Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director John Berry introduced this week his plan to jumpstart agency telework programs, giving tens of thousands of federal employees the opportunity to work from home.
Today, only five percent of the 1.9 million workers employed by the federal government telework. Berry hopes to increase this number significantly in the coming years by tailoring telework programs to fit individual agency needs and functions.
In a statement released by OPM Wednesday, Director Berry laid out some of the many benefits of increasing telework:
“I was raised in the D.C. metropolitan area, so I know a little something about the traffic congestion that frustrates commuters and saps them of energy even before they get to the office,” Berry said. “Gone will be the anxieties of commuting for these folks, and they will ‘show up for work’ refreshed and ready to go. Taxpayers will benefit; and with less commuting time, employees will have additional quality hours to spend with their families and friends, or to pursue outside interests.”
NFFE has long endorsed telework in the federal workforce. As the representative of thousands of General Services Administration (GSA) employees, the leading agency in telework utilization, our union has seen firsthand the benefits to employee morale and productivity. Furthermore, the savings associated with eliminating the daily costs of housing employees puts money back into servicing of the American people.
“Telework has been shown to improve employee morale and productivity, while at the same time reducing costs to agencies,” said NFFE National President Richard N. Brown. “This translates into stronger, more cost-efficient public service. Increased telework is a win-win for federal employees and most importantly, the American taxpayer.”
Click Here to see OPM Director John Berry’s Statement on Telework