telework

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the seventh in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works. Michaela Drust, IBM, co-authored this column.]

Early in the pandemic, Congress appropriated $46 billion to agencies to support technology upgrades for cloud and telework capabilities. However, the challenges facing federal agency transitions to a distance work environment may not be technology driven.

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the sixth in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works. Emily Craig and Michaela Drust, IBM, are co-authors of this column.]

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the fourth in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works. Emily Craig and Michaela Drust, IBM, are co-authors of this column]

But will individual telework only be seen as a workaround until everyone returns to the office, or will agencies consciously decide to change how work will be done from now on, as distributed teams working from anywhere?

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the third in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works.]

[Note: This column also appears in Washington Technology. It is the second in a series on how the COVID-19 crisis has changed how government works.]

Nowhere has this been truer than the workplace, where companies and employees have found remote operations far more feasible than expected.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: People

Achieving your goals will depend on the hundreds, if not thousands, of people in your organization. While it has become a cliché to say that an organization’s most valuable resource is its people, the statement is true.

The workplace is undergoing a significant transition that presents unchartered territory and tremendous opportunity. This transformation includes a workforce that now includes four generations.

This is the challenge of leading in a multi-generational workforce, which now spans four generations, and is increasingly driven by rapid technological changes that have changed the nature of work and how it gets done.

There are enormous benefits that can result from telework:  improved employee retention and reduced sick leave, cost savings from reduced use of office space and utilities, and reduced pollution from commuting. . . . and yes, the ability to work from home when it snows!  In fact, a study by the Telework Research Network claims potential savings of about $3.8 billion a year if all eligible federal employees participated.