The University System of Georgia is requiring all 50,000+ employees to return to in-office work starting August 1, 2025. 

While many functions within the university system require in-person work, many do not. Despite staff working flexibly since before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2025 the system has an all-time high Spring semester enrollment.

Reasoning for in-person work is stated to be "for the students", but non-student-facing employees are caught in the new policies as well. In-person work requirements should be dependent on the position and individual work quality. No data was used to back up the policy, and employees were told that the "why" does not matter.

RTO requirements for currently remote or hybrid employees will force workers to incur extra costs just to keep their jobs. Already in-office staff will face crowding and parking difficulties, which are already issues at many locations. 

Additionally, as this is coming down from the Board of Regents, there may be a conflict of interest. Three members of the board (Samuel D. Holmes, T. Dallas Smith, and Mat Smith) openly have commercial real estate ties, and it is possible that other members have commercial real estate holdings as well. RTO could further enrich these people with government money through renting their properties directly due to needing more space. Additionally, more people in office drives up demand for commercial space, making their holdings worth more. 

A blanket RTO policy does not benefit students, employees, or the University System of Georgia institutions themselves. It only serves to potentially enrich the USG Board of Regents. Please sign to keep this change from impacting lives of employees and to protect the universities from a mass employee exodus.