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Evaluation of Telework Pilot Policy
Highlights

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. Profile of Teleworkers

3. Impacts of Telework

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

 

This series of evaluations, audit guides, reviews and studies is designed to improve Treasury Board policies and programs. Titles in this series already published: 1. Review of Operating Budgets – Delegation Framework 2. Review of Business Planning in the Government of Canada 3. Review of the Cost Recovery and User Fee Approval Process 4. Evaluation of the Policy for the Provision of Services for Employees with Disabilities 5. Audit of Service to the Public in Official Languages – Phase I – Regions of Toronto and Halifax 6. Audit on the Use of Translation Services 7. Review of the Costs Associated with the Administration of the ATIP Legislation

Executive Summary

In autumn 1992, the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) introduced the Telework Pilot Policy. The policy's objective is "to allow employees to work at alternative locations, thereby achieving a better balance between their work and personal lives". Telework falls within the context of other types of flexible work arrangements (e.g., part-time work, compressed work week) aimed at enabling employees to balance their work and personal responsibilities.

TBS invited departments to implement this policy during the pilot period from September 1, 1992 to August 31, 1995, and committed to an evaluation of the policy and its implementation during the third year. At the request of the Evaluation, Audit and Review Group of TBS, the Public Service Commission's Audit and Review Branch conducted this evaluation.

A number of departments tried out the policy. The evaluation has shown us that there is variation from one department to another, and even within the same department, in attitudes towards telework, the distribution of the policy and related general information, the approval of telework arrangements, monitoring of these arrangements and the administration of the policy. We have also noted some cases where work units that implemented telework pilot projects suspended them. Some wanted to determine telework's real benefits (especially financial) before going any further.

Overall, we found that the telework policy is meeting its objective - the vast majority of teleworkers indicate that telework has led to a better balance between their personal and professional life. Moreover, telework is achieving this result at no economic or operational loss to the employer. Teleworkers report that they have increased their productivity under this new work arrangement and to a lesser extent, their supervisors agree.

Most teleworkers are very satisfied with telework, and the majority of their supervisors indicate they support the concept. The introduction of telework in a work unit requires time for both parties and for non-teleworking colleagues to adjust to and accept changes in their work environment and relationships. We observed that some teleworkers feel personal and professional isolation while teleworking, that some colleagues believe telework to be a perk given to favoured employees, and that some supervisors are perceived as reluctant to accept telework in their unit.

We conclude that establishing the following conditions in a work unit can ensure a successful implementation of telework:

• the right employee allowed to telework - someone who is independent, organized, dependable and motivated
• a supervisor and senior management who are supportive of telework
• trust between the supervisor and employees
• managing by results, with a suitable method to evaluate teleworkers' performance
• the rules of the game established up front between the supervisor and the teleworker, and between the teleworker and other members of the household
• the work unit (teleworker, supervisor and colleagues) sensitized to telework and its possible effects on themselves and their relationships
• a break-in period for the telework arrangement, monitored by the supervisor
• teleworking only part of the work week, not full-time, to prevent feelings of isolation.

We further conclude that Treasury Board, as the Employer, should retain the telework policy, including the provision that the details of an employee's telework arrangement be set out in writing by the supervisor.

Finally, implementing the following five recommendations would allow more employees and their departments to benefit from telework. We recommend that the Treasury Board Secretariat:

• promote telework as a viable work arrangement to decision-makers in all departments
• co-ordinate the collection and dissemination of information and tools on telework which could assist departments in implementing and facilitating telework
• encourage departments to clarify and publicize their approval criteria for telework requests
• clarify the policy with respect to departmental latitude either to furnish equipment to teleworkers or to reimburse teleworkers for the use of their own equipment
• resolve the anomaly of requiring telework arrangements to respect the "core hours of work" provision in the collective agreements.

1. Introduction

(This study was conducted by an external firm)

1.1 Overview of the TBS Pilot Policy

Under the policy, managers have the authority to approve telework requests, taking into account the following conditions:

• it must be possible to perform the work at the teleworkplace
• there must be no decline in productivity
• the telework arrangement must not result in additional net expenses, since start-up costs must be recouped within a reasonable timeframe
• either party (manager or employee) may cancel the arrangement at any time
• the arrangement must not alter the conditions of employment or the terms of the collective agreement of the employee
• the details of the telework arrangement must be put in writing by the supervisor, with a copy to the participant
• the employer loans the employee the basic equipment and supplies exclusively for work-related activities, while the employee agrees to meet customary operating requirements and assumes maintenance costs for the teleworkplace.

