Congress and the Office of Personnel Management have been
pushing agencies to make greater use of telecommuting for
their employees, but only 5 percent of employees telework
even part-time, according to the most recent OPM report.
That has translated into pressure on some managers–whose
resistance commonly is identified as one of the major
barriers to more use of telecommuting–to improve their
numbers.
A recent internal Navy document, though, puts the figure
there much higher than the average: 23 percent. The reason
is that the Navy counts both ongoing telework arrangements
and “situational telework,” which it defines as
telecommuting on an “occasional, non-routine basis.”
Says the document: “This type of telework can occur when
large projects with tight deadlines are complicated by
unavoidable office distractions. Under such circumstances
it may be easier and more efficient for your employees to
work at home.”
And don’t forget to count such employees when it’s time
to tally up how many employees in a unit telework, it
advises. “Often managers and supervisors forget to count
situational telework because it happens on such an
infrequent basis,” it says.
FEDweek
Publisher, Don Mace
VP of Marketing, Kevin Couch
Website: hwww.fedweek.com
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