The federal government has made phenomenal strides in implementing telework in just the past year, demonstrating that it is possible to increase employee satisfaction and take commuters off the road while addressing management concerns about security and productivity. According to a recently released 2006 survey of 542 federal employees by CDW Government, Inc.:

• The number of federal employees saying that they telework rose from 19 percent in 2005 to 41 percent in 2006.
• 87 percent of teleworkers, as opposed to only 62 percent of non-teleworkers, say they would be able to continue work if their office were shut down by a storm or other disaster.
• 54 percent of respondents say their supervisors regarded telework favorably, up from 45 percent in 2005.

Of those who cited telework favorably, 49 percent cited “productivity” as a factor, 80 percent cited “no commute,” and 68 percent cited “flexibility.”

To read the CDW press release and download the study, click here.

But the Feds need to do more, says Stanley F. Kaczmarczyk, a deputy associate administrator at the General Services Administration, in a Washington Post column by Steven Barr. Despite "slow and steady incremental improvement in telework participation" since 2000, Kaczmarczyk said, "19 percent is not good enough, based on all the information we have." For more click here.

To give federal telework a nudge, the General Services Administration has published a bulletin, “Guidelines on Alternative Workplace Arrangements,” that provides a useful glossary and guidelines. Can federal agencies pay the utility costs for alternate work sites? Can agencies require employees sign a safety checklist to participate in an AWA? Find out here.

Federal Register - Guidelines on Alternative Workplace Arrangements