All offices are now relying more and more on communications technology, and local governments are no different. Between e-mail, the Internet, and programs like Skype and Facebook, the traditional board room meeting is becoming more and more obsolete. In light of these changing communications tools, many jurisdictions have begun to transition portions of their work force from traditional hours in the office to a more flexible telework system. While the number of hours at work may not be changing, what has really changed for many local government employees is where their office is, which might now be in a living room or a Starbucks.
The concept of working from home has been made much easier with modern technology, but the idea dates back to the late 1800’s. The first telecommuter was a bank president who had a direct telephone line set up between his home and the bank. There are more benefits to telecommuting than wearing your pajamas to work. For one, staying at home helps reduce traffic congestion and emissions from commuting. Telework can also improve workers’ quality of life by making it easier to balance work and personal lives. For employers, letting people work from home also saves money. According to an Intel study, teleworking has the potential to save several metro areas hundreds of millions of dollars in reduced gas consumption and time savings.
A report from the Center for Digital Government (PDF) makes the case for telework for government employees.
Many cities, states, and even the federal government have started their own telecommuting systems. Statewide programs exist in Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, and more. In addition to participating in their state programs, many cities have taken it upon themselves to develop a comprehensive telework program for their employees.
In Portland, Ore. the department of energy has used telecommuting to make their city even greener and improve their employee’s’ quality of life. Rockville, Md. ran a telework test-run and found the policy to be successful. These programs have now become popular all over the country; Austin, Tex., Boulder, Colo., and St. Paul, Minn. all promote telework within their city governments.
You can learn more about implementing your own systems of telecommuting on the Knowledge Network Telecommuting topic page. There you can access documents and articles including these: