Federal telework hurt by IT security, budget pressures

A small percentage of federal employees now telecommute, and the numbers are growing very slowly, according to a new report by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The reasons are many, but it is being impacted by IT security and IT budgets.

The report said that 102,900 federal employees worked off-site at least once a month in 2008, an increase of 8,257 from a year earlier. That accounts for 5.2 percent of all federal employees. "The report indicates steady, albeit very slow, progress in telework," OPM Director John Berry wrote in an accompanying message to the report. "We have significant work ahead to develop a strong telework culture."

The report said barriers to telework include office coverage (48 agencies), followed by management resistance (38), organizational culture (36), and IT security and IT funding (both at 25). To overcome these barriers, 42 agencies are offering training for managers, 35 are offering training for employees, 29 have increased marketing, and 21 have established or increased budget for IT expenditures.

The report said telework has important implications for individuals and even entire communities.

"Programs have been shown to help individual employees successfully balance the responsibilities of work and family, increase the safety of neighborhoods, and reduce pollution," the OPM study said. "The potential benefits of a teleworking workforce are now more important than ever. With the cost of gas again on the rise, it has become a critical tool in the struggle to balance stretched family budgets; with the threats of new strains of influenza, it provides an effective resource in the face of possible pandemic."

For more on tough road for federal telework:
- see this Federal News Radio article

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