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While most telework experts and
advocates admit that data security is
no longer an absolute barrier to
remote work options, all agree that it
tops the list of "must haves" in any
successful telework program.
Recent cases of compromised data
prove that information security
programs often have weaknesses
that need to be addressed, wherever
that data may be.
At the Treasury Inspector General for
Tax Administration (TIGTA), the
agency takes a very straightforward
approach to security. Ben Trapp is
TIGTA’s Assistant Director for Client
Services, who says, "Our approach
can be roughly grouped into three
major areas: infrastructure, devices,
and policy."
When it comes to infrastructure, he
insists TIGTA teleworkers - and there
are nearly 1,000 - access the
agency network using a Virtual
Private Network (VPN). Data flowing
from laptop to VPN is encrypted to
meet the strict regulations of Federal
Information Processing Standard
(FIPS) 140-2. To further ensure
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authentication, when a user
connects to the VPN, that user can
only access one network at a time.
"Although laptop hardware allows for
multiple network connections, our
VPN configuration does not allow
split tunneling between the laptop
and multiple networks," says Trapp.
"This helps to isolate data
transmission and prevents malicious
‘piggy-backing.’"
The second area, devices, focuses
on computers, personal data
assistants, and other equipment that
might connect to the agency
network. TIGTA teleworkers must
use TIGTA-issued equipment - no
home computers are permitted
access. Each piece of equipment
comes "pre-programmed" with
baseline software, firewalls, and
antivirus and anti-spyware packages.
And, all computers are centrally
managed and monitored. "We easily
can upload security patches to our
teleworkers’ laptops, and also check
them for any software that does not
meet our security requirements,"
adds Trapp.
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Access to enterprise IT systems
anywhere, on-demand, gives
agencies transformational
advantages: employee productivity,
reduced commuting gridlock,
improved collection of real-time
information, and continuity of
operations assurances.
Begin telework programs with a
detailed policy framework - defining
specific, authorized users, devices,
and connections makes safe and
managed telework easier.
Comprehensive plans are more likely
to yield increased productivity
without unnecessary costs and
complexity.
Requiring remote access through a
secure Virtual Private Network (VPN)
can block traffic from outside the
secure walls of the agency’s
infrastructure. To thwart attackers’
threats, organizations should
evaluate and implement solutions
that combine full detection,
interception, and remediation of
malicious code like viruses, Trojan
horses, and spyware.
Ensure that mobile workers’ data is
backed up. Organizations should
evaluate the advantages of disaster
recovery solutions that enable
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The Teleworker interviewed recognized
subject matter expert Gil Gordon
recently for his forecast for telework
in 2007 and beyond. For more
information on telework,
telecommuting, and alternative
officing options, see Gil Gordon
Associates at www.gilgordon.com.
When asked to discuss the increasing
hype about telework, Gil Gordon first
makes it clear that, although there is
periodic "hype," telework has been
around for decades.
And he would know. President of Gil
Gordon Associates, he formed his
company in 1982 with the sole
purpose of helping employers make
remote work an efficient option that
can be effectively integrated into
everyday operations. He has helped
dozens of organizations - small and
large, private and public. His clients
range from AT&T to the U.S. Air
Force.
"Twenty years ago, the market
already had its share of road warriors
- sales representatives, auditors,
accountants - that spent little time in
the office," reminds Gordon. These
employees worked remotely as a
mobile workforce. They were
teleworkers. And there are surely
many more in today’s workforce.
Having set the record straight on
telework and its longevity, Gordon
opens up about the changes he
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expects to see in 2007. "The first is
a broadening of the definition of
telework," he says. Most people
think of telework as the ability to
work from home. Gordon sees that
definition morphing to include all
types of mobile work - on the
airplane, in the coffee shop, in a
hotel. Telework soon will be
commonly thought of as merely
working away from the office.
Secondly, while he has never
considered technology alone to be
the main driver for telework growth,
he agrees that each new technology
offering makes telework more
available to a broader group of
employees. "People now have
options that were not there 10 or 15
years ago," he says. "For example,
they can have remote broadband
access, either wired or completely
wireless. This trend is ongoing and
will continue to increase the number
of people working remotely."
The third change he anticipates is
one that has already begun.
