of almost 1,000 workers.

Hershman said there is still flexibility in the process. That’s why the administration took months of planning and examined job duties, budgets, office space, parking and technology needs.

“We were taking in a lot of input and to pull the band aid off is a very tough approach. And so that’s why we approached it a little bit in a more fluid way,” she said.

Hershman noted, for instance, that the July Fourth holiday week coincided with some vacations, allowing the state to track limited resources as employees trickle back into the office. Officials are monitoring parking in downtown Indianapolis state lots to see if that’s a problem, and mentioned that shuttles have been used in the past.

State Personnel Director Matthew Brown issued updated guidance on June 29 that establishes eligibility requirements, procedures, and recommendations for limited remote work.

“This policy emphasizes the inherent benefits of in-person collaboration while furthering governmental efficiency and responsiveness without sacrificing accountability,” the new policy said.

Some Exceptions Allowed

Former Gov. Eric Holcomb tried to bring many state employees back into state office buildings after the pandemic, but employees resisted and left for other jobs. That led to higher turnover and a policy reversal.

Hershman said the concern remains valid, and that Indiana is committed to attracting and retaining talent. She said they listened to employees voicing frustration in key cases.

For instance, while some employees are returning to the office, others might be moving from a hybrid approach to fully remote. That is true for those working state call centers.

She said data shows they are more productive at home and metrics are easy to track on their work.

“We took that into consideration and benchmarked that industry,” she said. “We wanted to understand what the needs of our constituents were, what our workforce talent was needing, and try to marry those so this was not something abrupt, and it we tried to be deliberately designed for the greatest impact.”

Hershman also noted the state will be flexible on when an employee works in the office. She said employees might share workspace and work different hours – perhaps one starting at 6 a.m. and another in late afternoon.

The new guidance has key rules for any remote work, including:

• Remote work must be performed within the geographical boundaries of Indiana unless traveling for official functions or expressly authorized by the agency head and cabinet secretary.
• Remote Work Agreements for hybrid schedules in existence on June 30, 2025, which are not an authorized exception as a reasonable accommodation, are rescinded. Employees shall work full time in an assigned office, facility, or field location and not from a remote location unless the agency head has determined remote work is required either full-time or on an ad hoc basis to accomplish specific operational objectives.
• Remote work is not a substitute for child or dependent care. Employees approved for remote work must continue to arrange for child or dependent care to the same extent as if they were working at the office.
• A remote work site must be safe and must have reliable internet access, a state-issued computer (or a personal computer utilizing IOT-approved security technology), and a phone line (that is, a state-issued cellular phone, a personal cellular phone compliant with IOT policies, or a landline). Employees shall be responsible for the security of all data, documents or information used for state business purposes.
• Any remote work agreements are good for one year only, and will be renewed each January.