Some staff also said that they teleworked when completing focus-intensive work, as they could work more effectively at home without distractions that came from being in the office. Image: Stasonych/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffIn the latest of GAO reports looking back telework before the Trump administration’s return-to-office order, officials of three more agencies told the GAO that they had seen positive impacts.
As in a recent report on the Defense/War Department, the GAO also found that none of the agencies—the SSA, the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) and Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs—had formally assessed the impact of increased telework on productivity—although also similarly, officials told GAO that they saw benefits.
For example, CA officials told GAO that “based on their observations, telework use likely contributed to improved employee satisfaction and engagement. They added that because teleworking allowed passport specialists to catch up on training and administrative requirements from home, their productivity increased as they could focus on their core duties when in the office.”
BIA employees told GAO that telework “was particularly useful when they were feeling sick but felt well enough to continue working, or when weather prevented commuting to the office. Some staff also said that they teleworked when completing focus-intensive work, as they could work more effectively at home without distractions that came from being in the office.”
At the SSA, “field office staff, including some who chose not to telework regularly, told us they considered telework availability to be an important benefit.” Employee engagement scores declined in 2021-2023 before increasing in 2024, it noted, but “according to SSA, employee perception of workload contributed to lower engagement scores prior to 2024.”
The GAO meanwhile said that all three agencies experienced issues with levels of customer service at a time when telework levels were higher, but “factors other than telework use primarily contributed to these declines.”
Those factors included staffing shortages, funding issues at BIA, an increase in disability claims filed at the SSA, and an “unexpectedly large volume of applications and high rates of attrition” at CA.
Nearly 10,000 Federal Offices Don’t Meet Usage Standards
OPM Plan on Employee Ratings Asking for Abuse, Says Senior House Democrat
OK, FERS and TSP, but What About Social Security Retirement Income?
Conversions to Schedule P/C Pending; Acknowledgement Form Draws Attention
Senate Passes DHS Funding Deal, but Stalls in House; Trump Signs Order to Pay TSA Personnel
See also,
Calculating Service Credit for Sick Leave At Retirement
FERS Supplement vs The 10% Pension Bonus
How Your FERS, Social Security and TSP Payments Get Taxed
