“I Do ICE Walks Before Work Now”: 23 Americans Reveal The Gut-Wrenching Ways Trump’s Policies Have Upended Their Lives

5.

“I am a federal employee who, up until Feb. 2025, was working from home full-time. Then, Trump made all government employees return to the office five days a week. Absolutely miserable. And for what? Our meetings are still on Microsoft Teams, so we’re all just sitting next to each other at our desks in a virtual meeting. My child had to be removed from his school and enrolled in a different one that was more convenient for my commute and with longer hours, so I could get him after sitting in traffic. I would love for someone to genuinely explain to me why I need to be in an office full-time when I was remote for years.”

“Trump says federal workers are lazy and don’t do any real work, so we need to be at a desk for 9 hours to be more productive. Every day feels like a waste of my life, stuck in traffic and sitting stationary at a desk. I don’t even talk to my coworkers, nor do I want to. I want to be home. I miss my kid and my dogs.”

—Anonymous, 35, F, MD, USA