On Wednesday, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced a broad new telework plan for employees, in part to deal with growing concern over the spread of swine flu in the United States.
"I'm here to put some giddy-yap into telework," OPM Director John Berry said in a press release. "I was raised in the D.C. metropolitan area, so I know a little something about the traffic congestion that frustrates commuters and saps them of energy even before they get to the office. With a sensible approach to creating model telework programs, thousands more employees will work from home one or two days each week on a regular basis - and thousands fewer will be on the road. Gone will be the anxieties of commuting for these folks, and they will ‘show up for work' refreshed and ready to go. Taxpayers will benefit; and with less commuting time, employees will have additional quality hours to spend with their families and friends, or to pursue outside interests."
The plan consists of five components:
- convene an advisory group of telework program managers to draw on their knowledge and expertise in formulating standards for telework policies,
- direct agencies to submit telework policies for review against a set of standards crafted by the advisory group; OPM would provide technical assistance to help agencies meet the standards; OPM also would review the standards every three years to ensure continued adherence to the standards,
- encourage each agency to establish the position of Telework Managing Officer who would ensure telework policies are applied fairly and supported by agency managers,
- encourage agencies to establish an effective and transparent appeal process for employees whose requests for telework or other flexible work arrangements are denied, and
- assure the provision of high-quality, broadly accessible training to remove managerial resistance to having staff work "out of sight" and to ensure managers and employees alike are trained and prepared to use telework successfully.
When taken together, these components form the basis for establishing effective telework programs that can be tailored to each agency's unique culture.
OPM says these programs would enable the uninterrupted delivery of government services if employees were instructed to work from home due to natural disaster or conditions that threaten human health, including concerns related to the spread of influenza.
Aside from their value during emergencies, telework programs - which typically allow employees to work from home one or two days each week on a regular basis - improve employee morale and productivity.
Implementation of Berry's telework policy could begin quickly. The new OPM chief said his goal was to release guidance establishing the advisory council by Friday, noting that "President Obama doesn't sit still for long."
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