1.2 Objective of the Evaluation

The overall objective of this evaluation was to determine if the Telework Pilot Policy has provided employees a viable option for a better balance between work life and personal life, without incurring any economic or operational loss for the employer. A secondary objective was to determine if there is a continuing need to maintain a central agency policy on telework.

1.3 The Evaluation Report

We are reporting on the evaluation in 2 volumes.

• This first volume, entitled "Highlights", summarizes and synthesizes our principal findings, our analysis and conclusions regarding the implementation of the Telework Pilot Policy and its effectiveness in meeting its stated objective, and our recommendations for improving the practice and management of telework in the Public Service. It will interest the general reader and provide policy direction to TBS and other stakeholders.
• The second, entitled "Findings", is the supporting volume. It reports the full range of findings from the various surveys, interviews and focus groups conducted in this evaluation. Detailed statistical data (number, percentage, volume, characteristics of sub-groups, etc.) can be found in this volume, as well as a detailed description of our methodology in Appendix A, and, in Appendix B, the questionnaires sent to documented and non-documented teleworkers, supervisors of documented teleworkers and dependent colleagues.

1.4 Methodology

The evaluation employed multiple lines of evidence, including surveys, focus groups, interviews, a review of literature and a comparison of the teleworkers to a control group to confirm the impacts of teleworking. We collected data from a variety of stakeholders (some key terms are defined in the following section):

• 549 documented teleworkers. This group responded to the survey questionnaire which we sent to every employee in the known teleworker population (approximately 800). This population was identified in the fall of 1994 by the telework co-ordinators in the 58 departments covered by the policy.
• 172 supervisors of these documented teleworkers
• 35 non-documented teleworkers who volunteered to take part in the survey, and 18 of their supervisors
• 14 former teleworkers, and 8 of their supervisors
• a control group comprising 150 non-teleworking matched colleagues of teleworkers
• 110 dependent colleagues of documented teleworkers, identified by supervisors
• 18 employees denied telework who volunteered for the survey
• telework co-ordinators in 24 departments with and without teleworkers
• representatives of 5 bargaining agents.

Apart from data on the teleworkers and their telework arrangements, our surveys sought information from:

• supervisors, regarding the principal impacts of telework on the work unit and on teleworker productivity
• dependent colleagues, regarding the consequences and the advantages or disadvantages of working with a teleworker
• former teleworkers, regarding the reasons that led them to stop teleworking
• the control group, regarding their assessment of the change or lack of change in certain elements covered by our study, in order to determine the personal and organizational impacts of telework
• other stakeholders (departmental telework co-ordinators and union representatives), regarding their concerns and suggestions related to the implementation of the telework policy.

1.5 Definitions

We defined some of the key terms as follows:

• telework (télétravail): involves the authorization for employees to work away from their official workplace for part or all of their regular work week. This definition excludes employees who work their regular schedule in the official workplace, but who regularly do overtime away from the official workplace.
• official workplace (lieu de travail officiel): the location where the employee would normally work if there were no telework situation, i.e., the employer's premises
• teleworkplace (lieu de télétravail): the location at which the employee and the employer have mutually agreed the employee will telework (usually the employee's home)
• documented teleworkers (les télétravailleurs avec entente écrite): employees who have a telework arrangement document, signed by the supervisor, no matter how much of their regular work week is performed as telework
• non-documented teleworkers (les télétravailleurs informels): employees without a signed telework arrangement document who telework on average at least 20% of their regular work week, according to a schedule that may be cumulative over a reasonable period, for example, teleworking 4 consecutive days once monthly, or teleworking a total of 3 full weeks in a fiscal quarter. The 20% cut-off was arbitrarily chosen as sufficient time involvement to allow an employee to have experienced personal and professional impacts of teleworking.
• dependent colleagues (collègues proches): employees who, by the nature of their job, work closely with and interact regularly with the teleworker, but who are not themselves teleworking.

