Telecommuting slowly gaining traction in government agencies
Data from a recent FedScoop survey of more than 300 IT executives in the federal government and private sector appears to show that government teleworking policies should be progressing at a faster rate.
According to the report, 9 in 10 federal managers said that they trust their team to work from a remote location, but only 61 percent of respondents said their managers allow them to telework.
“The enthusiasm for teleworking is strong, and federal workers are confident that the right technology will help them remain efficient,” said Christina Morrison, public sector marketing manager at Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP, one of the sponsors of the survey. “Ninety-one percent of federal [staffers] surveyed said they are interested in teleworking, and 61 percent believe that technology can help them fully replace face-to-face meetings. However, 69 percent of federal employees said the federal government telework progress is not improving rapidly enough.” Morrison blogged her views here.
One telling statistic from the report: 43 percent of federal employees surveyed said their agency does not provide them with technology that sufficiently supports teleworking, compared with only 13 percent of private sector respondents. On the issue of security, 84 percent of federal employees said they are concerned about a cyber-attack on their organization, and 3 in 4 federal workers believe their network could experience critical failure.
“Technology plays an important role in creating a safe and reliable computing environment for mobile workers in both the public and private sectors,” Morrison said. “For example, teleworkers can use virtual web conferencing technology to replicate their in-person meetings while reducing their carbon footprint, travel expenses and long commute times.”
The U.S. Census Bureau is one federal agency that is starting to provide its staffers with telework-friendly technology. It has begun initial implementation of a virtual desktop infrastructure that will allow agency staffers to have a uniform screen view, whether they are working at the bureau’s headquarters, a regional office or from home. The virtual work environment will enable workers to use a variety of handheld and traditional IT devices remotely while safeguarding information in ultra-secure data centers.
At the state level, the Olympia, Wash.-based Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is using a phased approach to test a telework process, assess tools for accountability and identify training, IT and data needs before launching an agency-wide telework program.
“In the first phase, one division is participating to test specific elements of the program. New requirements and expectations were set for teleworkers participating in the pilot. Currently, 70 percent (21 people) of the ‘eligible’ employees in the division are regularly teleworking at least once a month. Over half are teleworking at least one day a week,” said Brooke Hamilton, WSDOT’s Sustainable Transportation Lead.
“At the midpoint of the pilot, employees and managers have observed productivity improvements as well as improved organization and prioritization of work load. Manager trainings and feedback sessions have increased the level of comfort with teleworking. Employees report increased morale and a better home-work balance,” Hamilton said. The second phase of the WSDOT pilot launched in February and includes several larger divisions in the agency.
Feedback on Govpro shows government workers are frustrated at the slow pace of establishing telework policies. In response to our most recent piece on this topic, “Where Teleworking Is Headed in 2012,” Govpro got several responses, including one from a government employee who said managers in his department “are trying to implement telework only on an occasional basis, for projects or recovery from illness or surgery. Regular weekly telework is not even on the table.” The employee urged that agencies “remove the micromanaging managers and directors from the process who are thwarting” the effort to establish across-the-board telework operations.
One seasoned government personnel manager who offered his teleworking views to Govpro is Steve Oppermann, an HR & EEO consultant/trainer. “As I see it, each successful teleworking experience builds additional credibility for the program as a whole, so I continue to believe that it is up to supervisors to provide opportunities for interested employees to telework, where feasible, and for participating employees to demonstrate that their duties can be performed successfully via telework, on a regular or intermittent basis,” Oppermann told Govpro.
Oppermann previously served as regional director of personnel for GSA, and advised and represented management in six agencies during his federal career. He contributes content to the FedSmith.com site.
