Telecommuting/ Work from home

Q: Will the separate ideas associated with this topic be combined and evaluated as one? The votes (comparatively) when combined are already indicative of a strong desire to see telecommuting realized. Establishing the model that can be effectively managed is key to success on this one.

There are currently 4 versions (and counting) of this proposal on the Smarter.nj.gov site. Recommend bringing together the authors of the 4 proposals for collaboration purposes.

Telecommuting would long term save the state money in terms of leased space, heat, electricity, etc.. Telecommuting would also allow the state to cast a greater net in terms of recruitment as the option would vastly expand the worker talent pool for potential job candidates that may not live near the Trenton area.

As stated below, two of the bigger issues would be accountability and who is eligible to telecommute. Policy's and procedure's would need to be drafted to designate responsibilities and potential adverse effects of taking advantage of the system. This is an industry standard function in today's working world, with research we can develop a system that meets all needs.

Another option, employees who sit in the Trenton office would, subject to their manager’s approval and satisfactory ePAR, be allowed to work out of one of their Agency's local offices for at least part of the week. Of course, work station availability at each of the local offices would need to be surveyed. Next, a list of employees interested in working from each local office part of the week would need to be created, ranking interested employees by seniority or another agreeable metric...

Just to provide additional support to the idea of implementing work from home options... This option could be provided to productive employees at the discretion of management and with positive performance appraisals. Field workers should not be in the office daily. This will allow more workable hours even when the employee is sick. There will be no concern for a sick employee infecting others in the office. There will be less abuse of time off and it will increase work momentum.

A successful implementation of telecommuting could range from an increase in moral, motivated employees, improved productivity, increase in revenue and less time off due to illness or severe weather. Effective execution of a telecommuting policy could also result in cost reductions across the border for field audit.

For field who employees who already have all the necessary resources to work remotely, there would be no additional cost for the state to allow employees to work from home. With the additional time available to work from home since there would not be a commute, it would allow employees to work a longer day and have an additional day off. This would allow for less office space to lease and less parking fees. The focus on the work would increase greatly. This is 100% feasible and impactful.

Fortunately, I’m actively pursuing a Certified Public Management program and I’ve chosen this topic for my Capstone. I’ve done research on this topic and have created a policy on implementing this idea in the Field Audit Branch of Taxation. Please let me know if you would like to use it in support of your telecommuting proposal. I will gladly share the research and policy I’ve drafted.

Managers looking to create a flexible work culture should avoid a one-size-fits-all approach; dictating exactly how these policies may be used can make them less effective. Talk with your team about your expectations, so there are no surprises later on. For example, if you set a policy that employees may arrive late or leave early when they need to, do you want them to give you advance notice? Of course, trust is going to be a big factor. you should trust them to get the work done.

One challenge is this cannot apply to every state worker. There are some state jobs (e.g. Correction Officers, MVC agency employees) that must be performed on-site. However, this is a great idea for many state jobs, and can also save money in terms of leased office space and rehabilitating aging state-owned buildings.

Excellent for those who have mobility and or other issues. Also great for busy parents.

In the case in which telecommuting may not be available to some employees, perhaps a 4 day work week could be employed across the board. Currently SOME positions mandate 10 or 12 hour days, which reduce the number of days a week those employees must commute to work. However, making the 10 hour workday more standard across the board for state employees would allow for great savings in state vehicle usage and gas consumption and reduced overtime for more hours covered on regular time.

Telecommuting is a great idea to improve morale of workers. It allows flexible hours when state calls for it and emergency response time is significantly improved when infrastructure and policies are in place. Telecommuting also provides employees with medical issues an alternative to taking unpaid leave if sick time isn't sufficient.

Accountability must be clearly outlined. Tasks should be well documented. Telecommuting should be limited once a week at most unless medical reason prevents an employee from traveling. Telecommuting can also be handled similar to AWP(alternative work week).

With several benefits outlined below, I think employee morale is one of the biggest benefits to telecommuting. An industry standard that is currently utilized all over the world, can be easily adapted in the public government workplace. As long as an understanding between the employee and their job responsibility is understand the possibilities of positive impacts are endless.

The proposal entitled "App Based Employee Management System" is a means for achieving this.

Reduce the # of lost work days due to inclement weather. Reduce the # of cars traveling the roadways reducing the contribution to crumbling infrastructure saving tax$. Ability to consolidate leasing office space, furniture cost and janitorial services saving tax $. Reduce the spread of germs. Employees would stay home instead of coming to work resulting in greater productivity and not infecting their colleagues. Widen talent pool, employee retention, eco-friendly, affordable traffic mitigation.

The State could then use some of the saved money to open modern co-working spaces in North, Central and South Jersey that employees could use as spaces for meeting/working.

I'd like to be included in this team if the idea makes it to the top 20. I strongly believe in telecommuting. However, I know of a specific abuse of it, which I don't want to elaborate on here, and I would want to ensure we implement guards against it.

I think it's important to note that telecommuting also contributes to lowering pollution as it reduces the number of cars on the road which lowers greenhouse gas emissions. It helps lower negative environmental and human health impacts due to pollution.

How easily this can be implemented is going to vary from state department to state department, however that should not stop something like this from moving forward. Currently all state departments do not offer employees the same programs (e.g. some have alternative work week programs, while others do not) and I expect that the telecommute option will be no different. That being said, for those departments and offices where it makes sense, it should occur.