2. Profile of Teleworkers

This section presents the main demographic characteristics of the documented teleworkers, the characteristics of their telework arrangement and of their work, and the reasons that led them to telework. Given the small size of our sample of non-documented teleworkers, we will provide data from this group only when it contrasts with that of the documented teleworkers.

2.1 Demographic Characteristics

Of the 549 documented teleworkers who responded to our survey, 71% were between the ages of 35 and 54, and 80% had at least post-secondary education. 55% were women. 7% of the group considered themselves disabled.

There were teleworkers in each of the 10 provinces, most concentrated in Ontario, Quebec and the National Capital Region. They worked in 27 departments, with the largest portion (62%) at Revenue Canada.

On average, these employees worked full-time and had 7 years of experience in their position. They came from all of the occupational categories; the largest representation by occupational group was in Program Administration (PM) and Auditing (AU).

2.2 Reasons for Teleworking

Teleworkers cited the following main reasons (in order of frequency):

• to have more control over work conditions (fewer interruptions, better ability to concentrate, etc.)
• to reduce commuting time
• to save money (transportation, parking, clothing, etc.)
• to have more flexible work hours.

2.3 Work and Telework Characteristics

• Types of tasks performed while teleworking
  The most commonly performed tasks are reading, writing, research, analyzing/ interpreting data and word processing.
• Commuting time
  On average, it takes teleworkers 34 minutes to get to the office (42 minutes for non-documented teleworkers). It should be noted that commuting time for teleworkers is markedly longer than for employees in the control group, who average 24 minutes.
• Types of telework schedules
  On average, documented teleworkers work at home 3 days a week, and in the office the other 2 days. Non-documented teleworkers average less than 2 days a week (12 hours) at home.

• Teleworkers' schedules
  Although most teleworkers maintain more or less the same work schedule they normally work in the office, some have made changes. On telework days, a few begin their workday earlier or finish later than they would if they were at the office.

• Voluntary unpaid overtime
  Teleworkers indicate that the number of hours of voluntary unpaid overtime that they put in while teleworking, as compared to the number they worked prior to adopting this arrangement, has increased from an average of 1 hour per week to 1.6 hours. Not only has there been a slight increase in the average number of these hours, but the proportion of teleworkers who say they are doing such overtime has increased since they began to telework - from 23% to 41%. As for the small sample of non-documented teleworkers, 51% report that they work voluntary unpaid overtime since beginning to telework, averaging 3.4 hours per week. For the sake of comparison, 31% of the control group we surveyed work some voluntary unpaid overtime, averaging 1.3 hours per week.

• Work space in the teleworkplace
  Half of the documented teleworkers (a third of the non-documented) report that they work in a room set aside for that purpose, while the others use a multi-purpose room. Those who made changes to their work space mainly re-arranged rooms, bought furniture or added better lighting. Most made no changes to improve the safety of their teleworkplace. Given the main tasks performed while teleworking and the opinions expressed by teleworkers, the telework environment appears to be no more hazardous than the office environment for employees.

• Electronic equipment
  91% of documented teleworkers use electronic equipment on the days they telework. The equipment usually used consists of computer (95%) and printer (81%). Voice mail is used by 59% of teleworkers. The majority finds all this equipment very important in performing their tasks at their teleworkplace.

A business telephone line and a modem (each used by over 40% of teleworkers), e-mail and a fax machine were also rated as important by the respondents.

While the employer is generally supplying the equipment required for the work, teleworkers provide their own voice mail and fax machine in about half the cases (voice mail: 47%; fax: 56%). In a quarter of the cases, the teleworkers supply their own printer and business telephone line.

Three-quarters of the teleworkers feel they can perform their telework with the equipment supplied by the employer. The other quarter attribute their reduced job effectiveness mainly to lack of equipment, and to a much smaller degree, to equipment failure, the lack of training, or the inability to access the necessary data because of data confidentiality or security. Of the teleworkers who encountered difficulties with their electronic equipment, 19% indicated they could not obtain any support or considered the level of support inadequate.

3. Impacts of Telework

This section details the most significant impacts occurring in the two areas which are the principal focus of the policy - balance between employees' work and personal life, and cost-neutrality for the employer.

