Digital Government

Transition to Permanent Remote Work Will Disrupt High-Cost Urban Areas

Cities will need to show residents who can do their jobs from most anywhere why they should continue living in densely packed places, according to new research.

Emerging Tech

EPA’s New Telecom Contract Will Ensure Every Employee Can Telework

The agency has yet to pick a vendor off the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract but has built-in key modernization goals for remote work, according to the inspector general.

Modernization

Post-pandemic IT leadership

The rush to maximum telework did more than showcase the importance of IT -- it also forced them to rethink their own operations.

Ideas

Turning Off Your Camera Can Ease 'Zoom Fatigue'

Employees should have the autonomy to choose whether or not to use their camera, a study found.

Digital Government

OPM Issues Guidance on Weather Leave in Age of Telework, Disasters

As the remnants of Hurricane Ida created disruptions throughout the eastern United States, the Office of Personnel Management highlighted how workplace flexibilities can mesh with the federal government’s current maximum telework posture.

Digital Government

WeWork and Other Co-Working Spaces to Be an Option for Feds 

GSA will issue guidance to agencies on how to take advantage of this first-ever contract. 

Ideas

The Future of Work Is Flexible

Even for national security workers, remote work options will be more prevalent in the post-COVID era.

Digital Government

Survey: More than 40% of Employees Support Higher Insurance Rates for Unvaccinated

The responses indicate vaccinated working Americans are calling for more punitive measures against the unvaccinated.

People

Was DOD ready for telework in 2020?

Slow networks, a lack of management buy-in and the need for more government equipment all affected how DOD feds transitioned to telework at the start of the pandemic, new reports from DOD's IG found.

People

Workforce panel explains new COVID testing requirements

Agencies can't assign employees to remote or telework based solely on their vaccination status, the guidance says.

Ideas

Building Resiliency into the Future of the Federal Government

Creating a digital workplace that enables government users to work virtually from anywhere with the productivity, personalization and security they need is vital to digital resiliency.

Ideas

Defense Leaders Can Mitigate Telework Risks

Remote work promises to make the workforce more responsive and efficient, but it also presents significant security challenges, a former ODNI cyber chief says.

Digital Government

New OPM Director Committed to 'Rebuilding' the HR Agency, Federal Workforce

Ahuja says she wants the agency to reassert itself in helping departments governmentwide become model 21st century employers.

People

Kiran Ahuja's to-do list at OPM

Kiran Ahuja, the recently installed director of the Office of Personnel Management, has a host of long-standing agency issues to deal with, along with helping implement governmentwide workforce policy to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Cybersecurity

Survey: Nearly 3 in 4 Organizations Suffered Data Breaches Due to Phishing

More than half of respondents indicated concerns about hybrid work environments and defending against malicious emails. 

People

HHS looks to reset labor relations

Some federal agencies are leveraging a Biden administration executive order to change the tone of labor-management relations but unions say a few departments aren't taking the order to heart.

Digital Government

Social Security 'Overwhelmed' by Mail, Infuriating Customers Seeking Documents

With most employees teleworking during the pandemic, the watchdog faulted the agency for not having a system to track and return customers’ identification documents.

People

Unions press SSA leaders for a new contract, workplace safety plan

Biden ousted top leaders at the Social Security Administration last month, but some union officials say more personnel change is needed further down the ladder.

Acquisition

DOD could face $4 billion in pandemic reimbursement payments for contractors

According to a GAO report, the Defense Department may have $4 billion in eligible reimbursements for contractors under the CARES Act.