telework.gov

This page can be found on the web at the following url:
http://www.telework.gov/Reports_and_Studies/tw_rpt04/status-conclusion.aspx

Skip top navigation
Skip side navigation

The Status of Telework in the Federal Government 2004

VI. Conclusions

Telework is growing slowly but steadily in the Federal Government, whether progress is measured by numbers of teleworkers or assessments of the maturity of agency programs. Numbers of telework eligible and teleworking employees continue to rise. Telework policies are nearly universal, and agencies are taking concrete steps to implement their programs. Nearly half of the agencies have developed a formal procedure for notifying employees of their telework eligibility. A variety of mechanisms are being developed to track telework and to provide supporting resources such as help desk assistance, equipment repair, and access to excess agency equipment. Agencies report taking concrete steps to overcome telework barriers through training, marketing, and enlisting the support of top level managers.

OPM's goal is to make telework an integral part of agencies functioning, rather than a "new" or "special" program that needs a great deal of external support. During the past year, we have taken several steps to help agencies strengthen their telework programs and link them to agency strategic goals. We have emphasized the responsibility of the agencies themselves to comply with telework legislation, and are laying the groundwork for moving toward inclusion of telework in our evaluation of agencies. We have drawn the distinction between core and situational teleworkers and encouraged agencies to use situational telework as a trial period and then move employees toward the more efficient core telework. We have pointed to the necessity for established telework programs as one aspect of agency continuity of operations plans for disasters and other business disruptions. A special appropriation of $500,000 allowed us, working in partnership with GSA, to provide agencies with a variety of tools which will make them more self-sufficient in their efforts to promote telework. We will evaluate the effectiveness of all these measures through further telework reports.