Making Telework Work

Employees who telework the majority of the week are more satisfied with their jobs than those who spend most of their time in the office, a new study suggests.

The study, conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Northwestern University, found teleworkers reported being less stressed, in part because they were shielded from distracting aspects of the workplace, such as office politics, interruptions, meetings and information overload. The main benefit reported by participants who teleworked at least three days per week was better work-life balance.

The biggest disadvantage to teleworking, however, was alienation from workplace communication, the respondents noted. But while teleworkers said they exchanged information with others less frequently than office-based employees, both groups reported similar access to important work-related information.

Results of the study could prove positive for federal agencies, particularly as telework legislation Congress passed on Nov. 18 goes into effect. The legislation will modernize the federal government by expanding and improving the availability of teleworking at all federal agencies. It also could yield billions of dollars in annual savings for the government.

Still, the key to creating successful telework programs at agencies is having trusting and supportive managers behind them. The lack of such managers often has been cited as a reason for why such a limited number of federal employees telework. In 2008, for example, only 102,900 employees teleworked at least once per month, according to Office of Personnel Management data.

So can managers make the shift and be more open to a mobile workforce, particularly given the results of studies like this one? How will your manager react?