Telework will most certainly be an
integral part of business continuity
plans. "The Federal government
already is reviewing agency business
continuity plans in the event of a
pandemic," says Gordon. "Consider
three cataclysmic events - bird flu,
hurricane, or an earthquake. Of
these three, the pandemic flu is the
most predictable. Pandemic or not,
every agency should be asking if its
network could support double or
triple its normal remote access load
and take the necessary steps to
prepare for such an eventuality."
Lastly, Gordon expects to see a shift
in employers’ focus this coming year.
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"If you look at the history of
employers’ rationale for getting
involved in telework, you generally
see concerns about traffic, work-life
balance, and retention." In addition
to those considerations, he now adds
three other key factors: facilities
planning, a drop in the number of
high-quality knowledge workers, and
a broader measure of employee
effectiveness.
"When a business integrates telework
into facilities planning, that
organization can under-build."
Gordon explains, "Growth in office
space does not have to be in direct
proportion to your growth in
headcount." Employees can devise a
schedule of shared workstations so
that office space does not go
underutilized.
Another factor adding to employers’
renewed focus on telework in 2007
is the growing gap between qualified
knowledge workers and job openings,
according to Gordon. He has seen
an up-tick in the demand for highly-skilled
white-collar workers, but a
more varying quality of people coming
out of the educational system. "You
can double, or even triple, your
recruiting range if you offer telework
as an option for those you are hoping
to recruit. An employer in Boston
can seek skilled professionals living
two to three hours outside the city,
and only require them to work in the
office when necessary."
The final influence on how employers
are viewing telework is employee
performance. "Most professional
knowledge workers are not in jobs
where they count widgets," Gordon
notes. "Employers are adopting a
broader view of employee
effectiveness - the quantity and
quality of the work, timeliness, and
ability to multi-task. Employers are
seeing reduced error rates and
improved productivity with the
implementation of telework
programs." In 2007, Gordon
believes smart managers will realize
that it is counterproductive to insist
that all employees come to the office
every day. "A manager should be
able to say, ‘Work from wherever you
can add the most value tomorrow.’"
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Susan Brown manages the telework
programs of three organizations with
very different missions within the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
But even with their diverse agency
functions, the telework programs are
nearly identical.
Susan Brown is the Telework Program
Manager for the USDA’s Farm Service
Agency (FSA), Foreign Agriculture
Service (FAS), and Risk Management
Agency (RMA). "Membership in
these telework programs has grown a
great deal in the last year," says
Brown. The number of participants
has doubled to 200 within FSA, and
RMA now has nearly half its
employees enrolled in the telework
program. FAS currently has 60
teleworkers.
Brown notes that FAS is very
innovative with its program’s benefits,
allowing employees across the
country to work full time offsite and
using the program as a retention tool.
RMA and FSA both have
headquarters in Washington, D.C.,
but include a large field staff.
Employees average one-and-a-half
days of telework per week using
government-issued technology
equipment. FAS currently allows
employees to use their home
computers to access a secure Virtual
Private Network (VPN).
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they need to show us a real business
reason for denying eligibility." For
those managers who remain doubtful,
Brown recommends the employee
have a "telework trial period" of one
to three months. "Most of the
managers come around and see that
it can work," she says.
She has seen more than one case in
which a telework arrangement kept
valuable talent within an agency. "An
FAS employee needed to provide care
for her elderly parents in New
England; consequently, she was set
to leave the agency. Now she
teleworks full time, can manage her
parents’ care, and the agency has
been able to retain her valuable
knowledge and experience." Brown
says dependent and eldercare are
the two areas in which people are
seeing the biggest work-life balance
benefits of telework.
To ease the transition for both
managers and employees, Brown has
teleworkers take the online courses
offered by the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM). These courses
for teleworkers and telework
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managers are available to
government employees as part of the
US ALearning.gov program managed
by OPM. For more information, see
www.telework.gov.
Brown herself teleworks once a week
from the Fredericksburg, Virginia,
Federal Telework Center, a mere ten-minute
drive from her home. On the
days when she drives into the city, it
takes two hours each way. That’s four
hours she’d rather spend teleworking.
- Farm Service Agency - Considered
the frontline with America’s farmers,
this is the agency that manages the
farm programs. FSA has on its
payroll 5,427 Federal employees and
8,700 county employees
- Foreign Agricultural Service - With
850 employees, the agency works to
improve foreign market access for
U.S. products, build new markets,
improve the competitive position of
U.S. agriculture in the global
marketplace, and provide food aid
and technical assistance to foreign
countries
- Risk Management Agency - With 496
employees, the agency promotes,
supports, and regulates sound risk
management solutions to preserve
and strengthen the economic stability
of America's agricultural producers
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When asked how the agencies decide
which employees are eligible to
telework, Brown states, "We assume
everyone has portable work until a
supervisor can show us otherwise.
