Last November, HP partnered with the Virginia based Telework Exchange to put on the inaugural Great Commuter Stress Out event in D.C.’s Woodrow Wilson Plaza.
The event provided fun activities such as a free massages and a car-shaped piñata for attendees to strike as a means of releasing commuter tension. Additionally, Congressman Gerry Connolly, D- Va., was in attendance to spread the word about his current legislative efforts to further telework initiatives within the government.
And with Government Executive’s recent news that a House subcommittee approved the Telework Improvements Act (H.R. 1722), Rep. Connolly is one step closer to his goal. The bill, introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md, and supported by Connolly, would formalize a government telework policy for eligible agencies.
The legislation would require additional training to give supervisors tips to best manage teleworking staff and mandate that qualified employees must work from a remote location at least 20 percent of their time.
As a teleworker myself, I’m glad to see that the government sees the value in something I’ve been lucky enough to do with HP for the past eight years.
HP’s commitment to telework is evident in both the products it provides and messages it promotes. Mobile thin clients guarantee mobility and security since all data is stored in a remote, secure server and not on the unit itself, which means lost or stolen thin clients are in no danger of being compromised. HP’s mobile workstations and Minis, or netbooks, let you complete tasks on a powerful product without requiring you to be tied to a traditional office environment. Additionally, HP SkyRoom offers impressive video-conferencing and collaboration services at a price that remains considerate of tight federal budgets. HP SkyRoom comes as a standard feature on select HP business desktop and mobile workstations and at an additional cost can even be used on workstations or PCs from Dell, Lenovo or Sun, as long as those products meet minimum technology requirements.
GovLoop’s Andrew Krzmarzick and I recently discussed the benefits of teleworking, especially with regard to continuity of operations – Snowmaggedon, anyone? – with Francis Rose on Federal News Radio. You can listen to that show from February here.
We (the federal work force) MAY have done gone by simply teleworking.. ALTHOUGH there are going to be a lot of speed bumps along the way….
Workforce Flexibility in the Federal Work Place:
From the White House Press Office
Includes a 51 minute video:
Small Business Owners, Workers, Business and Labor Leaders, and Experts Join Administration Officials to Discuss Workplace Practices for a Changing American Workforce
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the White House Council on Women and Girls are hosting the White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility to discuss the importance of creating workplace practices that allow America’s working men and women to meet the demands of their jobs without sacrificing the needs of their families.