Our findings and conclusions in these areas flow from the information obtained in the surveys of teleworkers, their supervisors and the control group. Each of these groups responded on the basis of their perceptions of changes they have experienced, not necessarily changes they have objectively quantified.

We noted other impacts of telework, primarily a sense of isolation on the part of teleworkers and changed relations with co-workers, in units where telework has been introduced. In discussing these later in this section, we also address the perceived reluctance of managers to accept telework in their unit and the inadequacy of information and counselling on telework provided to employees, supervisors and co-workers.

Finally, this section examines other areas of potential impact - hours of work, career opportunities, workplace health and safety, and child and family care responsibilities.

3.1 Balance between Work and Personal Life

In our survey and in focus group discussions, the vast majority of teleworkers indicated that telework has led to a better balance between their work and their personal life and to improvements in many separate facets of their personal and professional life.

The survey asked teleworkers if, since starting to telework, they had experienced any change in 18 aspects of their personal or professional life. Figure 1 presents the average rating of change they reported in 11 of these 18 aspects. These 11 aspects are those in which teleworkers perceived the largest positive or negative change since they started to telework. The ratings are on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 indicating much better than before, 4, no change, and 7, much worse than before.

For comparison, Figure 1 also shows the survey ratings on these same items of the non-teleworking control group, to test the hypothesis that changes in the teleworkers' personal and professional life are due to telework. The control group was asked to respond on the basis of changes they experienced in the past year or so.

Figure 1

Perceived Change in Factors Related to Personal and Professional Life

 

3.1.1 Personal Life

The average rating of the teleworkers on the specific element "balance between work and personal life" is 2.40, indicating a marked improvement since they began to telework. The control group average of 4.07 represents a marginal deterioration.

The following 3 elements also show significant improvement for the teleworkers and likely contribute to the balance between their work and personal life:

• overall stress level
• flexibility to co-ordinate work and personal responsibilities
• general health.

The control group experienced deterioration in 2 of these 3 areas; they did report slight improvement in the past year in their "flexibility to co-ordinate work/personal responsibilities".

3.1.2 Professional Life

Figure 1 also shows the ratings of both groups on the following items related more closely to their professional life:

• control over work environment
• job satisfaction
• interruption in work
• interaction with colleagues on work-related matters
• social interaction with colleagues
• sense of belonging to the organization
• career opportunities.

The only elements on which the control group's ratings are more positive than the teleworkers are in "interaction with colleagues on work-related matters" and "social interaction with co-workers". In both areas, teleworkers reported deterioration. This reflects the reality that most of their colleagues still work in the official workplace, interacting there on work and social matters.

Teleworkers reported a marked increase in job satisfaction since they began to telework. While it is difficult to establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship, this could very likely result from having more control over their work environment and schedule. Such control over aspects of their professional life can, in turn, have a positive influence on their personal life, leading to reduced stress and a better ability to balance work and personal responsibilities.

3.1.3 Summary - Overall Balance

The teleworkers' reasons for wanting to telework include having more control over their work and work conditions, and more flexible hours - all components of a better balance between work and personal life. We conclude that telework has provided this balance and met their needs. That the control group reported either a deterioration or only marginal improvement in these same areas, over roughly the same time period, leads us to conclude that the changes experienced by teleworkers flow from their telework arrangement.

In addition to the ratings shown in Figure 1, our survey also asked teleworkers to identify the principal benefits (if any) of teleworking. They cited the following benefits (in order) in their personal life:

• less stress (also identified as a benefit in their professional life)
• reduced commuting time
• greater flexibility (also identified as a benefit in their professional life)
• improved quality of family life
• better balance between work and personal responsibilities
• improved health.

Other benefits they cited in their professional life include more productivity/ efficiency and fewer interruptions in their work.

This shows an increased quality of life for the teleworker, from both the personal and professional perspectives. Moreover, not only the employee, but also the employer stands to gain, as explained in the next section.

3.2 Costs vs. Productivity Gains

The policy stipulates that in allowing employees to telework, "there must be no loss of output" and that "no telework situation shall be approved that would generate ongoing net additional costs".

