1. 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.

2. 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

3. Background
Telework has been increasing in both private and public sectors for decades
Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 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).

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Telework Rate and Job Satisfaction: VA - Organization Level Comparison

8. 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

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

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

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

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

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

14. Effect of Telework on Recruitment and Retention

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

16. 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

17. Telework Barriers

18. 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”

19. 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

20. 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

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

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