Management

Federal Telework in 10 Stats

A new survey by the Office of Personnel Management shows employees are teleworking more frequently.

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Nicole is a social media journalist for the CDW family of technology magazines.

The ability to telework has become less of a perk for government employees and more of a necessity to keep operations running and to boost employee productivity.

Overall, federal managers are allowing employees to telework more often, and employees are increasingly satisfied with the opportunities they have to work outside the office, according to a new governmentwide survey released by the Office of Personnel Management.

The survey includes feedback from nearly 400,000 federal employees across 82 agencies about their job satisfaction and workplace culture. For the first time, this year’s survey asked employees if they were notified about telework opportunities and whether they are eligible to participate.

Of those who participate in telework programs, 77 percent said they are satisfied with the opportunities they have to work remotely.

“Many employees find that the telework option allows them more flexibility in scheduling and assists them in meeting the needs of the agency,” the survey notes. “In addition, agencies have found that telework is both an attractive option when attempting to recruit and retain the best employees and an important agency tool that can be utilized to address work space issues and transit costs.”

This is the third consecutive year that 13 percent of employees said they choose not to telework. The number of employees who cite physical barriers to telework decreased from 34 percent last year to 32 percent.

Here are 10 telling facts about federal teleworkers:

13% Do not telework because they choose not to telework.

77% Are satisfied with telework programs at their agencies.

57% Were notified whether they were or were not eligible to telework.

36% Were told they are eligible to telework.

4% Telework three or more days per week.

10% Telework one or two days per week.

11% Telework very infrequently, on an unscheduled or short–term basis.

32% Do not telework because they have to be physically present on the job.

5% Do not telework because of technical issues.

20% Do not telework because they did not receive approval, even though they have a job conducive to telework.

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