The Federal government is the last bastion of employers who just do not get that allowing their workers to telecommute is a work life equilibrium and a true diversity initiative. Although they do have flex time whereby employees can work 4 10 hour days and have a day off ever other week, that just does not replace the invaluable flexible scheduling that telecommuting allows. With gas prices persisting to go up well beyond the .00 per gallon range, transportation costs are a drain upon any family's budget. Allowing employees to work from home 1-2 times a week will not only enhance productivity but also allow working families to reap an additional benefit of reduced transportation costs.
You would think that the Office of Personnel management would lead the way in this but I can tell you that when I worked there nearly 4 years ago, there were many "managers" who, in the corporate world, would not have lasted a day. While it was attempted, too many managers shut down the idea in their departments because they wanted to for real "see" their employees at desks in front of them even though all of the work assigned could for real been finished from home 1-2 days a week. I had one of the most progressive managers that ever worked for Opm who beloved my taking 2 days of telecommuting and we formed one of the best dynamic teams every to work there. Although I moved on to a higher level position away from the Federal government, I still see the gigantic transportation woes that habitancy contact every day in the Washington Dc area. I know this could be immediately affected for real with flexible telecommuting schedules.
If a manager or director feels that he/she cannot trust their employees to work from home, then that manager should not conduct at all because he/she has not empowered their employees to gain the trust that should be there always. If they cannot conduct a workload that would allow productivity no matter where the employee sits, then again we need new managers in the Federal government. If an employee does not bind to the telecommuting policy or takes benefit of the policy then they should not work for that agency. I understand that not every position can be a telecommuting position but there are for real thousands that can. Let's move beyond the dark ages of the past and into the future for our significant government workers.
The Federal government is woefully behind the times with telecommuting even though it has been proven in study after study that it not only works but for real increases morale, productivity, trust, and loyalty. Now given those attributes, should we not as citizens power the Federal government to take this productive step? I would suggest writing your Congressman and Senators and ask them to be more directive in nature. I know that many are working hard to make this happen but the time is now.
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