Saturday, December 12, 2009

Arguments for Teleworking in California

Viewpoints: State must change thinking on 'telework'

By Kevin Hanley
Special to The Bee
Published: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 19A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 - 1:09 am
California is known worldwide as a place where entrepreneurs can thrive from the creation of green technologies and also reinvent the workplace itself.

Innovative business leaders have put this all together by giving employees the option to "telework" – in other words, work from home a few days a week using advanced technologies.

Unfortunately, California's state government is still mired in inflexible management practices that limit the number of state employees who can telework, even for one day a week.

It's time for new thinking. Maximizing telework in state government would lower costs for taxpayers and employees. It also would improve air quality, lower greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with strict state targets and reduce traffic congestion in the Sacramento region.

But wait. Wouldn't this result in a large number of state workers who, instead of working, sit on the couch at home, eat junk food and watch soap operas all day?

Not with current technology for accountability and efficiency.

Government must move away from operating according to the ossified mind-set of the 1950s and adapt to a new century of thinking. According to the April 2008 report "Telework in the Information Age," by the American Electronics Association (AEA), the most daunting challenge to expanding telework is not technological. More and more people and agencies have desktop and laptop computers, high-speed Internet connections, secure file sharing, and teleconferencing capabilities are ubiquitous. The problem is sociological.

By and large, the public sector has not adapted to new technologies and performance-based management techniques. There is little difference between the way a typical state office was organized in the 1950s and the way one looks today, except that state employees in cubicles are now pecking away on computers, not typewriters.

Some managers in state agencies, shackled like Gulliver with inflexible civil service rules, believe that if they cannot see employees, they cannot be sure they are working. This antiquated and wasteful way of running the state must change.

In contrast, the private sector is rapidly shaping and adapting to the Information Age because it's more productive and beneficial to employers and employees. The AEA report notes that more than 45 million U.S. workers telework at least once a week.

Productivity is boosted because managers hold teleworkers accountable through results-based performance evaluations. For instance, IBM reported its teleworkers achieved a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in productivity compared with their office-based colleagues.

Telework is a powerful recruitment and retention tool for businesses and potentially for government. Workers tell surveyors they face fewer distractions while working from home, gained time from reduced commutes, saved gas, food, clothing and child care expenses, and achieved a healthier life-work balance. In an analysis of data on 12,833 teleworkers, Pennsylvania State University researchers found that telework boosts employee morale and job satisfaction.

State government cannot afford to operate in a "business as usual" mode. The state faces a $21 billion budget deficit over the next 18 months, and the Schwarzenegger administration and the Legislature will have to enact additional cuts. Furlough Fridays aren't going away soon. However, by maximizing telework options, the state can more effectively use its work force.

Maximizing telework would also help the state meet its environmental goals. According to the "Metropolitan Transportation Plan 2035," issued by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), since 1970, vehicle miles traveled in the region have increased by 190 percent while capacity on our highways and roads increased only 30 percent. By 2035, our region's population will have increased from 2.1 million to 3.1 million people. That will present significant challenges with congestion and pollution. Maximizing telework should be part of the solution.

Our region and California face major hurdles in maintaining and improving our quality of life. By seizing the opportunities of telework, we can achieve a winning solution for taxpayers and state employees.

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