Tunnel Vision: Telecommuting is Satisfying and Productive

By Brendan O'Hallarn Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Friday morning is my favorite of the week, by far.

I still work Fridays. But there’s something so satisfying about setting the alarm 45 minutes later, rolling out of my bed and walking the 16 feet to my “office.”

I am a one-day-per-week telecommuter. I do my job as a public relations officer with Old Dominion University from our home in Williamsburg. I still compile the day’s news mentions of the school. I still contact reporters working on stories involving Old Dominion. And most of all, I write.

Friday’s the day I can (once the kids go to play group) plow through three cups of coffee while I plow through two or three press releases or a magazine feature. In my 18 months at ODU, I’ve been thrilled with how productive I am in my pajamas.

The federal government, it seems is finally joining the telework brigade.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an expansion to the federal government’s telework program by expanding work-at-home options.

A similar bill passed the Senate in May, and the policy is supported broadly by the Obama administration. However, a recent report by the Partnership for Public Service and consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton declared that the federal government needs to do more to promote telework.

The partnership, a nonprofit organization that focuses on federal workplace issues, said the administration’s support for telework hasn’t amounted to enough action.

The partnership and Booz Allen Hamilton would like to see 600,000 workers teleworking by 2014. The federal government’s Office of Personnel Management says 400,000 employees now telework “some,” but that’s an average of less than one full day a week.

The new House bill would require federal agencies to appoint a telework managing officer, with the goal of setting up a policy that encourages workers to participate. Work from home would be permitted for as much as 20 percent of the hours worked every two weeks, as long as it doesn’t hinder the agency’s operation, or doesn’t involved classified information.

Under the new bill, the Government Accountability Office would gather data, to determine whether the program is working.

The sponsors of the bill, two Democratic and one Republican congressmen from the DC area, say the Telework Improvements Act would save millions of dollars in lost productivity during weather-related shutdowns, pointing to Snowpocalypse 1 and 2 this past winter, which paralyzed the capital.

Local Republican Rep. Rob Wittman voted in favor of the Telework Improvements Act. He must read Tunnel Vision.

“Telework is a key part of the solution to alleviating traffic congestion, and it’s also crucial to ensuring continuity of operations in the case of a national emergency or weather event like the 2010 winter storm on the East Coast. This bill will help ensure that federal employees who are eligible to telework are able to do so and have access to facilities that can accommodate them,” Wittman said in a release.

The Office of Personnel Management estimated that the federal government lost $71 million for each day offices were closed last winter.

“Despite the fact that there are numerous benefits to teleworking, such as reduced traffic congestion and energy consumption, cost savings, competitive hiring and retention, and emergency preparedness, many Federal agencies continue to underutilize telework,” Wittman said.

If the feds want me to help with testimonials about the value of telecommuting, I can talk to them about my awesome pajamas.

Brendan O’Hallarn writes Tunnel Vision for WYDaily. Four days per week, he wears business attire at the office, commuting from Williamsburg to Old Dominion University in Norfolk. One day per week, he wears pajamas. If you have a commuting column idea, write Brendan at brendan@wydaily.com.