Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued the annual Status of Telework Report to Congress, providing information about the number of teleworkers in the Federal government. This report, which shows both telework interest and use increasing, includes data for the first time that is based both on agencies and employees reporting directly through the Employee Viewpoint Survey (EVS). The report's release follows the passage of the Telework Enhancement Act in December, which required that Federal agencies improve their use of telework as a strategic management tool.

"Improving the use of telework is a high priority for President Obama, Congress, and OPM," said OPM Director John Berry. "The new telework law and this report reinforce that increasing the strategic use of telework will help the Federal government improve resiliency and achieve continuity of operations in emergencies, reduce management costs and help our employees to manage their own work and life obligations."

Today, OPM also hosted a meeting of all agencies responsible for implementation of the Telework Enhancement Act, including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Archives Records Administration (NARA).

Over the next several months, Telework will be highlighted in several ways, including:

· Each agency will designate a Telework Managing Officer to drive the strategic use of telework as required by the Telework Enhancement Act;

· This week, the non-governmental group Telework Exchange, is promoting a telework week;

· By the end of March, OPM will send guidance to agencies on telework policy implementation;

· On April 6, 2011, OPM will convene a meeting of all Telework Management Officers; and,

· By June 9, 2011, each Federal employee will be notified of their telework status, as required by the Telework Enhancement Act.

The Telework report shows an increase of 11,046 in the number of agency-reported teleworkers from 2008 to 2009. This brings the agency-reported Federal government total to 10.4 percent of eligible employees teleworking, or 5.72 percent of all Federal employees. The Employee Viewpoint Survey reported that 22 percent of Federal employees telework to some extent, many via unwritten, ad hoc arrangements between employees and their supervisors. The EVS also revealed important information about telework and the workforce, including statistically significant differences between teleworkers and non-teleworkers, such as:

· More teleworkers as compared with employees not able to telework because of a barrier are clear about work expectations (83% vs. 79%) and feel they have more control over work processes (53% vs. 44%).

· Employees that telework report higher job satisfaction than those who are prevented from teleworking (76% vs. 68%).

· Employees that telework are more likely to recommend their organization as a good place to work (75% vs. 66%) and are less likely to express intention to leave their current organizations (74% vs. 68%).

In the fall of 2011, OPM will issue a data call to collect information on the 2010 telework statistics. The first issuance of the Telework report was in 2002.

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