Every couple of months the government tries to spur some interest in teleworking amongst Federal workers. FCW has news on the latest attempt. In my view, the "telework gridlock," as Karen Evans of OMB puts it, is not due to Federal workers' unwillingness to telecommute. Rather, it's a consequence of agencies' resistance to it.
The law says that agencies shouldn't discrimninate against contractors that propose using telecommuting staff. In my experience, agencies try to find other reasons to hire someone that doesn't propose telecommuting personnel.
This deep resistance to telecommuting and telework can only be overcome by legitimately persuading GS-14s and up that telework and telecommuting actually benefit them. Regardless of hand-waving that suggests the opposite, these are different modes of working that require alternative and (in my view) more sophisticated methods of management. It's a great deal easier to "count noses" in the office and assume work is being done than it is to manage by outcomes of effort, which is exactly what one must do in a telecommuting/teleworking environment.
As another FCW columnist noted earlier this very month, agency managers need more persuasion of the benefits of telework and telecommuting, and education about how to handle the staff that work in those modes. Only then will we see less congestion around DC every morning and afternoon.
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