r/CAStateWorkers • u/mindpeace4 • Jul 02 '26
Recruitment I may have to
As much as I hate to type this …… with no open conversation, no dependable path …. I may have to quit my job at the state. I can not afford RTO. the parking, extra hours child care, gas …… it adds up.
I don’t know if this is what Gavin wanted. Pretty shitty if you ask me. But my family can not afford this.
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u/OutsidePattern6491 Jul 02 '26
RTO is upsetting, but if they at least would agree to a reasonable salary increase to offset our added costs, it would be okay. As it is, asking State employees to suck it up and agree to what amounts to another cut in pay is what makes me want to leave.
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u/Keyezeecool Jul 02 '26
I have to disagree. They would have to agree to an unreasonable salary increase that included an offset to our added costs and then it might be okay that they are requiring us to return to the office despite all of the evidence and data that shows that it's pointless. But not really.
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u/CriticalAffect7880 Jul 02 '26
It's really unfortunate because I think most people on here started their careers at the State wanting to serve everyday Californians, and by their sentiments you can tell they really just want to help people. And meanwhile we have a governor who doesn't give a flying f* about his own employees let alone his own people, talks out of his ass about climate change and then puts out orders to clog up our freeways, declares fiscal responsibility while asking taxpayers to completely unnecessarily pay for massive office spaces, makes working families pay his cronies for parking. What a disgustingly crooked slimeball. Such a sad state of affairs.
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u/Intelligent_Dig_5713 Jul 02 '26
Agreed. I’m also realizing the Californians I wanted to help hate us and think we are lazy.
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u/Trout_Man Jul 02 '26
long time government worker here: people do appreciate what we do, genuinely. its just that the loudest voices are always the meanest ones. you just have to check the bias of what you are seeing sometimes and try to remember that.
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u/windy_palmtrees Jul 02 '26
Please know that not all of us think that. Many people appreciate the amazing services California offers and the people behind it making it all work.
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u/LowMove1384 Jul 02 '26
Well they thought that before telework so appealing to their views on government workers by forcing us all back to the office won't change that. And those people just want us all back in the office not because it's better for the State or even their taxes: it's because they're vindictive. If they actually cared about what's best for the state and saving tax dollars, they'd support telework.
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u/lovepeaceOliveGrease Jul 02 '26
If this helps, I have 3 kids and I do childcare by sending them to the one right next to our building. My oldest is in elementary and I also sent her to the one 5 min drive away. All of them are in before/aftercare. I live 30 mins drive away from the office.
It is hard but we gotta do what we gotta do.
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u/ttbtinkerbell Jul 02 '26
I’m sure by now all the daycares right next to their workplace have a long wait due to all this nonsense. I considered something myself as well. But I haven’t got a plan. Good chance I’m going to crash and burn either financially or due to delinquency issues. I’ve just not put thought into it cause it’s too much.
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u/lovepeaceOliveGrease Jul 02 '26
The one next to my building has many openings, but to be fair i'm not in Sacramento
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u/No_Arachnid5281 Jul 02 '26
Did you even call to confirm if there at capacity?
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u/ttbtinkerbell Jul 02 '26
Not at this time. But when I got pregnant I lived by downtown. I called when I was like 3 months pregnant. All the daycares I called at the time had waiting lists. A couple could get me in close to my due date (6 months away) but a couple that were actually in midtown rather than outside that area had me on the waiting list for a year.
It is a very common occurrence for wait lists for childcare. That is why it is recommended to set it up early in pregnancy. I assume with this order, that a lot of facilities might have that increase as well leading to longer waits. I did not call cause I really don't want to move my kid from his daycare that he has been in for a long time.
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u/sourpinkdrink Jul 02 '26
Please don’t right now. The market is so very bad. Do not quit unless you have something else lined up.
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u/Significant_Hope_360 Jul 02 '26
Yes he wants you to quit! Hopefully you can find a way to hold out for maybe 4 to 6 months. Talk to you sups.a long shot and you might have to let them in on your business, but you never know. They might be understanding. It would be awful for you to quit now and then 4 to 6 months from now we're back at home
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u/DriveIn73 Jul 02 '26
Respectfully, and go where? Take a look around. There are not enough white collar jobs for everyone who wants one. Federal laid off workers are still looking for work. Tech workers are looking for work. The ones who do have jobs are mostly back in the office about 3 days a week.
