Program to let employees work where and when they want takes shape

[The Straight Story]

Program to let employees work where and when they want takes shape
By Alyssa Rosenberg [e-mail] April 8, 2010

An Office of Personnel Management official offered new details on OPM's workplace flexibility pilot program during a forum on telework in Washington on Thursday.

"If we only treat as a perk for women, or a perk for people with disabilities, or a perk for anyone, there's ample opportunity to stamp it out," said Justin Johnson, deputy chief of staff at OPM, in reference to a program OPM Director John Berry announced during a White House summit on the issue last week.

The pilot, based on a results-only work environment model designed by Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler, will give 400 employees freedom to decide where and when they work, as long as they meet high performance standards.


The test group will consist of employees at OPM headquarters in Washington and at field offices in Pittsburgh and Boyers, Pa. The Pennsylvania workers process retirement paperwork, a task that is easy to measure, Johnson said, while the headquarters employees will work in areas where productivity is more difficult to quantify, such as communications. That diversity of tasks will allow OPM to assess how the pilot works across occupations.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=44987&oref=todaysnews

[ixion]

1. I've telecommuted for the last 10 years

it's a much, much more efficient way to both manage your own time, and get your work done.

[HipChick]

3. I agree...Working from home has its challenges too..

[ixion]

5. absolutely... like separating work/home life

that's the hardest part. It's easy to wind up working all the time. Overall, though, you're just as accountable as if you were sitting in a cube somewhere, between IRC, email and phone.

[MountainLaurel]

2. Finally

The feds have been making noises about telecommuting for years, but there has never been a real effort to get managers to implement it.

[LiberalFighter]

4. Benefits:

Reduce car fuel consumption.
Reduce car maintenance.
Reduce incident of auto accidents.
Reduce infrastructure maintenance.
Eliminate waste time (travel) to and from work.

Reduce time off even for sickness. Unless they are near death.
Reduce absence due to weather. Unless the power goes out at the home.
Less interference from outside influence such as office gossip.
Fewer employees to monitor at the office.
Less waste disposal due to non-related office materials and related office materials.
Less energy consumption.
Available parking spaces closer for those reporting to work.