Benefits of Telecommuting in the Federal Workforce

Abstract

On November 9, 2010 President Obama signed HR 1722, the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010. The bill grants federal employees eligibility to telework, and mandates federal agencies to establish telework policies, designate telework managers, identify eligible employees and inform them of the option to telework. To date, federal agencies have been slow to implement telecommuting programs even though increased teleworking by the federal government workforce has the potential for great benefits. With the passage of the latest legislation, and the expansion of broadband connectivity, federal agencies should seize this opportunity to increase teleworking in the federal system. This literature review examined four journal articles, one comprehensive government report, one book and numerous other references, then summarized the potential benefits to the Federal Government, its employees, and taxpayers. While many of these sources also discuss limitations and disadvantages to telecommuting, this paper only examined the benefits. According to all of these sources, increased utilization of telecommuting by federal employees would have many benefits. Greater telecommuting could save billions of dollars, increase productivity, boost the economy, help the environment, and positively influence the quality of life for federal employees and their communities across the country.

Introduction

Ever since the term was first coined by Jack Nilles in 1973, (Wikipedia, 2010), telecommuting has been growing in popularity. However, federal agencies have been slow to adopt teleworking programs. In its annual report to Congress in February 2011, the Office of Management and Budget reported that only 10% of federal employees that are eligible to telecommute actually do so. Our Federal Government is squandering resources. The potential benefits of telecommuting are tremendous. According to Lister, Kate and Nilles (2009), in the United States, telecommuting has the potential to increase GNP over $650 billion, reduce the national debt, slow global warming, reduce oil imports by 37%, reduce traffic on our highways, save 1,500 lives in traffic accidents, improve employee job satisfaction, increase worker productivity, reduce stress, increase leisure time, and save companies over $10,000 per employee per year. Clearly, the tangible benefits are enormous.

Literature Review

Many private organizations have adopted telecommuting policies. At AT&T, one-third of the company's managers telecommute. At IBM, 40% of the workforce has no official office, and at Sun Microsystems, one-half of its employees telecommute. AT&T reports savings of over $100 million per year and Sun Microsystems estimates the company saves $300 million per year (Conlin, 2006).

A few federal agencies have successful telecommuting programs. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is considered a pioneer in telecommuting. The successful "Trademark Work-at-Home" program has led to 86% of the trademark attorneys working from their home for the majority of the week. In total, 41% of the USPTO workforce participates in telecommuting programs (Byrne, 2007).

Savings to the Federal Government would include cost reductions associated with decreased office space, parking, utilities and clerical and support staff. For each half time teleworker, this saving is over $10,000 per year (Lister, Harnish & Nilles, 2009).

Benefits to federal agencies include increased worker productivity. According to Collins & Moschler (2009) as reported by The International Telework Association and Council (2000) productivity gains for those working at home averaged 15%, and for those working at a telework center the productivity gains averaged 30%. Manoochehri and Pinkerton (2003) suggest that one reason for the gain in productivity is the reduction of distractions while working away from the office. According to Nilles (2009), telecommuters average 2 less days of sick leave a year, and according to Lister, Harnish & Nilles (2009), AT&T reports that their workers work five more hours per week at home than their office bound counterparts.

A study by Majors, Verive & Joice (2008) found that telecommuting helps increase worker productivity in other ways. It has a positive impact on organizational commitment, reduces absenteeism, increases job satisfaction and lowers turnover.

Another benefit of increased telecommuting would be the expansion of the labor pool to include more elderly workers and workers with disabilities, which translates into a decrease on the financial burden on Social Security and Medicare (Sharit, Czaja, & Hernandez, 2009).

Teleworking also helps hold down unemployment and underemployment by allowing individuals with dependent care issues to remain in the labor force. Many individuals are responsible for taking care of children, the disabled, and the elderly. In a study by Joice and Verive (2006) among federal employees, nearly 93% of respondents reported that the ability to telework increased interest in continuing employment with their agency, and 98% percent reported reduced sick and family leave usage. This same study found that 88 % of respondents said that dependent care assistance helped reduce their stress, and 77 % said that their energy increased for dealing with dependent care responsibilities.

In a paper by James Shanks that appeared in the Public Manager Journal in 2007, 89% of federal workers who telework are very satisfied or satisfied with their job. Since job satisfaction is a key factor in employee retention, telework is a good way to