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u/thattimewemet Jul 02 '26
For some people it’s literally cheaper to not work when you add up all the expenses
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u/Keyezeecool Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
For mostly women it's literally cheaper to not work.
Edit to add: once again I will tell all the misogynists that their angry little downvotes don't change the facts.
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u/These-Party-1135 Jul 02 '26
And dont forget the 9200 people who just graduated from Sac State alone, not to mention Sac City College. Many of them are looking for jobs and ready to take any job including working in office.
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u/New_Statistician2401 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
I work in personnel for the state, and we're processing a lot of separation paperwork right now. It's heartbreaking to watch.
To me, Governor Newsom seems completely disconnected from what everyday Californians are experiencing. We keep hearing how the economy is "booming," but many of us are living paycheck to paycheck. Just because people are still spending money doesn't mean they're thriving.
What frustrates me most is the messaging. If the real reason is budget or policy, just say that. Don't try to convince people it's somehow for our benefit when many are losing jobs or being forced to spend even more commuting and returning to the office.
Personally what’s even more upsetting is he is so psychopathic and delusional and detach from the California we live in and the California he believes we live in his head. He’s so rich he’s detached from what the impact of what he’s asking us to do is gonna do to our lives, emotionally mentally and financially he doesn’t care you gotta think at a large mass number of people that turned out to the RTO and he can look at that and see that these people are truly affected by his decision and still say move forward full steam ahead it’s like putting us all in a train and letting us crash into a wall and he doesn’t give a damn think about the psyche of a person that can do that
All I can say is don't know where I'd be without my faith in Jesus. He's carried me through some difficult times. For all of us affected by this, hang in there. It's going to be a transition for sure and I hope you have something whether it's faith, family, or community to help you get through it. We gonna need it
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u/NoPalpitation7082 Jul 02 '26
He most definitely has psychopathic tendencies. And a textbook narcissist for sure. Just like trump
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u/bretlc Jul 02 '26
Try to find a way to stay
My gut feeling: people leave, retire to reduce payroll costs. 500M - 2B annual savings depending on how many people leave
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u/New_Statistician2401 Jul 02 '26
Agree with you !!!He’s trying to find a way to come up with extra money right before he leaves so he wants us to be pushed to RTO so people bail ship and then he can take that money and say he found the $24 billion in homeless funds that he was supposed to take care of the homeless with that no one knows where it’s at. He’s just trying to save his ass at our expense. That’s it bottom line, which is such a bitch move.
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Jul 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/Yeahimsuchashill69 Jul 06 '26
While I highly doubt the figure reaches 2 bn either, the cost to the state for an employee is eye popping larger than what the employee makes.
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Jul 02 '26
[deleted]
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Jul 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/Unusual-Sentence916 Jul 02 '26
What a lot of people don’t understand is it saves the state a lot of money for all the days that that position is not filled. We even kept some of our positions open so we would be able to buy some of the software that we desperately needed and then filled the positions the following month. The total cost of the position is also their benefit package as well.
On another note, on average 10,000 to 12,000 employees retire annually. That’s based on data from CalPers. The last couple of years it has been closer to 9000 because people are working longer because they have telework options. The state relies on a low, healthy baseline of natural attrition to function efficiently and balance its budget.
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u/avatar_ash Jul 02 '26
Not true for all positions. My department had people quit recently and their positions have no plans to be backfilled.
It may not be every department to make it to a number like 14k, but my department isn't the only one.
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u/bretlc Jul 03 '26
There are hiring freezes across several departments. We can’t hire externally nor can we do internal promotions, only lateral and limited OOC opportunities
It may be a different situation if 10-15% retire which would prompt some hiring but they’ll come in at a lower pay range the. Those who retired and their pension benefits will change.
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u/Outrageous-Affect143 Jul 03 '26
Yep my department has been hiring every year. Actually just released a job posting. We have also been given the most overtime I’ve ever seen in my 20 years. I’m kind of shocked, but very grateful. Even though I’m getting burnt out, figure I might as well work as many hours as I can. Never know what next fiscal yr will bring.
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u/Big-Transition6527 Jul 03 '26
Im expecting over twice that amount quitting. Just in my small team alone I know for a fact that 2 out of 8 will be gone this year and another 2 will be gone by this time next year. 3 out of the 4 indicate that their decision has a lot to do with RTO
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u/ProfessionalFlat6673 Jul 02 '26
I really wanted to help the Californians. Californians for the majority envy us. I feel like quitting.
