Return to Article: HR specialists note generation gap in telework acceptance
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33665
Telework isn't a "perk" it is the way to do business. We expend to much money for square footage space when that major budget cost could be reduced by using telework. I would make it an critical factor in allocations especially after analyze to see how much of a savings could be realized to a particular agency.
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33560
Don't forget that telework is not just about receiving the "perk" of being able to work at home. It's also about the ability for staff to work at alternate telecenter sites, if needed, and about emergency planning too. At my agency the ability for staff to telework has come in extremely handy. A couple years ago, there was a massive snow storm here and my office was closed for more than a week. Luckily, most folks here had telework agreements already in place and many were able to continue working from home. Another example: the carpet in my building was replaced last year. Because we had already been struggling with a lack of office space before the carpet replacement began, we had to have all of the staff work at an offsite location or at home while the work was being completed.
Just like practicing evacuating the building during fire drills, it's important to have a workforce that has practiced and is familiar with working at alternate locations, should an emergency facilitate the need.
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33546
My (City, not federal) agency would never adopt telework because of the culture that thinks the only way to manage employees is to watch what they do when they do it. They are more interested in your work hours than what you do during those hours (if anything!)Telework would take away this control, which is one of their favorites.
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33539
At my place of work, management fought hard to keep us from teleworking because they can't see if the person is actually working or not. In the meantime, we have people sleeping at their desks or running their sideline business, but where's management while this is going on? In yet another meeting. My theory is: Let them do nothing at home, at least I don't have to watch it while I'm doing their work!!
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33402
To: Fred Flinstone (sic)
You wrote "The overwhelming majority of federal workers are in their 50s or more, and it shows in our outdated processes and procedures. You've got dinosaurs with only a GED who can't run a spreadsheet trying to supervise young, hungry, educated professionals".
This is ageist crap. I am 52. Just last week, I asked my boss, who is 38, why she didn't use GSA E-Buy, and she said she didn't know how. Well, I do! Never generalize, it really shows a lack of intelligence. Furthermore, I entered the Federal service with a degree from Northwestern University and have many master's degree credits and professional certifications. Where did you get this GED nonsense from? Outdated processes and procedures are due to the snail's pace of change in the Federal bureaucracy, which is something you will know when you become a "dinosaur."
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33374
Managers are scarred to death of Telework. It means that they have to manage people. See to their needs. Any manager that needs face time and all that other crap should be fired. Telework saves gas, wear and tear on automobiles, stress, and the list goes on. In this day an age of lightning fast data lines, and mostly sedintary work, we could easily telework half the people in government. But, like I said it will never happen.
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33335
Maybe us "managers who have been around for 20 years" are skeptical because we have a greater appreciation for and dedication to the "public trust" and know from experience that not as much gets accomplished toward the mission of the agency when there is an absence of face-time, structure, accountability, and meaningful performance measures. The "human factor," while difficult to quantify, is an essential ingredient in a meaningful employment experience, both for the customer as well as the person providing the service. Telecommuting, which largely depends on faceless technology, is a component of devaluing the culture because we no longer have to interact and develop relationships.
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33333
I think supervisors may fear telework not because of potential obsolescence but because their management style will have to be modified. More skill, including better "soft" people skills, are needed to manage off-site workers, especially if your usual management style is mostly about checking to see if somebody showed up that day.
FYI, I like A. Hobbs' reply; it gives another nice example of generational differences. It is interesting to note that younger people (so I've observed) often seem to be better at compartmentalizing their lives and separating their work lives from their non-work lives (regardless of where they happen to be physically located). I guess the same kind of compartmentalizing is needed, for example, if you run a home-based business or are a writer or novelist. People do successfully work at home with no ill effects to their family or personal lives, it just requires a different kind of skill set to be comfortable at it. And obviously, some types of jobs are better suited to telework than others.
Hey, if McDonnald's can hire people at remote call centers to take your order (and save money doing it), I bet part of your job could be done remotely too (and save taxpayers some money in the process).
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33319
I for one am very happy because I am able to telecommute. I was recently picked up for a new position in the DC area. I live in Montana and am able to do everything from home. My supervisor brought it up to me & asked if I wanted to telecommute.
I find that I am more driven and can concentrate more on my projects. If I have an idea I can follow-up on it right then.
It's also an advantage to my family. My children aren't babies but they're young and like to come and talk to me sometimes when I'm working to see how my day is going. When I worked in my old office they weren't allowed to call me unless it was an emergency.