3.2.1 Costs

In our survey, we asked the supervisors of documented teleworkers about the costs incurred in implementing telework for their employees. The results are as follows:

Table 1

Source of Cost	Nil	< $200	$200-999	$1000-2999	$3000-4999	>$4999	Don't know
Av. cost/teleworker for electronic equipment	32%	15%	18%	11%	6%	3%	15%
Other costs	54%	17%	9%	1%	1%	-	18%

92% of the supervisors reported that they have either recouped these costs or will be able to do so, primarily through increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, or savings on office space.

Many telework co-ordinators advised us that departments do not yet know how to realize these potential savings on unneeded office space. For the moment, 74% of the documented teleworkers report they still have personal space at the official workplace, but this same percentage of respondents would be willing to share space there (e.g., share a workstation), if this ever became a condition of telework.

In any case, one-time start-up costs of telework are low and reasonable, and we believe that the teleworkers' increased productivity is offsetting these costs, as described in the following subsection.

3.2.2 Productivity

Teleworkers consistently indicated that their productivity has increased since they began to telework. In our survey, we asked them to report any changes in their overall productivity, i.e. for their entire work week, in and away from the official workplace. As well, we asked them to identify any changes since they began to telework in the following facets of productivity: volume/quantity of work produced, quality of work produced, the ability to meet deadlines, absenteeism, punctuality, and the ability to complete work without needing overtime. Figure 2 shows the average ratings of change in teleworkers' productivity as perceived by themselves and by their supervisors. It also shows the control group's self-assessment of change in the same aspects of their productivity over the past year or so.

The ratings are on the same 7-point scale used earlier, with 1 indicating much better than before, 4, no change, and 7, much worse than before. The average rating of each group is given beside each element.

Figure 2

 Perceived Change in Productivity of Teleworkers and Control Group

Teleworkers rated their overall work productivity as significantly improved (average of 2.21). They also claimed improvements to varying degrees in all of the facets we examined.

In comparison, the control group rated its overall productivity as slightly improved (average of 3.71), with slight changes for the better or worse in the remaining facets. The "quality of the work produced" was the element where the control group claimed the most improvement, yet even there, the improvement was not as great as that reported by teleworkers (average of 3.55 for the control group vs. 2.50 for the teleworkers). It is clear that the teleworkers feel their productivity has changed markedly for the better since they began to telework, whereas the control group (their non-teleworking peers) reports relatively little increase in productivity over roughly the same period.

The supervisors' perception of changes in their employees' productivity since they began to telework provides an interesting counterpoint. They did not rate productivity gains as positively as did the teleworkers, although they acknowledged improvements, most notably in quantity of work produced. Supervisors felt that the largest improvement was in teleworkers' motivation at work (average of 2.93 on the same 7-point scale), a factor which can explain why employees achieve higher productivity.

Supervisors participating in the focus group admitted that they found it difficult to quantify increases in productivity - it depends on the employee's type of work. These participants, however, agreed that their teleworkers' productivity has increased, and believe this is due to their generally improved morale.

A legitimate question is whether any gain in productivity on the part of teleworkers has come at the expense of others in the work unit. This does not appear to be the case.

• 59% of the supervisors we surveyed reported no change in their own productivity since one or more of their employees started to telework. An additional 31% of them said that their productivity had actually increased.
• As for the dependent colleagues of the teleworkers, 88% indicated in our survey that their quantity and quality of work produced had not changed since their colleague(s) began to telework. The other 12% divided evenly into changes for the better or worse.
• Agreeing with this majority view expressed by the teleworkers' colleagues, the supervisors in our survey reported that their non-teleworking employees in the work unit showed no change in overall productivity or motivation at work since telework began in the unit.

We conclude that the increased productivity of the current group of teleworkers is due to the effective and efficient use of "quality time" by highly-motivated experienced employees, content that their work and personal lives are in better balance. By quality time, we are referring to a work schedule the employee selects according to personal preferences or needs, instead of having to conform to the hours of work generally imposed in the official workplace.

We caution that extrapolating this productivity increase to larger numbers of teleworkers, in potentially greater concentration in a work unit and/or performing different types of work, may lead to different results.

3.3 Impacts on the Work Unit

Almost unanimously, the teleworkers that we surveyed report that they are satisfied or extremely satisfied with telework. 77% of the surveyed supervisors rate themselves as supportive or extremely supportive of telework. And, among the dependent colleagues surveyed, 56% believe that telework has a positive effect on the morale of the work unit.

