My experience is that whatever the employee comes up with for teleworking, management is against it. Your needed to be in the office to attend meetings. Your needed in the office for customer service. Not once when asked for the amount of time that I do these service did I get an answer. They just don't want me to telework. They treat other employees the same way. It's a big deal if you get one day a pay period. The employees need some right on telework.

One of the barriers is management, but not my personal manager, oposition. We have a policy, a telework coordinator, laptops, computer programs to allow the telework system to work, even a sample telework agreement between a manager and employee, yet the program is not promoted (or allowed??). It seems the program can be shown to work for the Washington area, even work greatly for the PTO from articles I've read. Yet States don't seem to [allow?] or [be in favor of] such a wonderful way to reduce oil dependence, CO2 emissions, traffic, etc. I'm only aware of employees in our National Office that telecommute regularly. If a true health emergency (or worse) occurs, the real way to know an office can still produce is to have a good plan, like telework, in place and used on a regular basis. No one can expect to just start the telework plan in an emergency and have it run flawlessly. Start the program, use it with those employees who can earn/prove they can work unseen and use it continuously. A program will partially only work as good as it is allowed, and it seems to be easier to not promote it for whatever reason. Today's private work sector is leading the way; if we want to attract some of the brightest and best of the up and coming generation, it's time jump in with both feet.

Only about 30% of our employees are eligible to telework, mostly because our employees are required to work on-site. Of those who are eligible to telework, management still passively resists allowing telework. Sometimes this is a well-intentioned effort to ensure equity with those who are ineligible. Sometimes this is because managers feel a need to have employees available at a moments notice. Other times, supervisors don't trust employees to be productive. I believe that with effective use of web-conferencing and other means of constant communication, this will be alleviated but only if the supervisors also use technology. Also, if supervisors deal with poor performers they will not have the trust issues. Lastly, and most importantly, if leadership teleworked and served as an advocate, management resistance would dissipate significantly.

I find the managers who resist telework are not confident in their ability to manage their staff. If they were confident and clearly stated their expectations, there would be reason to deny TW to anyone. If an agency forbids it, resistant managers should be trained on the hows of managing staff who TW. Then a pilot group of employees with solid performance track records could serve as the "test run" so managers could get used to the idea. In a virtual world, with teleconferencing and so much of our work done via email, phone and videoconferencing, the problem is those who resist change. Perhaps as more dinasaurs retire in the next few years, those of us who have enjoyed the privilege will be promoted and capable of managing TW. And notice I say "privilege", which it is; and I would not think twice of reversing a TW decision if an employee was unproductive.

management opposition. We are not permitted to telework. I am a parent of three young children and it would be great to be able to telework so I could pick them up from school. I infrequently meet in person with others and spend most of my time on the computer or phone. I have been very successful at my job, but am looking for other federal opportunities that allow telework so I can better balance work/family. I anticipate having a medical procedure this year that will require "bedrest" and anticipate taking LWOP rather than being allowed to telework. It's a shame that there is so much talk about telework, but so little support or action.

I work harder, longer hours and I am more productive when I telework. I would like to have 3 days a week to telework.

The consistant barrier is lack of loaner laptops and mangement is opposed to telework. My previous supervisor allowed telework 1 day a week, I never had an issue and could produce 3 times the amount of work. Since refreshment my laptop was replaced with a desktop...getting approval to telework is near impossible...once of the many excuses is the loaner laptop program, which I must say is a joke. As an analyst condusting reviews, spreadsheets, databases, I have no contact with external customers. All of my work is completed independently from my desk. Any internal issues are addressed via e-mail or phone....I can goe for weeks without having an actual face to face conversation with my manager or any other manager in the office however one of the many excuses is "you need to be in the office" When I ask why it is looked upon as me being "difficult" Management needs to change their attitude about telework....Oh by the way, my manager teleworks on a regular basis via blackberry

I work in an office in the field. The work I perform could easily be done via teleworking. I feel our Management has not embraced teleworking. Part of the reason is because they are micromanagers and would not be able to micromanage employees from a distance. I think the fact that we are not in the hub of the Washington, DC traffic, office space and crowd issues they do not see a need or reason to promote teleworking. I see the opportunity to telework would be a great asset for me because it would eliminate interruptions, surronding noise and distractions.

I think one of the biggest problems is that, if there are tools to make distance work easier, no one knows how to use them and there is no mandatory training on how to set up and use various tools. This perpetuates the necessity of people being physically present to do work.

I also tend to work harder and longer hours while at home. There is a constant push for us to "go green" this would aid in this process. At a minimium 2 days per week at home.

"...also, if supervisors deal with poor performers they will not have the trust issues." This is the sentence as written. Perhaps Mr. Hill meant to say the opposite. If so, please try the following remedies. Either remove the word 'not' or add "if supervisors do not deal with poor performers..."

As many have pointed out, most of the barriers are with management. Several of the teleworkers I'm familiar with in my own agency love it. Fortunately for them, their supervisors are pro-telework. And it doesn't hurt that their job positions work well with the telework policies. Unfortunately there are several that would do well teleworking but due to their specific position or management that is anti-telework, they are unable to telework.

