Federal News Daily
GSA unveils new telework policy
General Services Administration announced a new telework policy that aims to transform its entire agency into a mobile, agile workforce.
Work will no longer be about sitting “all by ourselves in an office” but instead will encompass a more collaborative nature, with policies that support new way of working and thinking, GSA Administrator Martha Johnson said. Johnson, GSA Chief People Officer Anthony Costa and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry attended the signing of the new policy Oct. 31 at GSA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The policy applies directly just to GSA, but officials hope that it will lead the rest of the government to take a similarly aggressive approach. The policy states that the GSA will prepare to consult and guide the entire federal government through the workplace and workforce transportation.
“We’re really facing down telework as a team sport,” Johnson said. “When you’re mobile working – when you’re not at your desk – you’re relying on your team to understand where you are, they know how to get in touch with you. This is about culture trust; it’s not about a bunch of rules but it’s about the sense of team work that we all need to have.”
Berry highlighted how mobility will help the government retain better workers as telework provides flexibility and quality of life that employees are going to require in the 21st century.
Telework will also reduce the stress of an already-burdened transportation networks in the D.C. area, he said. Taking federal employees off those overtaxed networks “makes it easier for everybody else in the region as well,” Berry said.
“To reap the benefits, to boost worker retention, to keep our workforce plugged in through blizzards and hurricanes, we just have to establish telework and mobility practices well before the storm cloud hits,” he said.
Nearly 25 percent of the federal workforce currently doesn’t telework because their supervisors aren’t approving it, Berry said, citing the findings from the 2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.
It is now up to government leaders to help supervisors adapt to managing teleworkers and become comfortable with these new systems and new tools, and GSA’s new policy establishes guidelines for managers on exactly that, he said.
“Presentism – the practice of sitting at one’s desk without really working – can be just as problematic as absenteeism,” Berry said, “and I’m an adamant supporter of telework because workers in an effective telework program can only be judged by their results.”
“Those who can’t perform and can’t improve can no longer hide behind their desks,” he added.
About the Author
Camille Tuutti is a staff writer covering federal IT and the federal workforce for Federal Computer Week. Follow her on Twitter: @camilletuutti.