The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) submitted its annual "Report
to the Congress" on the "Status of Telework in the Federal Government" on
September 16. In February 2009, seventy-eight Executive Branch agencies submitted data on their
telework programs to the Office of Personnel Management. These data represent
telework participation and related activities between January 1 and December 31, 2008.
Agencies have been submitting these reports to OPM since 2001, tracking the progress
of telework implementation as the agencies have created and refined their programs
and policies. Trends have remained relatively stable over time, with incremental
increases and occasional decreases showing overall slow but steady growth.

For 2008, agencies reported that:
• 102,900 employees were teleworking
• 64% of these employees were teleworking relatively frequently (either 1-2
days a week, or 3 or more days per week)
• Almost half of the agencies had not fully integrated telework into their
Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning
• Office coverage and management resistance were considered the largest
barriers to implementation

Data are reported for each of the agencies, and the large Cabinet-level agencies also
report data at the sub-agency level. A closer look at the agency and sub-agency data
allows us to break down the overall numbers to identify organizations that have
experienced relatively large increases or decreases, either in actual participation or
possibly in their capabilities to effectively track participation.

OPM continues to use these results and other information to support agency staff with
their telework programs by convening regular meetings of telework coordinators,
meeting one-on-one to provide consultation and support, maintaining the
comprehensive www.telework.gov website, and connecting agency staff so they can
learn from each other’s challenges and successes.
The Big Picture: Telework in 2008
• 78 agencies reported a total of 102,900 out of 1,962,975 employees teleworking
- 5.24% of the total population reported as teleworkers
- 8.64% of the eligible population reported as teleworkers
• 48 agencies (61%) reported an increase in their overall telework numbers
• 78% of agencies provide formal notice of eligibility to their employees
• 35% track the number of telework requests that are denied; 33 cases were due
to performance or conduct issues, 160 were due to type of work
• 38% track the number of agreements that are terminated; 108 of these
terminations were based on the employee’s decision, 31 were based on the
supervisor’s decision due to a performance/conduct issue, and 78 were based on
a supervisor’s decision due to a change in work assignments
• 23% of agencies use electronic tracking to count teleworkers, 83% use telework
agreements, 53% use time and attendance (NOTE: agencies may select more
than one category due to difference in tracking mechanisms at the sub-agency
level, so the total exceeds 100%)
• 44 agencies have fully integrated telework into COOP (56.41%)
• 27 agencies reported cost savings/benefits as a result of telework; of these, the
greatest benefit was to morale (24 agencies), then productivity/performance and
transportation (22 each), then human capital (21) (note: agencies could select all
that apply). See tr.im/zwQ7

Register for the Telework Exchange Town Hall Meeting in Washington, DC, on
September 24, at   http://www.teleworkexchange.com/townhallmeeting/ to hear
John Berry, OPM Director, deliver keynote remarks along with Aneesh
Chopra, Assistant to the President and Chief Technology Officer.
Government employees may attend this program at no cost. But, private
sector employees are also welcome to attend. The U.S. General Services
Administration is a sponsor of this telework education program.