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Return to Article: Telework effort hampered by agencies' mixed messages

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  On one hand there are folks who managers know can be trusted to work at home, and on the other hand there are those that cannot. The telework option shouldn't be carte blanc for anyone who wants it. I agree that managers are scared as they don't know how to manage telework because they don't have the management/human/communications skills in the first place. I see the lack of management every single day, except the day I telework. I find it refreshing to work at home, in silence, no interruptions from the infamous wandering fed employee, no loud co-worker talking dirty to his buddy on the phone, no one asking me to sign for a package for the person who's never at their desk, no being asked to take phone messages for those who don't bother to put on their voice mail when they're in training ALL day... I could go on and on but I know some of you know exactly what I'm speaking of. It's not for everyone because not everyone has a job that they can really do at home. The lack of pursuing the goal is due to a fear of failure. Not that anyone is held accountable for that either...

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 20, 2003 3:30 PM
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  Mixed messages is right. When I heard of the implementation of telework, I looked forward to the opportunity to work at home for one day a week. Then came the reality of the implementation. My organization, upon direction from HQ, classifed all of our jobs as eligible for "intermittent" telework only, even though such an evaluation was ridiculous and erroneous. The explantation for the actions didn't even make sense, and I don't know how some agency officials even kept a straight face. I argued long and hard for "regular, recurring" for one day a week. But in the end, my logical arguments fell on deaf ears. Now my agency can say they complied with the law by offering telework, but there are few participants because of the burden of paperwork and a long approval chain EVERY time we want to work a telework day. Thanks again DLA for your honest, good faith treatment of your workforce.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 20, 2003 11:49 AM
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  I was shocked when I read this article. The impression is that telework is being promoted. In point of fact, at least in my agency, only a small number of obscure job series were made eligible to participate.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 20, 2003 9:27 AM
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  Say it isn't so, Tanya! Is our government really a bureaucracy?

  Telework can increase production and morale. Instead of fighting against it, every good organization should be fighting for it.

  The problem continues: Supervisors do not trust their employees. We claim to hire the best, but then we don't trust them. The self-fulfilling prophecy strikes again.

  I hope OPM, GAO, and my organization open their eyes to the 21st century and champion telecommuting. It is good for business and the workforce.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 20, 2003 8:04 AM
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  Teleworking is not going to be commonplace. Managers would have to manage! We cannot get flextime because managers do not want to have to plan activities around flex schedules, particularly military managers! They do not know the output and they just want to have "firemen" around "just in case". Therefore, civilian civil service employees get punished with no teleworking or official flex time. All these great proposals are worthless if you do not have decent managers and military managers are worthless when it comes to handling employees. They think management is giving orders and everyone jumps - send them to training, or get rid of them.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 20, 2003 6:38 AM