Would Telework Work?

Telecommuting works under limited conditions - but even in jobs wherein they have hired your brains vice your brawn - there are issues:

a) video conferencing (even web based) has made little penetration into the American workplace.

b) too many companies count manager "importance" based on "head-count" and floor-space.

c) too many companies want the ability to do day-to-day assignments for employees

d) too many companies are willing to do assignments to employees in a fashion that is measurable - so if you can't see their head down you do not know if they are "busy"

e) too many managers equate "busy" with producing something

Having beaten up on management:

f) too many employees cannot tell the difference between "working at home" for pay, and "took some work home" for free - initial efforts with telecommuting too closely resembled unpaid overtime routinely expected on Saturday and Sunday by some employers

g) too many employees would take advantage of the system and produce only during commercials

h) too many employees have their entire social life at the office - and would miss it

And then there are the technical limits:

i) too many employees use materials that are geographically protected - e.g. the CAD system is too fragile and expensive to allow "dial-in" users.

j) too many of the tools you take for granted are geographic - the free long-distance at the office becomes an accounting problem when you use the home phone.

k) too many tools are geographically fixed - e.g. the CAD system uses a proprietary set of controls, tablets, terminals - that won't export home.

All of these have solutions - but the impetus would have to be very high. Even at a corporate level, only the most daring dot.com companies were willing to put together virtual offices - partly because Wall Street wants to see a big building.

As for Mr. Berry - I would recommend the government figure out how to retrieve the thousands of laptops they have already lost (frequently with citizen's personal data) before exporting any more.

recently announced a telework plan for federal employees. Aside from the quality of life benefits and reductions in traffic congestion, part of the impetus for the initiative is continuity of service in the event of a disaster or a potential epidemic.

As long as a pay cut and benefit reduction goes along with that.........fine

As a pseudo federal government employee I disagree with your " pay cut and benefit reduction" idea. We don't make nearly as much as you would think. I, for example, earn less then half the wage that my sister earns as a middle school councilor. And I am not a custodian or unskilled laborer.

There is a common misconception that all government employees are highly paid and that is the reason for tax hikes. Well that may hold true for political jobs and upper management but for the ones who actually do the work, not quite. We are paid less than our private sector counterparts. The only saving grace so far is that we are lucky to have more secure jobs than them.

ok, wages I'll give your that....but what about the benefits. Such as retirement, pensions holidays/vacation compared to the private sector

And about the secured jobs, the US postal service that at one point actually bragged that they never laid off.....but thats not really a government agency.....or is it.

The bene's aren't all that they are cracked up to be. The vacation time I'll give you.

As for the USPS being Govt? Only when it benefits the gov. When there is an across the board federal wage hike...sorry but the USPS is non gov. When they are taking away from gov agencies...well, welcome back USPS! And the hands come out.

figured that, thier website is not USPS.gov. They have the best of both worlds. I have been told that is the place to work, but then again, thats where the term "going postal" came from.

Can't see how it would work. Someone has to answer the phone and get a response for one thing. For another how are you going to 'telework' in the aftermath of a natural (or unnatural) disaster if the phones and other assorted power related things in your area don't work. And telling the power company that you have to have your power back up and running so you can work just isn't going to work. May be benificial during an epidemic, but then how will you know if the person is sick or playing golf?

Not to mention you won't have the "adult supervision" keeping your work force actually working. For the average employee, federal or not, given the option to slide out of work they will take it. Definitely would have to have a pay cut because you would have to hire twice (at least) as many employees to get the same job done.

the village idiot gets to have all the fun

Someone has to answer the phone and get a response for one thing.

Try calling on Friday afternoon............from an insider told me they do not answer the phone after 12:00 on friday at the county courthouse.

I was wondering why I was asked to leave a message when I did this.