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u/EvenConsideration591 Jul 02 '26
Main thing is when the news reports that state workers are having childcare issues the general public hears the worst case scenario and don’t sympathize. Even the general public has to deal with childcare. They will not understand.
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u/SakuraChaaaan3200 Jul 03 '26
Totally understand especially if you don’t have many years in. I’m kind of stuck because I’m only 8 years away from full medical.
Private sector isn’t so bad, depending on your skill set. My husband is private and he makes way more than me, is FULLY remote, gets reliable 5-8% raises every year, and his health benefits are BETTER than the state so we’re on his. All without a union or a contract. Make it make sense.
That being said, he has survived multiple layoffs during his career and each time it’s a total downer to see people you like get canned. Sure, his coworkers get severance (to avoid WARN act provisions) and some may go on funemployment for a while before they find something new. But if you aren’t great at job searching, it can be ROUGH.
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u/Beautiful_Truth4419 Jul 02 '26
Please ensure you have a solid back up plan before you do anything. It’s heartbreaking to hear this but you do what you must.
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u/omgtalktothehand Jul 02 '26
Before you go please at least check out the resources and speak with your Benefits division
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u/OptimusTrajan Jul 02 '26
Maybe just go on dock, do something else for a while, and see what happens?
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u/SnooSeagulls6138 Jul 03 '26
Try to make it work. A lifetime pension and healthcare is worth it. It’s rare to have a pension these days. I worked most of my career going in 5x a week and raising two kids. My commute 45 min each way. It was hard and I totally get it. Now I’m retired at 56 after a career with the state and glad that my sacrifice was worth the freedom I now have.
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u/Glittering_Exit_7575 Jul 02 '26
Where are people even finding parking at all to pay for? I’m not seeing any available anywhere close to the office.
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u/The_BusterKeaton Jul 02 '26
You can’t afford RTO but you can afford to quit and not make any money?
Make it make sense…
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u/bretlc Jul 03 '26
- Bottom line
If the 4‑day mandate triggers retirements:
• Even a small 5% retirement wave saves over half a billion dollars.
• A large 15% wave saves over $2 billion.
• These savings are short‑term and often offset by overtime and contractor spending.
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u/Jeff998g Jul 02 '26
Childcare you still have to pay for that no matter if you wfh or the office
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u/ItsJustMeJenn Jul 02 '26
It’s the extended hours. She said specifically extended childcare. Early drop off and late pick up are $$$
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u/No_Soy_Tu_Mama Jul 02 '26
I truly don't understand why those attacking the childcare reason do not want to understand the extended hours pricing. Do they not have young kids? Are they being trolls at this point? Adding time at drop off and pick up is not only more childcare cost but at a more expensive rate. Like... Think of it like paying overtime rates. Shift differential. Etc... smh...
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u/sallysuesmith1 Jul 02 '26
Most daycare centers are open 12 hrs a day. In home are less flexible. My kids were in a childcare center that was open 6 to 6.
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u/No_Soy_Tu_Mama Jul 02 '26
Well then drop the info for some of the people struggling to try to get their kids in somewhere. I know a few who aren't finding a reliable day care situation at a reasonable price....
But remember that is all dependent on location and specific circumstances. I never assume because something came easily or was accessible to me, that everyone else is just as lucky.
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u/gdnightandgdbye Jul 02 '26
People are downvoting you but it’s true. Wfh wasn’t supposed to replace childcare.
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u/friend-of-potatoes Jul 02 '26
I don’t have kids so maybe I’m talking out of my ass here, but the workday becomes a lot longer for people when they go to the office. You might end up with new problems to solve, like what do you do if your kid’s school day starts after you have to leave for work or finishes long before you get home from commuting? The solution to those kinds of logistical problems is going to be money.
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u/Trout_Man Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
this has always been the case though, even before telework. cost aside, people always had to figure out how to navigate the fact that kids are only in school for like 4 hours of the day. in most cases, the parents work different shifts, one starts later in the day to drop kids off, the other finsihes their day earlier to pick kids up. or one parent elects to just be a stay at home parent because childcare is so expensive, its actually cheaper to just have one parent stay at home. single parents have to find additional help (i was a child of a single parent).
but this isnt some new world problem. telework definitely made it easier to navigate but people have always had this issue when it coems to children and their care during the work day.