Supervisors have become much less
resistant to the idea of telework, and
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In 2007, the Defense Information
Systems Agency (DISA) hopes to
become the number one Federal
agency in the telework realm. If last
year’s progress is any indication of
the future, the agency is well on its
way. In 2006, the telework program
saw a seven-fold increase in the
number of employees working
remotely.
Jack Penkoske is DISA’s Director of
Manpower, Personnel, and Security
and he is proud that the agency has
identified 2,500 positions as eligible
for telework benefits. That is fifty
percent of DISA’s workforce. "In any
two-week pay period, we have
between 400 and 500 people
teleworking. Our goal is to reach the
full 2,500," he says.
For the most part, DISA employees
who telework can do so two days per
week, but that number varies,
according to Penkoske. "We have
one small organization that allows
employees to telework five days per
week, and this approach is working
out very well for them." Each
teleworker is issued a laptop with a
docking station, and DISA pays for
half of the broadband costs. Having
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employees’ work phones roll directly
to their home phones enables a
seamless and consistent face to the
agency’s customers, who receive the
same level of service whether talking
to someone in their "real" office or in
a remote location.
Penkoske’s goal to be number one in
telework is driven by more than the
traditional motives - traffic
congestion, environmental concerns,
and work-life balance. "Sure we
recognize the benefits in those
areas," he says, "but we also want to
show that telework actually increases
worker productivity." He says DISA
has begun to gather metrics that will
help demonstrate this concept.
Like all telework success stories,
DISA’s initiative has had its
challenges. One of the biggest
obstacles to date: management
acceptance. Penkoske is pleased
that most supervisors, through
training and experience, now see the
benefits of telework. It is a big
cultural change and is not always an
easy sell. He notes that many DISA
employees already are on a
compressed work schedule, and
"when you add two days per week of
telework, that means they are away
from the office ten days each month.
It can be difficult for a manager to
adjust to this new workforce model."
The recent Base Closure and
Realignment Commission of 2005
called for a relocation of the DISA
headquarters from Arlington, Virginia
to Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland.
Increasing telework options is an
important way to retain valuable
workers who might otherwise retire or
leave the agency. "During the move
and transition, our message is that
our employees are our most important
asset. Allowing people to work
remotely a couple of days a week
gives them flexibility and eases weekly
commuting."
Not all DISA teleworkers work from
their homes. Using their DISA-issued
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laptops, employees can work from a
Federal Telework Center or another
DISA location. To maximize the
number of options for its employees,
Penkoske is working with other Federal
agencies to allow DISA workers to
make use of available telework space.
And he does not want to exclude
employees who work with classified
data. "We have people who need
access to classified networks, and
using other Federal agency space is
one way these employees can
telework from secure facilities that are
closer to their homes," he says.
To appease the security concerns that
crop up during any telework program’s
expansion, DISA made a significant
investment in laptop computers with
docking stations. The agency has
bought enough equipment to stay
ahead of the increasing numbers of
teleworkers. Remote workers use a
Common Access Card (CAC) and enter
the system through a Virtual Private
Network (VPN) that is enabled by
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
technology. "We want to be very
forward-leaning in our program,"
assures Penkoske, "but we will not
compromise on security."
His advice to other telework
managers? Do the planning, and
involve teams from the human
resources and information technology
departments. "Don’t get bogged
down in the planning process," he
cautions. "Keep moving forward.
Knock down the barriers - equipment,
resistance, training. My catch phrase
is ‘Just do it.’"
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Recently elected as Majority Leader,
Steny Hoyer represents Southern
Maryland in the U.S. House of
Representatives. A longtime Federal
employee advocate, Steny Hoyer
spoke to The Teleworker about
telework’s role and importance in the
government.
Hoyer has long been a proponent of
telework. One of his proudest
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achievements in Congress was
"leading the charge to make
telecommuting the official policy of
the Federal government" in 1993.
Through his work with Congressman
Frank Wolf (R-VA), whom Hoyer calls
a "real leader" on this issue, they
steered $5 million in funding for three
telework centers in the Washington,
D.C. area. "Telework as we know it
today is a product of our success in
1993," says Hoyer. And he
anticipates that "telework will become
a much bigger part of how the
Federal workforce operates" within
the next few years.
