OPM director takes a turn at telecommuting

Making good on an October promise to begin telecommuting part of the time, Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James spent part of her work day Friday at the Bowie, Md., Community Network Telecommuting Center. James, who was joined by Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Albert Wynn, D-Md., spent the morning visiting with teleworkers at the center, which is located on the lower level of the Bowie State University library. Friday's visit was part of the federal personnel director's push to expand telecommuting opportunities across the government. To date, many federal managers have been reluctant to utilize the measure, which has been touted as a recruitment and retention tool, a means of boosting employee morale and productivity, and a way of reducing absenteeism. "I'd like to say to federal managers, in case you haven't gotten the message, telework is here to stay and you are going to do it, and you are going to like it," James said during a teleconference at the Bowie center. "It's not just a perk or a special privilege, it's an opportunity to increase employee morale and increase the attractiveness of working for federal government." Language in the fiscal 2001 Transportation appropriations bill required agencies to establish policies allowing eligible employees to telecommute. The law also required OPM to ensure that 25 percent of the federal workforce was participating in telecommuting programs at least part of the time by April 2001. But as of November, just 4.2 percent of federal workers participated in such programs. In addition to resistance from managers, other barriers are keeping this number low. They include budget restrictions, concerns about computer security, technology hurdles and fears by employees that they'll become out of touch with the regular workplace. For Charles Wilsker, executive director of the International Telework Association and Council, the benefits of telecommuting ought to cancel out any hesitancy among managers and employees. "This is not rocket science," he said. "It saves, time, it saves money, it reduces pollution." In the Washington area, second-worst in the country for traffic congestion, the General Services Administration operates nearly 20 telework centers. The Bowie Telecommuting Center, which opened for business in June 1998, has 30 work stations and a 97 percent occupancy rate. Employees from GSA; the Agriculture, Transportation, Defense, Education and Justice departments; the Customs Service; and the Environmental Protection Agency work at the center. "We're probably the only country where you drive on parkways and park on driveways," said Hoyer, who has long supported telecommuting. "But we turn our parkways into driveways all too often." Patricia Hodge, a program analyst at the Transportation Department who has worked at telework centers for several years, extolled the virtues of working off-site in a university environment. "No traffic, I can take classes and the parking, you can't beat the price," she said. "It's free." OPM's Dennis Bakaysa said he uses the Bowie center four days a week, saving himself a two-hour daily commute and remaining close to his home and family. Bowie State University President Calvin Lowe said he hopes to expand the telework center. "It provides access and helps us open up to the community," Lowe said.