by Josh Sawislak

This week, as part of the annual Telework Week event, more than 64,900 people have pledged to work from somewhere other than their office. I could talk about the millions of dollars saved by these people ($5.1M) or the millions of pounds of pollutants they will keep out of or air and water (6.1M), but today I want to talk to you about another important benefit of this telework test drive: its effect on how we work and manage others. 

If you have read my blog on The Huffington Post or heard me speak on this subject, you know my mantra is that the essence of work is that it’s an action, not a location. Like most tools in our management toolbox, telework is not a silver bullet and it’s not right for everyone or every situation. But neither is an office building. 

Google built one of the most elaborate and incredible office campuses in modern history. They spared no expense and had more employee amenities than most of us can imagine (free food, entertainment, recreation, etc.). But it’s pretty clear their goal was to keep their employees on campus and working as much as possible. Foxconn is an electronics manufacturer with major facilities in China—they made that iPhone or Droid in your pocket. They also keep their workers close at hand, but use a more company town approach. Carrot or stick, the goal is the same: keep your people close and keep them working.

So let me propose a different way to improve productivity, innovation, and satisfaction. Build trusting relationships between employees and supervisors by setting goals, communicating about issues and progress, and measuring success against those goals. Make location dependent on need, not some arbitrary or legacy policy. At any one time, some people need to be in the office or in a specific place. Others don’t. 

I was discussing this with GSA Chief Human Capital Officer, Tony Costa, last month and he said something I think sums up this approach perfectly: Be Where You Need to Be.

Do you agree with Josh—is what you produce more important than where you work? Or are offices more integral to an organization’s success than suggested?

Josh Sawislakis a Senior Fellow at The Telework Exchange. He can be contacted at jsawislak@teleworkexchange.com. 

by Kay Boatner

As this week is National Telework Week, lots of agencies are getting their due for their ever-improving telework programs. Several different news sites have expressed the belief that the federal government is on its way to catching up with the private sector when it comes to telework.

Whether or not this is true, one government agency deserves recognition for being ahead of the telework curve when it comes to both the public and private sector. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employeeshave been actively teleworking since 1997, when USPTO launched its first pilot program.

The program in place today is one that can easily compete with the best examples the private sector has to offer. Those in need of further proof of PTO’s exemplary system need only to look at their results.

According to a recent study, participants of the agency’s telework arrangement, called the Patent Hoteling Program (PHP),process more patent applications per year than their in-office counterparts. The average PHP participant reviews about 4 percent more applicationsthan a PHP-eligible examiner working at PTO headquarters. 

Teleworkers are also less expensive for PTO. With all IT and real-estate related expenses combined, PHP employees cost PTO $1,710 less than employees working at PTO headquarters in the first year, and $3,385 less each year after that.

Actively charting your organization’s telework results is key to its success.Telework programs are not unusual these days—but telework programs with the data to back up their effectiveness and efficiency are. 

Does your organization allow telework? Do you know the statistics behind the program’s effectiveness? If so, are the results mostly positive or negative? Do they surprise you?

HR 1722, or the Telework Enhancement Act, recently passed by Congress, aims to dramatically increase the amount of federal employees who participate in telework programs. Rather than mandating a specific number of federal workers that must telework, however, the bill simply requires agencies to determine within six months which employees are eligible to telework, to notify them, and to set a policy for them to do so.

Managers and employees are expected to work together to outline what will be expected of everyone in the new environment. Officials hope that the new legislation will cast telework in a better light and encourage more people to work remotely.

In 2008, just 102,900—less than nine percent of the 1.2 million employees eligible to telework that year—did so. This number is down from the 110,600 who teleworked in 2006.

In addition to work-life balance benefits, telework is proven to drastically reduce costs: The Patent and Trademark Office said it has saved $11 million in office space over the 13 years its employees have teleworked.

President Obama is expected to sign the bill in the coming weeks.

How do you feel about this bill? Do you—or anyone within your agency—telework?