Mike Causey

Surviving A Communal Gas Attack

Hundreds of thousands of federal and postal workers are suffering gas pains. But Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says there may be a cure out there.

Federal News Network Staff

June 3, 2008 4:00 am

3 min read

If it was up to federal workers, Uncle Sam would make some major changes to help cut down on traffic jams, pollution and to cope with the high (by U.S. standards) price of gasoline.

According to our unofficial tally, a four-day week with 10 hour day is the top choice of workers. But it was neck-in-neck with the feds who voted for expanded teleworking opportunities.

It should be pointed out that several said they hated their jobs so much, or were so tired at the end of an 8-hour day, that putting in an extra two hours per day would do them in.

A number of feds who work mostly from home, from IRS auditors to Patent Trademark Office professionals, say it works well for them. They come into the office on regular visits to catch up on both work and socializing, but most work from home or in the field.

A fed who identified himself as Dennis said, “The 10 hour/4 day work week is the best solution. Most offices can stagger their workforce so that the offices are still open 5 days per week. They may even be able to be open longer during the day (another benefit for people who work during the day and find it very difficult to come in during normal hours). A win/win/win for employees, customers and the environment.”

One worker, a big fan of teleworking, said Congress is trying to solve the problem backward. “Instead of requiring agencies to identify jobs that MIGHT be suitable for teleworking, Congress should require agencies to identify jobs that are NOT suitable. If agencies say they can’t do it, Congress could say tough (stuff) and force them to do it.”

Another issued this caution about those “official” but often misleading teleworking reports that agencies send to Congress. They are designed to show how many employees (and what percentage of the workforce) is doing it. As long as the numbers go up, Congress is happy. But they don’t tell the whole story, he said. “In our agency a former director tried to work from home one day per month. It was meant to send a signal to supervisors further down the food chain. But the director was also considered to be a ‘teleworker’ even though she only did it 10 or so days a year. I have heard, but can’t confirm, that in some agencies an employee will be allowed to telework from home or a center one day per year. Yet that employee is counted as part of the total teleworking community! If true that is a sham.”

So what about mid-management resistance to teleworking? Here’s what one e-mailer told us:

Federal managers discourage teleworking because…

“My employee will goof off instead of working because I’m not there to watch them.” That kind of employee is goofing off right under your nose. Don’t punish good employees by not allowing telework because you can’t manage the rotten apples.
“I need my employees here, face to face for better communication.” We’ve eliminated “warm body” human resources, IT, procurement, training and many other functions that used to require people on site. We were told to adapt through the use of technology and better planning. Now it’s management’s turn to adapt to the technology that allows teleworking and plan better.

Many feds want to know why more folks don’t take public transportation. The counter is that lots of places don’t have much if anything in the way of public transportation. And often they have to drive to the place where they can catch public transportation. For example, this IRS employee in Atlanta who writes:

I ride public transit, however I still have to drive approx. 20 miles per day to get to the transit system.

I need to know when they will allow the bargaining unit employees… (who perform) most (of their work) on the computer to be able to work at home 2 or 3 days a week.

Read more: Mike Causey

Hopefully they will allow us to work at home most of the time.

Nearly Useless Factoid

The inventor of the Pringles can, who passed away May 4th, has been buried… in a Pringles can.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com