Telework Week Recap Finds Productivity Gains, Increased Management Support, and Savings at the Pump
ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 29, 2011 – Telework ExchangeSM, a public-private partnership focused on demonstrating the tangible value of telework, today announced the results of National Telework Week, an effort that encouraged employees to telework during the week of February 14-18, 2011. Underwritten by Cisco, the post-Telework Week report, “Filling the Tank with Telework: The 2011 National Telework Week Impact,” finds that during this week, 39,694 employees teleworked and collectively saved $2.7 million in commuting costs, and gained back more than 148,000 hours by not commuting. This Telework Week impact proves that telework can play a critical role, as gas prices continue to skyrocket. As an example, if all 62.5 million U.S.-based, full-time wage and salary workers teleworked two days per week for a year, they would collectively save $215 billion in commuting costs.
Feds Hit the Gas on Telework
Federal agencies led the Telework Week effort — some 86 percent represented the Federal government. Collectively, Federal pledges avoided driving 3.1 million miles, gained back more than 126,000 hours, removed 1,513 tons of pollutants, and saved more than $2.2 million by teleworking during the week. If all eligible Federal employees teleworked two days a week for a year, they would avoid driving 5.5 billion miles and save $3.8 billion in commuting costs.
Further, as Federal employees face a two-year pay freeze, agencies can leverage telework as a recruitment and retention tool. Teleworking two days a week translates to a $3,439 annual raise and saves 200 hours a year for employees not commuting every day.
Management Turns the Corner
Telework comes at a time of increased importance on efficiency and a focus on building metrics, including improving employee satisfaction, productivity, and business continuity programs. Sixty percent of surveyed organizations said that management has turned the corner on telework and is more open to and encouraging of telework, versus one year ago. Both employees and managers reported increased productivity during Telework Week — 76 percent of employees said they accomplished more while teleworking. In addition to productivity gains, organizations reported increase employee work/life balance and satisfaction. “Our employees reported less stress, greater work-life balance, and increased productivity,” said one organization pledge.
“Telework Week supports our belief that work is what you do, not where you do it,” says Patrick Finn, Vice President for Cisco’s Federal Sales group. “Technological innovations such as cloud computing and virtual desktop infrastructures help to ensure that teleworkers can access the same voice, video, and data services at home as they would from the office, securely and with the same performance. As telework continues to drive a shift towards borderless collaboration, we are committed to providing solutions that empower a sustainable, inclusive, and more resilient workforce.”
“As organizations look toward the future, telework is a powerful tool in retaining experienced workers through enhanced work/life effectiveness and recruiting employees who value flexibility as employment criteria,” says Cindy Auten, General Manager, Telework Exchange. “Combined with potential energy and real estate savings, telework is key ingredient to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our workforce.”
Telework Exchange collected data from 39,694 Telework Week participants and executed a follow-up online survey to capture lessons learned. To learn more, download the results of the full report, “Filling the Tank with Telework: The 2011 National Telework Week Impact,” at www.teleworkexchange.com/teleworkweek.
About Telework Exchange, LLC
Telework Exchange is a public-private partnership focused on demonstrating the tangible value of telework and serving the emerging educational and communication requirements of the Federal teleworker community. The organization facilitates communication among Federal Telework Week Pledges Filled Their Tanks With Telework 3-3-3 teleworkers, telework managers, and IT professionals. For more information on Telework Exchange, please visit www.teleworkexchange.com.