全球智库信息集成服务系统

The literature provides examples of the types of benefits, measures, and cost savings that organizations may consider and plan for when designing a telework program

• For employees, telework benefits may include greater flexibility in their schedules and reduced commuting time, but telework risks isolating employees from the team environment that an office may provide.
• For employers, benefits may include increased productivity from employees and higher job satisfaction, although telework may cause decreased team cohesion.
• The most-significant monetary costs for employers may result from providing computing equipment or other infrastructure to employees working remotely, but there may also be some cost savings from decreasing the square footage of office space.

Successful agency telework programs are compliant with federal and organizational policies, provide certain technological accommodations for employees who telework, and demonstrate return on investment

• Some of these lessons are the adaptation of performance management tools, network accommodations, and personnel training.

Across the federal government, telework is the principal method for allowing employees to work outside agency facilities. This report provides an overview of the literature on telework, examines telework practices from across seven government agencies, and explains how government agencies benefit when employees engage in telework. In national security agencies, the benefits of working outside government facilities must be balanced with the need to protect classified and sensitive information.

Among the federal programs examined, the authors found similarities across successful agency telework programs regarding compliance with federal and organizational policies, technological accommodations for employees, a measurable return on investment, the adaptation of performance management tools, and training. A clear understanding of the purposes of telework is essential to guiding the development of program goals, policies, and performance measures, as well as for the managers who will be responsible for developing and implementing new technology capabilities, security protocols, and training. This report can serve as a reference in understanding mechanisms that can be used to accommodate changing workforces that demand flexible work hours and the option to work from alternate locations.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Literature Review of Telework

• Chapter Three

  Examining Federal Telework Programs

• Chapter Four

  Conclusions and Recommendations