When deciding whether or not I wanted to work from home the thought of always having work right there seemed daunting but since I have a separate office I can just close the door and I'm off work.
We all remember Oklahoma & with teleworking it's going to be much less likely that there is going to be a large number of Federal employees vulnerable to such an attack.
The main reason that I enjoy working from home is that I'm saving carbon emissions from driving to work every day.
I use the natural day light to light my work area and the only real increase in energy expenditure since I work from home is that my computer is running all day. That compared to the amount of energy consumed at my old office is such a savings.
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33310
Telework has limited applications in the Fed work force. If I have a question with the IRS or Social Security how do I talk with some one? There aren't any cost savings with this format but it is expensive for the tax payer computers, help lines for the computers when the fail, internet connection fax machines, etc. Heck the data isn't safe in the office and all I read about is lost laptops and data being compromised
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33302
Another DFAS employee...yes management has no trust in employees, yet they don't complain when a person is working at home productively. I can only work at home 8 hours a week (2 mornings) and had to fight tooth and nail (with an attorney) to get it. However, I agree, I have 8 years to retire (Civil serf) - and also can't wait to get away from the way of thinking, "do it my way or else" - I am 40 something and also have a CPA accounting degree, more than most of our "LIMs" but apparently now that I am aged out I am not an asset anymore. I look forward to the day I can use my education for real and know that I am still the intelligent person that was able to complete a college education and is capable of utilizing all technology available, for god's sake if it makes our jobs easier why not.
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33300
Telework should be based on sound business efficiencies & fairly offered based on those elements -- it is illegal, unethical, & not moral to use it as a tool for emotional favors.
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33299
I have 31 years of service and would love to telework my last 3-4 years. However, managers are not sure of the "dos and don'ts" so it's taken more time for decisions to be made in the selection process.
I'm flexible and know that there will be times when I must go into the office to work together on team projects. No problem. But, the majority of my work can be accomplished at home.
I just don't understand what the big delay is all about?
Oh, by the way Fred, I'm in my fifties and very familiar with generating spreadsheets and working with updated computer software.
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33297
Phil has it nailed...the managers in our agency don't support it because there may be less need for so many levels of managers then. And for the "young hungry educated professional," many of we "older" folks have MBA's, handle spreadsheets daily, and willingly accept technology. We have the same problem with fed managers as you do. I for one, am heading to the private sector....also tired of "stone age" management who care only about the number of FTE's they supervise, and not the volume of work completed.
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33296
I have a one-way two hour commute to work. I severly broke my ankle 1 1/2 years ago. I have had two surgeries and will have a 3rd soon. During this time I have requested and been given tele-commute privileges when I could not walk on the foot but was expected to return to daily commuting as son as I could walk. Ninety-five percent of my work is accomplished on the the computer, the phone and occassional faxes. Occassionaly, there are times I have to attend meetings for which I can make arrangements to come into the office. All of my supervisory channels feel it is an extraordinay benefit and they want me back to regualar commuting into the office as soon as I can. They do not believe tele-commuting is good for the Government and the employee.
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33294
Telework also enables a much quicker response time following a disaster. After the events of 9-11 and Katrina, firms that have a "virtual process flow" can resume operations much more quickly than one that relies on its physical footprint. If you haven't already read "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman, you really should!
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33287
Did anyone ever consider that some of us "older" federal workers simply don't want to take our jobs into our homes? We like that our home is a refuge from the daily grind and we want to keep it that way! Some of us also do not want to incur addtional costs (e.g., added utility costs)due to working from home! Yes, it's possible that commuting expenses would be cut, but at what price? Keep the office where it belongs and pay attention to your family when at home! Maybe that would prove to be a greater benefit to society!
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33285
I agree. I could do my job from anyhere in the universe if I had the connectivity. Teleworking is actively discouraged at most Federal work sites. It is certainly discouraged at DFAS. Federal managers have this irrational need to keep their employees close at hand. The federal government's outdated management philosophy needs to be modernized. Telework is a benefit that doesn't cost management a dime. But it can be a big advantage for the employee since commuting time and costs are reduced.
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33284
Teleworking is a great opportunity - as long as it still supports the people that we service, be that the public or the internal organization. It's great that the next generation grew up with technology. Unfortunately, many of the people we support did not. Our challenge is to find the balance the provides flexibility and discretion employees while meeting needs of stakeholders, clients, public, etc.