Hoyer recognizes the importance of
telework by citing its positive impact
on productivity, "getting Federal
workers to their desks faster." He
also points out that telework
enhances the security of our
government in the event of terrorism
or in a pandemic.
By taking cars off the road, telework
"reduces traffic congestion, promotes
conservation, improves the
environment, and reduces our
dependence on foreign oil. It also
gives families more time together by
reducing commuting times," the
Majority Leader adds.
With the Democrats now in the
majority in Congress, many political
observers have commented about the
possibility of increased Congressional
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oversight. While it is not clear what
level of attention telework will have
in the 110th Congress, the Majority
Leader agrees that despite its strong
bipartisan support, telework has not
received the level of attention it
deserves. Hoyer says he "strongly
encourages the 110th Congress to
take a very close look at telework,
which can serve as a model for both
the public and private sector."
What drives Hoyer in his work on
telework? "My overriding objective,
always, is to improve the quality of
life for my constituents, of whom
55,000 work for the Federal
government. I have seen how
telework has improved the lives of
these hard working women and men,
allowing them to spend more time
with their families and less time
sitting idly in traffic. I am simply
Continued Below
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A new year is upon us, replete with
resolutions and promises to
ourselves. Many vow 1.) to be more
organized, and 2.) save money.
For teleworkers using a home office
space, changing the way you file
your taxes may help with both.
Employees working from a home
office may be eligible for money-saving
deductions on upcoming tax
filings. Fred Borden runs a small
business providing tax preparation
and financial and business
management services to a range of
clients across the country. "Tax
season is my busiest time of year,
and many of my clients have home
office spaces that factor into their
deductions," says Borden.
Borden himself has been working
from his home office in Ohio for 16
years, and he knows the ins and outs
- and dos and don’ts - of maximizing
your deductions. First, he makes a
point to clarify the term "home
office." "To claim deductions related
to a home office, you need to define
an area in your home that is
exclusive to the work you do for your
employer. It can be a space within a
room, or an entire room. But it
cannot be a desk where you
sometimes work, and where your kids
also play computer games."
Teleworkers must also use this space
on a regular basis.
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With that space defined, calculate the
percentage of that the exclusive space
in proportion to total household square
footage. Borden says the next step
involves record-keeping. This is where
the "get more organized" resolution
will pay off. Keep receipts for
everything related to teleworking and
home office expenses, and save
household bills and maintenance
records.
In the realm of office expenses,
deductions might include dedicated
telephone lines, Internet connectivity,
office supplies and furniture, and
installation fees for hardware and
equipment. "You can only deduct
non-reimbursed expenses," cautions
Borden. "If your employer already
pays for your broadband Internet
connection, you cannot deduct that
on your personal taxes."
The next area is a bit more
challenging. Teleworkers with home
office space can deduct a percentage
of household expenses. "If your office
space is 100 square feet, and your
entire home is 2000 square feet, then
you can deduct five percent of certain
household expenses," says Borden.
What can be considered a "household
expense?" Think utilities, home
insurance, annual maintenance and
security costs, mortgage interest, and
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Before someone can claim any
home office deductions, one
must itemize deductions on
the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) Schedule A. Then,
minimums must be met.
When completing Schedule
A, there is a category of
deductions called
"miscellaneous deductions."
This is where employee home
office expenses are claimed
on an individual tax return.
According to Borden,
taxpayers may only deduct
those miscellaneous expenses
that exceed two percent of the
taxpayer’s adjusted gross
income (AGI). Borden
recommends the following
steps:
- Calculate two percent of
your AGI, or both if filing
a joint return
- Create a rough calculation
of the home office
expenses
- If the numbers show that
expenses will not add up to
the two percent of AGI, go
no further
- If it is likely that the home
office-related deductions
might add up to more than
two percent of the AGI,
take time to fill out the
additional forms
(www.irs.gov)
- IRS Form 2106 - Employee
Business Expenses
- IRS Form 8829 - Expenses
for Business Use of Your
Home (attach this to
Form 2106)
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Continued from above
The third area of security has little to
do with technology, but everything to
do with the people that use it. All
TIGTA teleworkers must complete
annual security awareness training. No
data is maintained on the laptops, and
equipment must be physically secured
when unattended. "Our greatest risk is
that staff may not follow the security
policies and guidelines," affirms Trapp.
