In November 2002, OPM surveyed Federal agencies to determine the status of telework within the government and gauge agencies' progress in implementing the requirements of section 359 of Public Law 106-346. For the second year in a row, Federal agencies report an increase in the number of employees who telework: a total of 90,010 Federal employees in 77 agencies teleworking, compared to 74,487 reported in 2001--a gain of 21 percent. The agencies report 625,313 eligible employees (35 percent of the Federal workforce), which is a 20 percent increase from the 521,542 employees eligible in 2001. In 2002,14.4 percent of eligible employees teleworked. Five percent of the Federal workforce is now teleworking, up from 4.2 in 2001. As of 2002, 68.5 percent of the total eligible Federal workforce has been offered the opportunity to telework. This is an increase of 18.5 percent over the targeted number of 50 percent mandated by Public Law 106-346 for 2002.There was a dramatic 86 percent increase in the number of employees teleworking because of a medical or disabling condition (1,749 compared to 939 in 2001). Telework was most common in pay grades GS-12 through GS-15.

Of the 77 reporting agencies, 63 reported having approved and implemented their telework policies, 9 were in the process of policy development, and 3 were in the implementation stages, and 2 reported no policies or policy development activity. Agencies reported that data security and information technology issues were the main barriers to telework in 2002, replacing management resistance and funding as the top barriers reported in April 2001.

OPM has been promoting telework within the Federal Government for over a decade, and we were relentless in our efforts to promote telework in 2002. At a January 25, 2002, visit to the Bowie State Telework Center, OPM Director Kay Coles James, accompanied by Members of Congress and senior Federal agency officials, emphasized OPM's continued commitment to telework. During Public Service Recognition Week, May 6 -11, 2002, we partnered with the General Services Administration (GSA) to showcase telework. The event provided an opportunity to share telework information with the large number of Federal employees attending and to respond individually to their questions. We joined with GSA to hold a Federal Telework Update Session in conjunction with the International Telework Association and Council (ITAC) Conference in September 2002. Involvement with ITAC gives us access to state-of-the-art information from the private sector and enables us to take a leadership position in the national telework community.

We addressed barriers to telework by launching a project to develop a comprehensive electronic training program, to be unveiled in the third quarter of FY 2003, and a telework handbook for managers and supervisors, expected to be published in the second quarter of FY 2003. To facilitate recruitment of qualified individuals with disabilities, OPM launched a new Web page, "Federal Employment of People with Disabilities," which tied telework to the President's New Freedom Initiative. That direct link, http://www.opm.gov/disability, also provides a link to the joint OPM/GSA telework Website. To assure that our activities remain focused on the most crucial issues, we continue to strengthen our partnership with GSA through quarterly OPM/GSA telework meetings.

In August and September 2002, OPM reallocated personnel resources and embarked on an agency outreach initiative. We visited 30 Federal agencies, offered program guidance, and solicited feedback. Based on this feedback, we established the Quarterly Telework Coordinators' Meeting and convened a well-attended kickoff meeting on November 5, 2002.

In September 2002, the Telework Issues Working Group, composed of representatives from 15 agencies, finalized an in-depth review of governmentwide telework policies and released a comprehensive report. OPM and GSA have implemented several of the recommendations, the most important being the creation of a joint Website, www.telework.gov, which provides one-stop access to information on Federal telework programs.

Anecdotal data from the 2002 telework survey indicates that agencies have a strong motivation to implement and/or expand telework. OPM is taking a comprehensive approach to helping agencies confront barriers and facilitate the cultural change required to achieve maximum governmentwide participation and full implementation of the telework mandate.

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