GAO Report: Effectively Ending Telework Increased Attrition at SSA

A January 2026 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report examined how the Trump administration's Return to In-Person Work memorandum affected telework at three federal agencies, with a focus on the Social Security Administration. GAO found that SSA had long relied on telework as a critical recruitment and retention tool, and that the elimination of routine telework has left the agency at risk of skills gaps in key occupations as employees seek greater flexibility elsewhere. These risks are compounding an existing understaffing issue, as SSA's workforce was already at a 50-year low before 2025. The telework policy had been challenged by a union, leading to a March 2026 order for SSA to reinstate telework, but that order was appealed and the new policy appears to stand.