Telework: Snowstorms boost participation

Federal employees are teleworking more this year than last, with inclement weather—together with existing laws and initiatives—driving participation rates to new highs. 

This year, Telework Week—an annual event held last week to boost telework in the federal government and industry—drew record numbers of federal participants. 

The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 has helped spur participation in the federal workplace by vastly expanding employee eligibility, requiring agencies to appoint a telework managing officer and making telework a priority. Participation rates are therefore already rising, but this winter those numbers have spiked especially high, with snow and ice bumping up the numbers. 

With so many major snowstorms so far in 2014, the federal government has taken three snow days in the national capital region, an unusually high number. The government has also permitted delayed arrival, along with the option of unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework.

In total, the government has opened for business with the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework five times this winter, according to Cindy Auten, general manager of the Mobile Work Exchange, the chief organization behind Telework Week. 

"Snowstorm Titan boosted Telework Week participation rates greatly," Auten told FEND. "On Sunday evening [March 2], when the federal government announced it was closing and allowing unscheduled telework, we saw a boost in our numbers—[a rise] in those who were able to telework who originally were not allowed to." 

According to Mobile Work Exchange, around 136,000 employees reportedly participated in Telework Week in 2013. But that number shot up this year, in part because of the onslaught of bad weather. "We currently have 160,000-plus pledges participating in Telework Week this week, and the number continues to grow daily," Auten told FEND midweek. Most pledges are federal employees.

"A snow day doesn’t have to be a lost day," Auten added, referencing data from last year showing just how eager employees are to work from home. "According to the post-2013 Telework Week survey, four out of five pledges in locations affected by the snowstorm were prepared to telework when the snowstorm hit."

Rapid growth becoming routine

The Office of Personnel Management's 2013 report on the Status of Telework in the Federal Government clearly showed that snowstorms only add motive. The report shows a striking increase in the sheer number of federal employees eligible to telework. 

The total number of feds who were eligible to telework increased by 49 percent between 2011 and 2012, the report showed. Meanwhile, the number of those who actually teleworked increased by a very strong 24 percent over the fiscal year.

Furthermore, Auten said, additional data shows that in 2013 individual telework agreements between employees and their agencies rose by 84 percent—a "noteworthy jump," as Auten put it. 

"As this data indicates, many federal employees and managers are becoming more experienced and comfortable with alternative work arrangements," Auten told FEND. "We expect to continue to see these numbers grow as telework becomes more routine." 

Auten singled out the rapid move by agencies and employees toward the use of mobile devices as a driving force behind making telework even more convenient and attractive. "With the mobile movement, we expect to see more routine telework in the federal government," Auten said. 

Big savings

Auten noted that not only is telework becoming an increasingly sought-after aspect of employment by jobseekers, but it is also saves employers and employees big money. 

"From an individual standpoint, the average Telework Week participant saves $87 during the [event,] which [on an annualized basis] equates to $4,326 back in the teleworker’s pocket per year," Auten told FEND. "As for the taxpayer, Telework Week also raises the awareness of more regular and reoccurring telework. The more regular telework an agency has, the more money saved in the budget." 

"Telework generates big savings – from business continuity to real estate costs," Auten added. She encourages interested parties to look at her organization's recent reporting on Telework ROI (See: http://mobileworkexchange.com/our-research/research-detail/4434). The organization details savings garnered from greater productivity, lower real estate costs, transit subsidy cutbacks and emission reductions. 

The savings brought in from telework can greatly help the economy, boosters like Auten note. The massive travel and transportation disruptions caused by this winter's bad weather have cost perhaps $50 billion or more, according to a CNBC survey of 19 economists

To see more, go to: www.telework.gov/Reports_and_Studies/Annual_Reports/2013teleworkreport.pdf and http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000246012.