Nevertheless, on open-ended survey questions and in focus group discussions, teleworkers, their supervisors and colleagues identified some disadvantages of telework or expressed concern about certain aspects of it. Many of their comments refer to the impacts of telework on the work unit.

Having one or several employees begin to telework creates an atmosphere of change in the work unit, leading to an adjustment period for colleagues and supervisors, as well as for the teleworkers themselves. This section will discuss some of the problems or challenges encountered by stakeholders in this regard and some solutions they tried to ease the adjustment.

3.3.1 Isolation

Although on our survey, teleworkers identified many more advantages than disadvantages of telework, the disadvantage most frequently cited is a sense of personal and professional isolation. This makes sense in light of their assessment of some of the changes they have experienced since starting to telework, shown earlier in Figure 1. Three of the 4 areas where they note a slight change for the worse are:

• their social interaction with co-workers
• their interaction with their colleagues on work-related matters
• their sense of belonging to their organization.

Teleworkers miss work-related and social events at the office because these take place on their telework days or because they are inadvertently not informed of them. Communications with colleagues change, becoming increasingly less face-to-face. As well, co-workers tend not to contact teleworkers at home - less than a quarter of the surveyed colleagues are in daily communication for work-related matters with the employee away from the office.

Survey and focus group findings, however, provide another perspective on this:

• many of the teleworkers we met in focus groups acknowledged having a comparatively lower need for interaction with colleagues
• many teleworkers mentioned "fewer interruptions" as one of the main advantages of telework. This can translate to being left out of impromptu work discussions and office socializing. In fact, participants in the focus groups often considered these to be unnecessary interruptions in getting their work done.

We conclude that some isolation is inherent to telework. From their experience, focus group participants also suggest that some of the isolation can be attenuated, if the supervisor sets the right tone at the start of a telework situation. This includes:

• ensuring that teleworkers are included on general circulation lists for office news, and accessible by e-mail, where possible
• ensuring that teleworkers post their schedule of office and telework days, along with how and when co-workers can reach them
• encouraging normal levels of communication with teleworkers.

3.3.2 Relations with Co-workers

A parallel concern expressed by teleworkers in the survey and in focus groups is that of ongoing relations with co-workers. Some teleworkers perceive that their colleagues envy or resent their alternative work arrangement, a perception also expressed by telework co-ordinators and bargaining agents. Some possible causes for this are:

• the experience reported by some colleagues that their workload has increased to make up for tasks the teleworker will no longer perform on telework days
• a perception that the criteria for approving a telework request are subjective or unfair, and favour an elite group of workers.

Regarding the first point, the vast majority of dependent colleagues we surveyed saw either no change or a change for the better in the main aspects of their work as a result of working with a teleworker. However, those who saw a deterioration attributed it primarily to an increased workload for co-workers still in the office. As a result, these employees were less supportive of telework and teleworkers.

As for the second point, employees at times view telework not as just an alternative work arrangement, but more as a perk or privilege, not equally available to all. 73% of the dependent colleagues we surveyed view telework as a privilege.

3.3.3 Management Reluctance

Employees, telework co-ordinators, and even some supervisors in our surveys, focus groups and interviews expressed the perception that managers are reluctant to accept telework in their work unit.

This perceived reluctance may, in turn, reflect a perception by managers that their organization has little to gain from telework. This view is understandable, given the policy's stated objective of providing better balance for employees in their lives, although a growing body of literature shows that telework does benefit organizations through increased productivity and morale.

While the majority of the supervisors we surveyed were supportive of telework, as previously mentioned, this finding must be viewed in context, since the surveyed group may not be representative of their peers. These supervisors constitute a group which was willing to allow one or several employees to try out a new work arrangement, often with little outside support.

Organizational culture also plays a role. On our surveys and in focus groups, some supervisors and teleworkers indicated that they look toward senior management to encourage the acceptance of telework as an alternative work arrangement, but do not see this happening. They believe that until senior management buys into telework, lower-level managers will be unwilling to introduce or promote it in their work unit.

