It's almost the beginning of National Work and Family Month. Yes, I'm talking about it even before it happens and yes, I'm notoriously early and almost always impatient. I have no tolerance for traffic (thankfully, I telework), slow connectivity, and waiting for the coffee pot to finish in the morning. I'm borderline hopeless.
Case in point -- the latest Federal data on telework came out this week in the form of the 2011 Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Among many points, it highlights telework progress from the employees' point of view. The report says the majority -- 67% -- were not aware of their telework status. The Telework Enhancement Act, passed late last year, required agencies to make employees aware by June 2011.
The impatient curse strikes again. "Why can't we move faster?"
Before you flip a lid like yours truly, know that this survey was conducted pre-deadline in April/May. The report does cite that telework satisfaction has increased. Telework seems to be making progress, but nothing is easy and it takes time.
Perhaps I should take a lesson from the infamous Dr. Wendell Joice, "Father of Federal Telework," at the General Services Administration. He's worked on telework before telework was even cool. Talk about patience. So, how does he do it? I guess it's his zen approach -- Master Yoda if you will...
Here's what I recommend -- instead of focusing on the telework section of the report and expecting the numbers to multiply faster than stink bugs in your house, turn to the leadership statistics. This stuff is important. Leadership must be on board, trust you, reward you based on work output, and clearly communicate. If you have motion on these three fronts, then telework is around the bend and you won't go round the bend. It's all about supportive leadership, hard work, and you guessed it, patience.
And on a final note about the great Dr. Joice -- he's retiring this week. He gave telework life and dedicated his time to pushing the rock up the hill on telework. We thank Dr. Joice for all of his support for, and dedication to, public service. He laid the foundation for Federal telework, he worked to build consensus, and he picked his time for action. I guess that's the rub -- it's not about patience, it's about picking the right time. And, for the 1.1 million telework-eligible Federal professionals, that time is now.
Cindy Auten is the general manager for Telework Exchange, an advocate for telework and today, instant coffee and high-speed broadband. She can be reached at cauten@teleworkexchange.com.
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