26 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 1, 2026
Opinion & Commentary
G
ov. Ned Lamont has said for
years that he wants more state
employees back in the office
on a regular basis.
At some point, he needs to prove it.
The Democratic governor recently
had an opportunity to take a firmer
stance, but, in
effect, punted.
A labor agreement
announced in April
covering tens of
thousands of union-
ized state employees
delivered 2.5% annual raises plus
step increases, but left remote work
rules largely unchanged. Rather than
renegotiating telework standards, the
administration and unions agreed to
form a working group that will study
remote work policies and issue recom-
mendations by early 2027.
That may be politically convenient
in an election year, but it's also a
missed opportunity.
Connecticut's embrace of remote
work for state employees made
sense during the pandemic, but we
are now long past that public health
crisis. Much of the private sector
has already moved toward firmer
in-office requirements.
A 2021 arbitration award estab-
lished the framework that still largely
governs state telework. It allows
eligible employees to request telework
schedules of any amount, while giving
agencies broad discretion to deny
or modify those requests based on
EDITOR'S TAKE
Gov. Lamont should take harder
stance on state office returns
Greg Bordonaro
operational needs.
In practice, that created a system
that has proven difficult for the
Lamont administration to meaning-
fully scale back.
During Hartford Business Journal's
May 13 Politics & Policy legislative
recap event, I asked Lamont why he
didn't push harder on the issue during
labor negotiations.
He said he still favors bringing more
employees back into state offices,
with a hybrid model that includes
roughly three in-office days per week
and scheduling flexibility worked out
between employees and managers.
"I want more people coming into
work," Lamont said. " … I know how
vital that is for the city of Hartford. It's
vital for your businesses, it's vital for
state government."
He also said in-person work remains
important for mentoring and training
newer employees.
On that point, he's right.
This isn't an argument for dragging
everyone back to the office five days
a week. The workplace has changed,
and hybrid work is now part of the
competitive labor landscape.
Connecticut employers across
industries have had to adapt to
recruit and retain talent in a still-tight
labor market. The state faces those
same realities.
But asking employees who can
reasonably work in person to spend at
least three days a week in the office
strikes a fair and practical balance.
It would also help Hartford's
economic recovery.
State government remains one of
the city's most important economic
anchors. Yet, Hartford is still dealing
with the aftershocks of the pandem-
ic-era office collapse. Retail store-
fronts remain empty, restaurants
continue to operate in a fragile envi-
ronment and office vacancy remains a
serious concern.
Business leaders have become so
worried about Hartford's trajectory
that some of the city's most influential
corporate executives have formed
a Vision Committee to help chart a
path forward.
One of that group's early conclu-
sions is that Hartford's economic
activity is too episodic. The city comes
alive for sporting events, concerts and
occasional attractions, but lacks the
consistent daily foot traffic needed to
sustain a vibrant downtown economy.
That diagnosis is right.
And while adding more downtown
residents through office-to-apartment
conversions is an important part of the
solution, it won't solve the near-term
problem on its own.
The state has already invested
heavily in Hartford's revival, including
support for office-to-residential
conversions through the Capital
Region Development Authority.
Those projects matter, but there's
a contradiction in simultaneously
investing in downtown's recovery while
allowing one of the city's largest work-
forces to remain largely dispersed.
There's also the question of
workplace performance.
Remote work can be effective, but
it's hard to argue broad telework is
the best model for collaboration,
mentorship, accountability and
agency cohesion.
Lamont himself made that case at
our event, citing the Department of
Children and Families as an example.
"There's nothing more vital for a DCF
caregiver than to have a really strong
mentor," he said. "And you don't do
that on Zoom. You do that in person."
If the governor believes that,
the answer shouldn't be another
study group.
Yes, flexibility should remain.
Employees with caregiving responsibil-
ities or other legitimate circumstances
may warrant accommodations.
But exceptions shouldn't define the
broader policy.
Lamont said the issue will return to
the bargaining table next year.
A reasonable statewide hybrid
standard — such as a minimum
three-day in-office expectation for
eligible employees — would better
serve taxpayers, strengthen agency
culture and help support Connecticut's
capital city.
Hartford needs more feet on the
street, and the governor can play
an important role in helping make
that happen.
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