Ideas

The Future of Work Is Flexible

Even for national security workers, remote work options will be more prevalent in the post-COVID era.

Digital Government

Survey: More than 40% of Employees Support Higher Insurance Rates for Unvaccinated

The responses indicate vaccinated working Americans are calling for more punitive measures against the unvaccinated.

People

Was DOD ready for telework in 2020?

Slow networks, a lack of management buy-in and the need for more government equipment all affected how DOD feds transitioned to telework at the start of the pandemic, new reports from DOD's IG found.

People

Workforce panel explains new COVID testing requirements

Agencies can't assign employees to remote or telework based solely on their vaccination status, the guidance says.

Ideas

Building Resiliency into the Future of the Federal Government

Creating a digital workplace that enables government users to work virtually from anywhere with the productivity, personalization and security they need is vital to digital resiliency.

Ideas

Defense Leaders Can Mitigate Telework Risks

Remote work promises to make the workforce more responsive and efficient, but it also presents significant security challenges, a former ODNI cyber chief says.

Digital Government

New OPM Director Committed to 'Rebuilding' the HR Agency, Federal Workforce

Ahuja says she wants the agency to reassert itself in helping departments governmentwide become model 21st century employers.

People

Kiran Ahuja's to-do list at OPM

Kiran Ahuja, the recently installed director of the Office of Personnel Management, has a host of long-standing agency issues to deal with, along with helping implement governmentwide workforce policy to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Cybersecurity

Survey: Nearly 3 in 4 Organizations Suffered Data Breaches Due to Phishing

More than half of respondents indicated concerns about hybrid work environments and defending against malicious emails. 

People

HHS looks to reset labor relations

Some federal agencies are leveraging a Biden administration executive order to change the tone of labor-management relations but unions say a few departments aren't taking the order to heart.

Digital Government

Social Security 'Overwhelmed' by Mail, Infuriating Customers Seeking Documents

With most employees teleworking during the pandemic, the watchdog faulted the agency for not having a system to track and return customers’ identification documents.

People

Unions press SSA leaders for a new contract, workplace safety plan

Biden ousted top leaders at the Social Security Administration last month, but some union officials say more personnel change is needed further down the ladder.

Acquisition

DOD could face $4 billion in pandemic reimbursement payments for contractors

According to a GAO report, the Defense Department may have $4 billion in eligible reimbursements for contractors under the CARES Act.

People

New OPM guidance addresses locality pay and travel costs for remote workers

A new document addresses a range of considerations for post-pandemic workforce planning in the context of current regulations.

Digital Government

GPO To Offer Full-Time Telework After COVID

Around one-third of the agency’s 1,500 employees will be able to work entirely remotely, and officials said some will be able to move out of the Washington, D.C., area.

People

OPM grapples with questions about travel reimbursements for remote workers

Officials at the Office of Personnel Management are mulling the potential impacts of an increasingly dispersed federal workforce. One is the question of who foots the bill for remote workers occasionally required to come back to the office.

People

Could increasing telework make government employment more accessible?

The pandemic pushed over half of the federal workforce into telework. Disability rights advocates say maintaining more access to telework could make the federal workspace more accessible.

Modernization

Cloud after COVID

More than a year of pandemic operations has altered government’s view of cloud-centric modernization