For their part, telework co-ordinators in many departments reported little uptake of telework. They attribute this, among other things, to a lack of appreciation of the advantages it could offer the organization. For example, in some departments which already had a number of teleworkers, the expansion of telework was on hold awaiting more information on the potential savings it could generate, particularly in the area of office space, as discussed earlier.

Any lingering reluctance could change in the near term as managers grappling with restrained budgets re-examine the telework option in search of savings.

3.3.4 Inadequate Information and Counselling

The policy recommends that departments provide employees and their supervisors with counselling, guidelines or training to familiarize them with what is involved in telework before the arrangement begins. The following table of survey responses shows that many of those affected by the introduction of telework in a work unit were not as well-prepared as would be desirable. This may also explain why participants in focus groups emphasized the need for more information-sharing and training to smooth over difficulties they and their co-workers experienced during the telework break-in period.

Table 2

Information	Documented Teleworkers	Non-doc. Teleworkers	Supervisors of doc. twkers	Dependent Colleagues
Copy of telework policy	87%	56%	92%	*
Training/counselling	51%	17%	67%	40%

To show the value of information, we can cite the following from our survey of supervisors of documented teleworkers:

• among this group, 86% of those who did receive information found it useful
• correlations show that supervisors who received information and training were generally more supportive of telework.

For their part, dependent colleagues indicated that they would have appreciated more information about telework and how to deal with its implications, before it began. All focus groups mentioned the need for those involved in telework to be aware of the "learning or adapting curve" of telework.

3.3.5 Other Issues

In this section, we address a number of other areas of potential impact.

Hours of Work

The flexibility of hours of work and expectations regarding hours of work interest teleworkers and other stakeholders alike. Although the policy states that telework arrangements must respect the collective agreement provision regarding core hours of work (generally 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.), we found that some teleworkers are ignoring this condition.

Changes in the start/finish times of their telework day, coupled with the slight increase in the amount of voluntary unpaid overtime previously noted, may explain why a number of survey respondents cited "working longer hours" as a disadvantage of telework. While the number of hours worked is not appreciably longer, some teleworkers view their work as more intensive for a number of reasons discussed in the focus groups:

• some are working extra hard to prove the merit of telework and ensure they can retain their arrangement
• on their telework days, some employees work when they feel the most productive, take a break (on their personal time) if their productivity falls, and return to the task later on. This may contrast sharply with a day in the official workplace where employees' work hours are often limited by external forces (such as meetings, commuting or day care arrangements), regardless of their personal productivity rhythms.
• some reported having difficulty putting closure to their work on telework days.

Some teleworkers coped with the temptation to stretch their telework day by dedicating a workspace with a closed door that they made sure stayed closed after their working hours. Others chose telework hours that matched exactly those they kept in the official workplace.

Career Opportunities

Although 81% of teleworkers reported no change in their career opportunities as a result of teleworking, the average rating of 4.19 for this element (as seen in Figure 1) indicates a slight change for the worse. These individuals felt less visible (out of sight, out of mind) in the organization. Departmental telework co-ordinators and bargaining agents echoed the opinion that negative career impacts were possible, particularly during a period of downsizing. On the other hand, almost all supervisors (93%) felt that the career opportunities of these employees had not changed as a result of their work arrangement. We conclude that it is too early to determine the impact of telework on career opportunities.

Workplace Health and Safety

Bargaining agents in particular express concern that employees could be exposed to less safe conditions in their teleworkplace than in the official workplace. In this regard, the policy recommends that employees receive training/counselling on how to establish a safe and healthy work environment. Half of the documented teleworkers we surveyed reported receiving such information. Eleven of the surveyed teleworkers experienced a work-related injury in the teleworkplace.

A health and safety inspection of the proposed teleworkplace before an employee starts to telework might alleviate concern, but this suggestion is not universally accepted by bargaining agents. We conclude that the likelihood of teleworkplace injury or accident is not high, but that the long-term impact of working in possibly less-than-ideal ergonomic surroundings is potentially more serious.

Child Care and Family Care

A concern at the start of the telework pilot program was that employees might want to telework in order to replace their child or family care arrangements. Our findings show this is not the case for the teleworkers we surveyed.

