Study Finds Lack of Information

There has been long-running frustration among employees, some in Congress and other telework advocates because only small percentages of federal employees are allowed to do so, often because of managerial resistance. A new study by the Telework Exchange, a public-private partnership, found that more than a third of federal employees are not aware of their agencies’ policies and more than two in five don’t know if they are eligible to telecommute, but that nearly all employees who filled out a questionnaire on the issue as part of the study would be eligible to telecommute—in four out of five cases, even full-time. The study estimated that federal employees could save nearly $14 billion in annual commuting costs if they could take maximum advantage of telecommuting.