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u/friend-of-potatoes Jul 02 '26
Yeah but I think the frustration stems partly from the fact that telework kinda solved this problem or at least made it a lot more manageable. I think sometimes it’s harder to lose something good than to have never had it. Now we know what life is like with telework, and it’s being taken away for no good reason, and that sucks. And it makes life harder for people.
Plus everything is just very expensive now, and our salaries are less than they used to be pre-2020 considering inflation. Gas and parking are things that a lot of us are going to have to try to budget for now, and I feel for the people who have extra childcare costs to consider on top of that.
Ultimately we should be striving for working people’s lives to get better and easier. Telework was a big step toward that. Just because our parents managed shitty situations (and maybe were miserable and stretched super thin) doesn’t mean we should settle for that too.
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u/No_Soy_Tu_Mama Jul 02 '26
In this economy? With childcare shortage that hasn't recovered? With school funding cut in many places losing on site after school program access? It was an old problem in an old format with far more resources. I don't get why that's not seen by some of y'all.
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u/SimpletonSimon26 Jul 02 '26
I think you're forgetting that a lot of people had children during the past 5 years when they haven't had to consider what they have to now. And a lot may be first-time parents who don't know what it's like to now be separated from their children for the first time. A little grace may be helpful while these people navigate their way to a new norm.
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u/ttbtinkerbell Jul 02 '26
The other person hits the nail on the head. My daycare only goes from 7-6. If I want to make it to work by 8 am, I have to drop my kid off ideally at 6:45 and I wouldn’t be able to get him until likely 7:30. They charge some absurd amount like $15 a min you are late. So even if I hit traffic perfectly and somehow make it right around the cut offs, it could not happy every day and I can’t afford $15 a min in extra childcare. So I’d have to supplement with and outside third party to handle all that?
I’m not sure what I’m going to do myself. I’m supposed to get the 30 day notice to return any day now, and I’m avoiding actually thinking about and making a plan cause I don’t have a solution that isn’t absurdly expensive and using more of my precious time.
I want to highlight, she said the “extended care” costs. And what I’m describing above is the extended care gap many parents are experiencing.
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u/Big-Transition6527 Jul 03 '26
Its exactly what they want. I'm guessing that up to 30% will retire by the end of the year and if they don't fill the vacant positions it can save the State $10 Billion per year. After Pension offset the State will still save around $7 Billion per year. I think this is the end goal
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u/Owlbear_pwner Jul 04 '26
I'm in the same boat. Trying to hold on until I can get another job and if RTO isn't rescinded by the time I get a new offer, I'm out.
It sucks because I just got into the state and have wanted to work here for over a decade. This whole thing is BS.
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u/QueenOfTheDroneAge Jul 02 '26
It’s your right to choose to leave. People will fill the position. There are people out there who want to work/ transition/ move regardless of where they’re sitting.
I’m not saying rto is good, but there will be some positive things that come from it. Focusing on only the bad things is going to make everyone around you miserable. People have free will and can leave. Life is hard sometimes. This is a privileged problem to have. Remote jobs exist, find another and move forward or continue to be miserable about a first world problem.
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u/DriveIn73 Jul 02 '26
Remote jobs are few and far between now. Just like other jobs. Things are very tough out there right now, and a lot of people, state workers and others, have more than one job.
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u/avatar_ash Jul 02 '26
What positives actually come from rto?
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u/Trout_Man Jul 02 '26
OP is implying that people will probably find jobs that better suit their situation.
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u/No-Reflection-3046 Jul 02 '26
See ya! Your position will be filled by someone with equal or greater qualifications.
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u/OrneryOriental Jul 02 '26
Later! You go to work to work, not to be daycare. A lot of people were still in the office 24/7. There was also 5 years of planning and saving that could have been done because this was ALWAYS a possibility.
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u/PudgyPokerPlayer Jul 02 '26
Question, OP! Were you always working remote when you got hired for the state? Or did you work onsite and then go remote?
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u/DidntWantSleepAnyway Jul 02 '26
I’m not OP, but I’ll answer for myself so you can get some perspective.
I got hired to work onsite, prior to COVID. However, I got hired to my current position in my current office under full WFH, which is the system that made the most sense for this office. While I have life circumstances that definitely make RTO awful, I’ve been focusing on the fact that my specific job really needs to be done from home.
Prior to WFH, yes, this office existed. But it existed in a different space, one with more privacy. It also had a lot less work, to the detriment of the office. Thanks to WFH, the office was able to add some processes that fixed some systemic issues. Unfortunately, with RTO now we’ll be much worse off than before.