The vast majority of them indicated either that they were not responsible for providing care to other members of the household during their telework hours, or that providing care did not interfere with their work. On the contrary, survey and focus group participants appreciated the flexibility telework provides for dealing with both unplanned and routine situations such as a sick child staying home from school, or seeing the children off to school in the morning. Overall, teleworkers indicate that child and family care responsibilities did not figure prominently in their request to telework, nor in their work performance on telework days.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

We conclude that the Telework Pilot Policy is meeting its objective. Teleworkers report they are achieving a better balance between their personal and work life, and most are very satisfied with telework. Departments have been able to implement telework without sacrificing output and without incurring net additional costs.

4.1 Conditions for Success

Which factors contribute to success with telework? The following appear essential and, to a large extent, reflect the views expressed by the stakeholders on this question:

• the right employee allowed to telework - someone who is independent, organized, dependable and motivated
• a supervisor and senior management who are supportive of telework
• trust between the supervisor and employees
• managing by results, with a suitable method to evaluate teleworkers' performance
• rules of the game established up front between the supervisor and the teleworker, and between the teleworker and other members of the household
• the work unit (teleworker, supervisor and colleagues) sensitized to telework and its possible effects on themselves and their relationships
• a break-in period for the telework arrangement, monitored by the supervisor
• teleworking only part of the work week, not full-time, to retain links with co-workers and the organizational culture, and to prevent feelings of isolation.

Is technology an essential ingredient for successful telework? The nature of the tasks performed encourages the use of technology and technology, in turn, increases the feasibility of working away from the official workplace. While telework can occur in the absence of sophisticated technology, technology adapted to the teleworker's needs greatly facilitates the performance of the work, alleviates frustrations and allows for greater productivity on the part of the teleworker and the work unit.

As for the technology made available to teleworkers, the focus groups highlighted the disparities that exist within and between departments. We heard of departments not approving telework for an employee who already owns computer equipment because there is no budget to equip the employee. There are cases where employees have to house two computers - their own and the employer's. We also heard of a department refusing to make available surplus computer equipment to potential teleworkers, preferring instead to dispose of it.

4.2 Policy Considerations

Given our positive findings about telework in the Public Service, one could ask whether maintaining a central agency (TBS) policy on telework is necessary or useful at this point.

4.2.1 Central Agency Responsibility

Stakeholders perceive that the TBS policy constitutes official recognition of, and encouragement for, telework by the Employer during a time when telework is establishing itself as a viable work arrangement. We support this view. The policy provides direction and consistency to departments, with little restriction of their scope to adapt it to their particular context.

If TBS were to withdraw its policy, allowing departments full latitude in the area of telework, many stakeholders, but not all, felt that departments would lose interest in implementing telework. As well, such a withdrawal could be interpreted as a signal that the Employer no longer supports telework. We believe that TBS should retain its policy role until telework is more firmly entrenched in the Public Service.

4.2.2 Telework Arrangement Document

The policy states that the details of the arrangement, signed by the supervisor, shall be given to the teleworker. Supervisors felt the document was useful for establishing the ground rules with their teleworkers; few of the documented teleworkers we met ever referred to theirs after it was signed; and the non-documented group in this study saw no problem in teleworking, and continuing to do so, without one. Many perceive such a document to be unduly restrictive.

We support the idea of the supervisor setting out in writing the details of the telework arrangement. This does not need to be time-consuming, formal or constraining - the document can reflect whatever flexibility the employee and the supervisor agree on. We see no need to adopt a standard form across the Public Service, although departments might wish to use a form internally for consistency and/or monitoring.

Putting the details in writing provides employees protection against liability while working at home (e.g., in case of injury, loss of employer material, etc.). More importantly, by setting out the teleworker's expected schedule and accessibility, the document improves the transparency of the telework arrangement - it is not a "private deal" between the supervisor and teleworker. This could enhance acceptance of telework and morale in the work unit.

4.3 Recommendations

Improvements in several areas of the telework policy or existing practices would allow more employees and their departments to benefit. For this reason, we recommend that TBS:

• Promote telework as a viable work arrangement to decision-makers in all departments.

• Encourage departments to clarify and publicize their approval criteria for telework requests.

• Clarify the policy with respect to departmental latitude either to furnish equipment to teleworkers or to reimburse teleworkers for the use of their own equipment.

• Resolve the anomaly of requiring telework arrangements to respect the "core hours of work" provision in the collective agreements.