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Survey: Employees with dependent care duties are better off teleworking
Many federal employees responsible for taking care of children, aging parents or other dependents, feel that teleworking gives them much needed flexibility and improves their job performance, according to a recent General Services Administration survey.
The survey found that allowing home-based work arrangements to assist with dependent care situations has helped agencies attract and retain talented employees. But policies and managers' perceptions of the work arrangement create "an atmosphere of suspicion and sensitivity," limiting its use, the eight-page preliminary report on the survey results said.
The report recommended a governmentwide effort to clarify the role that telework can play in balancing work and dependent care and promote the establishment of policies specifically addressing employees' use of telework in dependent care situations.
More than 90 percent of the 863 dependent-responsible federal employees included in the survey said telework helps them handle emergencies and transportation duties associated with dependent care. Another 60 percent said telework enhanced their job performance, improved morale and reduced stress.
But the GSA study also found that agency managers have expressed concern that employees with dependent care responsibilities will be distracted if they are working from home. Policies forbidding such employees from teleworking have been implemented at various agencies, the study said.
"An enduring policy mantra has been in place: Telework is not a substitute for dependent care," the study said. The fear is that employees will use official work hours caring for dependents, it stated.
But these concerns are "based on speculation," the report said, and benefits such as a reduction of sick and family leave, and improved job performance, are prevalent when an employee works from home and maintains care responsibilities.
The results of the survey, which covered 27 agencies, were released earlier this month in the preliminary report. A final report is expected this spring.
Nearly 75 percent of the respondents were female, ranging from 31 to 59 years old. More than 80 percent of the surveyed employees' dependents were children.
COMMENTS
- I cared for my 80-year-old mother for more than five years before her passing, while working and depleting my sick and annual leave. At the time I was so stressed out, I would have given up my first born to have been able to telework! Hindsight ... there was no way I could have possibly gotten any work done at home. Circumstances are different for everyone. But like so many other things in the federal government, I also see this as just another tainted way to reward and reinforce the "good ol' boy" system that continues to thrive! A-76'd Career Federal Employee Posted March 5, 2006 10:25 PM
- I agree that teleworking from home would have to be without dependents around unless there were occasional issues such as a sick child who spent the majority of the day sleeping anyhow. Trying to draw the line on what's acceptable though may be difficult. Having a commute of more than three hours every day and being a programmer/analyst, teleworking would be ideal. As a mother of two teenagers and a toddler, I spend the majority of my vacation time attending their extracurricular events, especially with such a long commute. This hectic schedule of working full time, a long commute in addition to a busy family life is taking its toll both physically and mentally to where I am considering working part time in order to function effectively at work along with spending quality time with my family. Taking a cut in pay is not a favorable option. If my facility allowed teleworking, I could continue working full time and have a family life without taking a cut in pay or using all my leave. As parents we shouldn't have to choose one over the other; in today's technically advanced world, we could balance both. GovExec.com reader Posted February 27, 2006 5:33 PM
- We have the same problem with preferential treatment. Example: Two people, same grade, same duties, one is allowed to work from home when he doesn't “feel well”; the other, out for two months due to surgery, is told that IT says it can't be done. The second person then had to get Advanced Sick Leave -- although they were perfectly alert, just had to stay off their feet. There are many tasks that can be performed from home with adequate IT knowledge, staff and planning. But first, your management must want you to telework. And they must have the managerial ability to tell IT what they want. Other units at our location have teleworkers. Guess they work for a different government. They definitely have different IT personnel. We need a can do attitude and we get cannot do. GovExec.com reader Posted February 27, 2006 6:14 PM
