The Truth about Teleworking in the Federal Government: An Evaluation of Perceptions and Impact Geoffrey Borthwick, Ph.D. Dean Blevins, Ph.D. Mary Sue Farmer, Ph.D. Stephanie Kolar, Ph.D. Cris White, Ph.D.

Acknowledgments Leadership Input and Support Keith Welsh, LCSW Andrea Massey, MS Dave Xander, MA Outside Survey Reviewers Rebecca Thompson, PhD, Univ. of Baltimore Additional Data Sources & Support Scott McClernon, EES Kathy Harris, EES Keisha Contreras, VACO Freddie McWilliams, EES Develop a comprehensive evaluation of the processes and impacts of telework (TW) in EES Establish methods that can be used for an on-going evaluation of TW in EES by locating efficient and accurate sources for on-going monitoring and by piloting a survey to 2 Divisions for employee and supervisor perspectives Disseminate the evaluation outcomes & methods

Background Telework has been increasing in both private and public sectors for decades Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1993 developed a policy to telework to the maximum extent possible Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 became the first policy across all agencies to encourage telework Organizational units and sub-units had different telework policies Mandatory annual reporting to Congress 11 VA telework codes The Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1993 mandated that federal agencies develop a policy to allow personnel to telework to the maximum extent possible without diminished employee performance” (U.S. General Accounting Office [GAO], 2003, p. 9; Callier, 2013). Later in 2010, the Telework Enhancement Act established standards that agencies were required to meet as they implemented telework programs (Cook, et al, 2013).

Background Government Accounting Office (e.g., GAO, 2016) has pointed out that while descriptive data are being collected and reported, process and outcome evaluations are rare and methodologically inconsistent VA Employee Education System (EES) in 2016 began the process of developing and conducting a comprehensive evaluation that took place in 2017 The current presentation is an overview of the outcomes of that evaluation PROJECT OBJECTIVES OVERALL Develop a comprehensive evaluation of the processes and impacts of telework (TW) in EES Establish methods that can be used for an on-going evaluation of TW in EES by locating efficient and accurate sources for on-going monitoring and by piloting a survey to 2 Divisions for employee and supervisor perspectives Disseminate the evaluation outcomes & methods

Presentation Objectives Discuss the development of the evaluation protocol for this subunit of VA Present the relationships of teleworking with job satisfaction and other work-related attitudes Illustrate implementation issues and perceptions of supervisors and non-supervisors Discuss evaluation challenges on this topic overall and in VA in particular

Methods Telework Survey (self-report) n = 327/390 (84% response rate) n = 279 Non-supervisors, n = 48 Supervisors VA All Employee Survey (self-report) n = 388 (89% Response Rate) Archival Data Telework Central Office Telework Codes Real Estate Lease Records

Telework Rate and Job Satisfaction: VA - Organization Level Comparison

Telework Rate and Job Satisfaction: Sub-Unit Level Comparison 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) Scale Division level correlation .644, ns Individual level correlation .125, p=.035

Telework Rate and Job Satisfaction: Individual Level 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) Scale Telework Rate

Perceptions of Telework: Overall % Agree or Strongly Agree with Statements

Perceptions of Telework: Comparison to Coworkers % Agree or Strongly Agree with Statements

Perception of Telework on Performance: Workers % Agree or Strongly Agree with Statements

Perception of Telework on Performance: Supervisors % Agree or Strongly Agree with Statements

Effect of Telework on Recruitment and Retention

Effect of Telework on Retirement: Among Retirement Eligible Employees Asked of those eligible to retire: n=91 (36%)

Sub-Unit use of Team Techniques: Effectiveness, Engagement, Job Satisfaction 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) Scale Division Level correlations Team effectiveness to: Telework Rate .675, p=.096, Job Satisfaction .698, p=.081 Team Engagement to: Telework Rate .589, p=ns, Job Satisfaction .781, p=.038

Telework Barriers

91% of comments were positive toward telework Qualitative Data 91% of comments were positive toward telework Themes among comments included: Individual level: quality of life, better work-life balance, improved health, and stress reduction organization level: recruitment & retention incentives and higher productivity “Telework is a major reason why I stay at the VA”

Conclusion & Implications Telework can be a valuable operational policy for organizations, offering benefits to both the organization and employees Equitable implementation of telework policies ensures that all eligible employees can realize potential benefits

Limitations VA Telework Codes: 6% had no code Self-report survey: potential for bias No consistent real estate valuation method No consistent telework eligibility in organization Dispersed geographical distribution

Future Plans Monitor performance – at all organizational levels Improve telework coding Move towards consistent telework eligibility Investigate and implement telework best practices

Geoffrey Borthwick, PhD Contact Information Geoffrey Borthwick, PhD Department of Veterans Affairs │ Veterans Health Administration Employee Education System │ Support Division Cleveland, Ohio Geoffrey.Borthwick@va.gov