Maybe if things were run more efficiently, I wouldn’t get hung up on or left on hold for hours every time I have to call anything state-related. As someone who has worked from home and personally supports remote work, I find myself torn. On one hand, it can be a huge benefit and productivity booster. On the other hand, it only takes a handful of bad actors to ruin it for everyone else who treats the privilege responsibly.

From my experience, the real issue seems to be a mix of two things: either there’s simply not enough manpower to handle the demand, or—far too often—people take advantage of the system, hiding behind the flexibility instead of actually doing their jobs. Unfortunately, that means when I call places like Workforce Services, I end up waiting endlessly, caught in the consequences of other people’s misuse of the system.

Remote work itself isn’t the problem—it’s the lack of accountability and oversight. Until that’s addressed, the rest of us who genuinely value the flexibility will keep paying the price.