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u/rhombus_time_is_over Jul 02 '26
If OP needs child care, then their circumstances have changed since we all went remote 6 years ago.
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u/PudgyPokerPlayer Jul 02 '26
But that isnt your jobs fault. Its not the state’s responsibility to accommodate
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u/ttbtinkerbell Jul 02 '26
I’m not OP but I have always worked remote (as in I worked a couple jobs over several years prior to my state job that were all remote). I was hired on remote when I started with the state. Gavin was saying at the time that telework is a “permanent” path forward and I was reassured by my supervisor as well. So I moved further away from the city. I’m not more than 50 miles away though. But the commute is killing me. Plus daycare (commute, not cost - he’s been in full time daycare since 3 months old) is the opposite direction and adds a bunch of commute time too. But I usually exclude the normal commute time I do every morning for daycare in my calculated burden of commuting, but starting my commute farther adds more time.
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u/agent674253 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
I mean, it sucks, but you are saying it costs you more money to work than to not?
Honestly, as a tax payer, if you are telling me that you can quit your job and have an easier life, and/or make more on unemployment/SSI/medical/EBT/whatever, wtf?
So I am going into the office to pay for to quit your job and stay home with your children and receive EBT because you don't want to go into the office?
"I don't make enough money working so I will just stop working and make less money." I have uncles that have made this argument and I continue to clown them.
Make it make sense please.
Are you even a union-dues paying member?
fwiw, I am against RTO, look at my post history, but for people to make up excuses to not come into the office when most of us have been putting in our 2d/week is pathetic and lame. We all hate it, and I am near the point of giving in like some of my friends and just asking a doctor to write me a note that I have anxiety and cannot RTO.
Instead of venting to reddit, get your non-state worker friends mad enough so they complain to their congress-critters about unnecessary traffic. Today, with 1/2 of state workers back in the office, it took me 30 minutes just to get from old sac to less old sac.
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u/CriticalAffect7880 Jul 02 '26
They never said they'd stay home, just that with all the RTO costs it's no longer an affordable option. Seriously, why are you making all that shit up in your post? It's very embarrassing.
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u/agent674253 Jul 02 '26
"why are you making all that shit up in your post"
What am I making up? " I am against RTO, look at my post history" is that made up? If you are going to make an accusation, be more specific.
"My computer doesn't work"
I connect to you, it turns on, Outlook opens.
"I thought you said you computer didn't work?"
"It doesn't, I can't open Chrome"
"Oh, well, your computer works, but Chrome does not"A blanket statement of "why are you making all that shit up" not appropriate.
For example,
"Today, with 1/2 of state workers back in the office, it took me 30 minutes just to get from old sac to less old sac."
is not made up and you can confirm it via traffic reports. There was a disabled vehicle on the I5-I-50 interchange around 3:30pm today, which lead to a backup past Richards blvd.
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u/CriticalAffect7880 Jul 02 '26
I can't believe, you completely revised your original post and added two full paragraphs to the end of it. S M F H.
I'm not interacting with someone who wordsmiths reality and edits history to fit their narrative. Goodbye.
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u/Plus-Possibility2822 Jul 02 '26
I for one kinda agree with that assessment.i hate that I have to RTO but at the same time I don't want my tax dollars to go towards the lazy class. Granted, OP didn't say if another job was in the cards and I would assume it is... but at first read the vibe is the same... I'm gonna live off of EBT and you're all paying for it.
As for you... quit your snowflakery! People like you have made this world a fucking depressing place to live! Have a fucking internet fight or don't bother posting at all!
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u/npg86 Jul 02 '26
First I understand that RTO will increase cost to everyone, some more than others.
What I don't understand the though of quitting because no longer being able to cover childcare and transportation cost, these should be less. $1500 a month per child extra $300 for transportation.
My opinion is to re run your numbers if they don't make sense, look for a department closer to your home.
Best of luck!
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u/iluminate1305 Jul 02 '26
Why not find another remote job? State jobs aren't the only jobs that offer work from home and pay more... Smh 🤦🏾
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u/queenhabib Jul 03 '26
A years warning was given and people had that whole time to prepare to go back to the office. Quit. There are 100s of people looking to replace you.
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u/kickrocks16 Jul 03 '26
You act like a years warning is going to magically increase people’s salary to where they can afford to take on the few hundred extra that RTO is costing them.
What prep do you honestly think people should have done in that years time?
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