SLIDES 2
AND 3
What is
Telecommuting
KEY
POINTS
- Telecommuting is working away from the principal (or
traditional) office. People sometimes think Telecommuting
implies that one must have some form of electronic
(computer and/or telephone) connectivity to work away
from the office, but that is not a required condition and
is not what the term means.
- People are sometimes confused about the difference
between Flexiplace and Telecommuting and think the terms
have different meanings. Some think that Telecommuting
implies some sort of electronic connectivity and that
Flexiplace means working at home without a computer, but
there is really no difference. Flexiplace was the name of
the Federal work-at-home pilot project conducted by the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) between 1990 and
1993; however, today OPM uses the term Telecommuting to
describe a situation where an employee performs work at
an alternative worksite. Some Federal agencies call their
telecommuting programs Flexiplace.
- Public Law 106-346 was enacted on October 23, 2000. Section 359 of the Act directs Federal agencies to establish policies that will allow eligible employees to telecommute to the maximum extent possible without diminishing employee performance. The legislation further directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to provide that the requirements of the law are applied to 25% of the Federal workforce by April 2001, and to an additional 25% each year thereafter. The Conference Report (H. Rept. 106-940) directs OPM to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and report to Congress.
- Telecommuting is a management option, not an employee
entitlement!
FORMAT
SUGGESTIONS
Transition from
SLIDE 2 to SLIDE 3 by first asking the question, possibly
soliciting audience input to define Telecommuting, and
subsequently showing the prepared answer.
Show a video about
telecommuting to introduce the subject and facilitate
discussion. (Telecommuting -- Management Tool for the
90's is available for loan to Washington, DC - area
Federal agencies. For more information about this and
other videos, see Visual Aids and Handouts.)
Click here to download the
PDF File.
Click here to download Slide 3 PDF
Updated June 18, 2001