Survey Shows Telework Improvements

Survey results released Monday give the first complete look at the number of federal employees participating in agency telework programs.

The 2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which includes responses from more than half of the 500,000 federal workers who received copies of it in February and March, found that only 35.4 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with their agency's telework program.

The survey also found that just 9.7 percent of respondents telework at least one entire day per week, while 11.6 percent telework less often. The bulk of employees (36.1 percent) said they do not telework because they have to be physically present on the job, while 12.3 percent said they simply choose not to telework. In addition, 7.3 percent of feds said they do not telework because of technical issues, and 23 percent said they do not telework because their agency does not allow them to.

The survey results show improvement over 2008, when just 6 percent of all federal workers were found to telework even one day per month.

The 2010 survey shows that 64 percent of federal workers could work remotely if provided the option. Earlier this month, the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton released a report that recommended the government expand telework first by assuming that all employees are eligible to telework unless managers can demonstrate why it's not appropriate. That's a shift from the current practice, which as placed such burden on the federal employee and has led to consistent standards across government.

How satisfied are you with your agency's telework program? What can your agency do to expand the mobile workforce and make telework programs better?