Clip of the Day: Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz
Microsoft recently released a survey of 257 employees. The results, as outlined at SmartPlanet, suggest that telework has some challenges but, overall, is a winner.
The survey leans on responses from government workers. Federal workers are subject to the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, which promotes out-of-the-office work arrangements. The story says 67 percent of responding federal workers telecommute, and that one-third think it increases their productivity and job satisfaction.
There are flies in the ointment: a third find that telework inhibits collaboration and about half of managers are unhappy or “clueless” about the arrangement.
Another study – from FedScoop – found that 69 percent of federal employees want more progress made on telework. Said that GovTech story on the survey:
Teleworking is often seen as a work method with long-term benefits: cost savings for a company or agency, less time driving to and from an office and increased work efficiency. But even with the passing of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, teleworking efforts at the federal government level have been stifled due to a lack of proper guidelines, necessary teleworking equipment and a lack of security guidelines, according to the study.
A third study, published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, looked at the impact of telecommuting on home life. The results were mixed—much to the chagrin of Kelley Bulter at Employee Benefit News.
The bottom line is that nothing is perfect but, to a great extent, telework works.
