Taking the stress out of work More feds are doing their jobs from home or satellite locations By Colleen O'Hara (Federal Computer Week, Oct. 4, 2004).

Federal agencies are viewing telework in a whole new light these days. "Telework — working from home or a location other than the office — was originally viewed as a way to reduce traffic. But more frequently, feds see it as a way to keep the government running in the event of a disaster. "

Experiences have shown that "In most cases, managers and employees have a learning curve. But in the end, communication, trust and productivity make teleworking successful."

The article includes a mini-case study on a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration teleworker. Tom Salter. a web application developer, works from home full time and permanently. "He set up a home office, does most of his work off-line and communicates with team members via e-mail." Salter and his manager, Bob Donnan, plan his work in 2-week increments, so that it's easy to measure progress and results. Donnan established weekly teleconferences to keep the six-person group, all teleworking, connected to the team as a whole. TIGTA's formal telework policy provides up to half of the cost of broadband Internet connection, and requires employees to sign an MOU stating expectations such as expenses and performance. Salter began teleworking as a way of increasing his productivity by avoiding office interruptions.

As another mini-case study, Mertis Baffoe-Harding, a budget analyst at the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS) and her manager, Gregory Gould, agree that teleworking has reduced stress and created a happier and more productive employee. Baffoe-Harding began teleworking to provide more flexibility while caring for an aging parent.

Catherine Baranek, who advises the Department of Veterans Affairs on human resources issues, started with the DC-based agency as a virtual employee, working from a remote VA office near her home in Winston-Salem, NC. Gaining her specialized expertise is a boon to the VA office that hired her.

Both Donnan and Baranek point to lack of social interaction as an issue. Baranek "misses out on the social bonding with her colleagues, face-to-face meetings and the chance to participate on committees." and says "I think I lose out on all those intangibles — being part of the organization and having that daily recognition that contributes to your career," she said. "Before people knew me, it was hard to make appointments and get people to do things for me." Donnan's emphasis on weekly teleconferences is one way of minimizing the problem; Baranek and her manager, Larry Ables, speak at least once each day. Trust and communication are the keys to successful teleworking.

Processes will be impacted by the addition of teleworkers.  Barabek's experiences showed that her VA office wasn't fully electronic after all. New systems and processes were put in place to share data more easily. "Teleworking usually means adjusting how you work." Baranek says. "consider whether you could work with less social interaction."

The Telework Consortium investigates and pilots tools and technologies that help with that last point... do you really have to settle for less social interaction when teleworking? Perhaps not as much as you think!

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