Have teleworked from home, a 32-mile drive, one way, since 4/2003 successfully, first as a pilot pgm. participant now as an applicant. I have been given Superior perf. appraisals as well as awards. I work at home 5 days per 2-wk pay period, max allowed at FSA. Once pgm. in place no addtnl. funds input so with recent snow storm VPN couldn't handle the load, no way are we ready for a widespread pandemic. Inconsistent telework policy here depends on your supervisor. Telework increased my productivity, decreased socializing, decreased tech support (help desk first asks if you're working remotely, then says it's an issue with your Internet provider usually), not many new telework applicants approved due to lack of equipment. No addtnl funds set aside for telework support. Most empls. want to telework, but mgrs. seem reluctant, could be job security, could be lack of trust. FSA has Internet-based telework appl. process which is good. Overall FSA has made much progress with Telework since 2003 pilot.

Judging from the rest of these comments, I suppose I'm lucky that I've encountered only minor resistance from management. The greatest barrier I, and others in my office, have experienced is the lack of tech/IT support. We've acknowledged that we just can't get away from all the meetings, but there are simply no workable options allowed to facilitate meeting remotely. I've tried videoconferencing through AIM with a webcam, but could not get the connection to hold. Audio through desktop telephones or speakerphones is also very poor quality. Was not allowed to try Skype or any other free service. Instead, I was advised to use a contracted service for large-scale videoconferencing that costs $100 to set up each time and also had a per minute, per person charge. Another issue I've run into is use of personal equipment. I had originally intended to buy a laptop specifically for telework and asked for the exact specs that would allow for continued helpdesk support. Instead of answering me, the IT staff ended up replacing my office desktop with a laptop that they'd configured. Others have been allowed to access VPN from their home computers, but they don't have the same compatibilities and often are unable to complete certain tasks when they are teleworking. I don't feel that such an excuse is fair, given that I was not really even offered the choice of using my own equipment.

The biggest telework barrier/challenge is management. A lot of supervisors do not trust their employees and are micro-managers who feel that if they can't see you, you must not be working. That being said, there are those employees who WILL abuse their telework PRIVILEGE and managers must deal with the individual and not punish the whole (as I have seen in our organization). We have also had some IT challenges, one right now is that we cannot print anything when we are logged in through Citrix. Interestingly enough, that is a step back in our technology that just occurred over the past year as a result of restrictions by our DOIM. We have found workarounds for these challenges, but they do add extra time to what should be a routine task. I am not sure that new employees are fully briefed on the availability of telework in our organization.

I have to add my 10 cents worth to everyone else - management is the greatest barrier to telework. No matter how complete the system (laptop, secure access, functional programs,etc.), or efficient the employee, much of management perceives telework as a way for the employee to get a "free day off". I wonder if it's because that is what they would do? (My direct team lead is one of the few who sees the benefits of telework - he is one of our firmest supporters.) Employees throughout the government have proven that properly conducted telework is of great benefit to both the agency and the employee. As our roads become more congested, employees move further out to be able to afford to live here, gas becomes more expensive and BRAC leaves us even further away from our jobs, telework is the wave of the future. Let's hope management finally gets on board.

I am allowed "Ad Hoc" telework pretty much on how my manager feels that week. Or, if the weather is predicted to be horrible basis. I would prefer to schedule at least one day a week to telework. I have a VPN laptop and have proven that this method works. Also, forward to my own (I pay for) cell phone from my desk for meetings and client access. To this point it seems that managements approach to telework is a reward rather than a needed work tool.

I agree with all the comments too. Although a few of us have piloted this program successfully, our senior managment cannot reconcile with the cost. Because of the cost we will soon be told that they are eliminating this "benefit." I will then go back to being miserable in 3.5 to 5 hours of commuter traffic each day. Why dangle a program like this in front of us only to snatch it back? If I could afford it, I'd pay for it out of my own pocket. This will continue to reduce my morale to the point of looking for a job that will let me take advantage of this opportunity.

I concur with everything I've read on this blog. But to add my 2 cents worth, I've noticed that our management uses the Union/Contract card to get out of allowing people to telecommute. Although the management at Central Office negotiated an MOU so their people could telecommute, it does not apply to everyone outside of that area. Even though I have the same job, title and grade as the people in Baltimore who are allow to commute, I am not. I have found that the inconsistencies in the Telework Policies within federal agencies and between them are huge and completely unfair. I really don't think it would be that hard to implement a working policy nationally for all federal government positions. All Congress would have to do is find an Agency that has a good, functioning, successful policy and make all agencies comply with that model. If management does not want to allow telecommuting, make them justify the reasons to not implement the policy.

Management blows it again! They had the perfect opportunity to try Telework here at Rock Island Arsenal but refused it without a second thought. We work on an island in the Mississippi River. Three bridges are used to get on the island. One of those bridges will soon be shut down for nine months, creating morning and evening traffic nightmares. The union suggested telework to ease the congestion. Mgmt flatly refused. They would rather deal with the wrath of the local community when the nearby traffic is snarled, then allow employees to "get away with" telework.

To have a fully successful Telework program senior management will require a performance element on this subject. Also technology dollars will have to increase to replace desktops with laptops. Currently AWS and FWS are the tools being used my management.

The greatest barrier is management's lack of support for it. Supervisors don't trust their employees to perform their duties as diligently as they would if they were in the office. Supervisors also are concerned about lack of "face time" with customers, notwithstanding the fact that a great deal of work is done via computers and telephone.