More Teleworking Reported

The numbers of federal employees eligible to telework and those actually doing so grew in 2004, according to the latest Office of Personnel Management tabulation. It said that in 2004, 140,694 employees teleworked, a 37 percent increase from 2003 and about double the number since 2001. More than half of the agencies in 2004 showed an increase over 2003 in the number of teleworkers. Of the agencies responding to the survey, 85 percent have a telework policy in place and over 40 percent of agencies either provide employees with equipment to telework or share in the cost of the equipment, OPM said. It said that 35 agencies have incorporated telework as part of their emergency continuity of operation planning, and another 37 are considering it.