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33281
One positive part of telework that is rarely discussed is the cost savings that can be achieved. Most Govt. managers today do not think in terms of how much that office footprint costs them as an organization. All meetings that i have been involved in through out my time as a Lean Six Sigma and Business RE-engineer have never brought that as a cost savings. Wake up managers that office space your now carrying costs 24-7. You are always being charged for it per square foot! eliminate thatt footprint and you get a instant savings for your organization. It is the quickest and easiest cost savings of all. When your having trouble with a budget think about running a business remotely. Most Govt jobs today customer service not excluded can be done remotley. The only jobs that cannot are those when you have to travel to actually work on the product as in most WG jobs. But GS or NSPS or other performance management jobs outside of the occasional face to face and meetings you do not need a huge building. Rent the occasional board room meeting. learn to teleconfrence. better yet learn how to use technology. My experience with most managers is they are horribly technologically ignorant and many only use MS outlook for sending emials. Todays business needs office space for one thing and that is there server for the computer systems. Otherwise 99% of most jobs can be done at home for 1/100th the cost used in keeping office space. If you sit in front of a computer all day everyday and have the occasional meeting your a candidate. Install a 50 dollar video camera and you can video conference with anybody. Its time to wake up and save the taxpayers money. The question shouldnt be should we allow telework, it should be why are we not all teleworking? The emphasis on delivery of the work product thats corret and timely not on where that work product was done at.
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33280
Thank You!! The nail has been hit on the head. Telework has many advantages. The irony/paradox is that many of the older generation managers are those that have been throwing change at Govt employees for decades. Always with the mantra that change is difficult but good. Now that it's time to rock their own boat ... it's not comfortable and they are quite slow to adapt ... if at all.
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33273
There is no doubt that telework is good for both managers and the rank and file. The real fear managers have is that they may have to change their current organizational structures, that is they may realize that their organizations are top heavy and telework would make this issue crystal clear. Management will realize that the only folks left in the office are the managers because the rank and file are telecommuting. Then someone will ask why do we need so many managers to supervise empty cubicals? Opps, we need to stop telework - or risk losing our positions!
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33266
Of course there is a generational gap, but more importantly there is an ingrained resistance to telework. Federal managers are training - either by example or by design - that they are personally responsible for getting 8 hrs work from their subordinates. If someone is working from home, then how does the manager know they are actually working. No manager is going to allow someone to do work outside their line of vision. Further, I have found that managers expect you to get MORE work done than they would expect if you were in the office. I can sit at my desk and do very little with no complaints, but if I work at home, there is always the complaint I didn't accomplish enough. Why the double standard? I think it's so managers can then feel they met their burden to get 8 hrs work from me.
Another aspect is how workflow has developed over time. It's all based on people being in the office so no thought is given to how to accomplish the same thing remotely. And managers are not about to change something that works for them just so you can have the "privilege" of working at home. Many of my coworkers have given up on telework for this very reason. Managers have so limited the work they consider 'transportable' that you can't meet their 8 hr work standard. You're set up to fail even before you begin so why bother asking. It's a great out for management; no one teleworks because no one asks.
Until managers are trained that they are not personally responsible for subordinates time and that workflows need to be reviewed for what can be done remotely, there will be no improvement in telework acceptance.
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33263
this article rings so true. Actually, I think part of why the older managers don't support telework is because they don't get to do it themselves and resent this benefit for their employees so they won't implement it.
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33247
I believe that the telework program would improve productivity, employee morale and alleviate stress that the work has before he even makes it to the office because s/he would not have to deal with the traffic.
I had a surgery a few years ago where I needed more time to recuperate than the week that I was initially told I would be out. I had complications from the surgery and I was out of the office for 6 months. My supervisor initiated the paperwork to allow me to work from home during my recuperation so that I did not use up all of my sick leave. When I returned to the office full time, my supervisor told me that he felt that he received more work from me during this time than when I am in the office. Usually when you are in the office, people come by to ask a question pertaining to the job, i.e. contract questions. That individual will sometimes stay there talking for 30 minutes or more and it is not always discussion about the question. Also some people see you there and just come by to chat.
Smokers go outside to smoke for 15+ minutes at least 4 times a day; sometimes longer. If they were at home, they would not do that.
Most of the work that we do could be done from home.
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33246
Teleworking or telecommuting is not the only instance where the "generation gap" is apparent. I'm a young Federal civilian, and sometimes I feel like I work in the stone age. The overwhelming majority of federal workers are in their 50s or more, and it shows in our outdated processes and procedures. You've got dinosaurs with only a GED who can't run a spreadsheet trying to supervise young, hungry, educated professionals. I'm hoping that in the next few years, the old mules will go out to pasture so we can get some real work done.
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