"Training is essential for teleworkers,
and especially for managers who often
need help getting past their ‘separation
anxiety’ from working side-by-side with
staff in a traditional office
environment."
TIGTA’s approach may be practical and
straightforward, but it is not perfect -
yet. Trapp has plans to increase data
security. Currently, data is encrypted
at the file and folder level. The next
technology refreshment will include full
disk, hardware-level encryption. TIGTA
is also considering smart cards and
biometric measures to enhance current
identity management and
e-authentication approaches.
Continued from above
automated data backup and allow
users to work unimpeded while backup
processes run.
Regular communication to users from
top executive, IT, or security operations
management should be maintained
and focus on keeping IT safe, trusted,
and available. Savvy employees can
play an important defensive and
reporting role against attackers taking
advantage of digital interactions.
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The pace of technology and relentless
change underway in organizations
means that even the soundest
telework security plans and policies
can be antiquated in a short span of
time. To stay ahead of change and
avoid planning shortfalls, plan to
reevaluate your telework posture at
formal intervals.
The challenges of managing remote
and mobile clients touch upon
different disciplines of systems,
security, and storage management.
A well-managed infrastructure has
the agility to respond quickly and
effectively to challenges, empower
employees, and capitalize on
successive breakthroughs in
technology.
Source: Symantec Corporation.
Continued from above
proud of the small part I have been
able to play in making that happen."
As far as the future for telework,
Hoyer concludes, "I anticipate that
telework will become a much bigger
part of how the Federal workforce
operates. Rising gas prices and
increasing traffic congestion in the
Washington metropolitan region will
compel the Federal government to
expand telework."
For more information or to contact
Majority Leader Hoyer, visit
www.majorityleader.gov.
Continued from above
real estate taxes. Depreciation of a
home also is a deductible expense.
(Note that the amount of mortgage
interest and real estate taxes
deducted as a home office expense
must then be subtracted from the
amount deducted elsewhere on IRS
Schedule A.)
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"For those living in high-cost
metropolitan areas, deducting five or
ten percent of their real estate taxes
and mortgage interest under
employee business expenses may just
push their home office deductions
past that "two percent of adjusted
gross income" mark," clarifies
Borden. (See "The Two Percent Mark" above.)
Renters may reap a heftier reward for
taking time to make sense of the
current tax code. Borden offers this
example: "Someone pays $1,000 a
month for rent, and their home office
occupies 20 percent of their rental
property. Of their $12,000 annual
rent, they can deduct $2,400 toward
home office expense." Renters also
must itemize on their annual tax
returns to qualify for this deduction.
If this still is not making sense, no
need to despair. You are not alone.
Borden highly recommends almost all
taxpayers to seek professional tax
advice. "Either pay a qualified tax
adviser to help you, or purchase a
software program like TurboTax or
TaxCut," he advises. The Internet
also is filled with tax tips, and
Borden’s top picks include a range of
online resources.
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Calling telework a "classic win-win,"
Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine
reaffirmed the Commonwealth’s
support for increasing telework.
Speaking to more than 100
technology executives, Kaine unveiled
a written pledge signed by 32
Northern Virginia technology
companies. In that pledge, the
signing companies agree to
implement and expand telework
within their organizations, and to
encourage colleagues in other
organizations to do the same. This
type of support from businesses is
critical in reaching Kaine ambitious
goal of having 20 percent of the
eligible state government workforce
telecommuting by 2010. The event
was hosted by the Northern Virginia
Technology Council (NVTC) and the
Telework Coalition (TelCoa). Governor
Kaine and the Commonwealth of
Virginia partnered with both
organizations to promote telework.
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Send an animated note to your
colleagues and show your
enlightened views on cleaner air. The
Department of Transportation and
Environmental Protection Agency
have teamed to develop some fun
new Flash animations that you can
view and then send to friends and
colleagues. The overall message?
Reduce traffic by combining errands
into one trip, and, of course, by
teleworking! See, and send, the
animations at www.italladdsup.gov.
The General Services Administration
(GSA) has revised its free telework
brochure titled "Are you Ready? The
Teleworkforce is Now." The printed
piece lists the benefits of teleworking
for employees and managers,
touches on key practices in starting
a telework program, and offers
resources on telework laws, policy,
and advocacy groups. You can view
and download the brochure at
www.telework.gov. At that site, go
to the Telework Library and click on
Telework Promotional Materials; the
publication is listed as "Telework
Trifold."
On January 22, Telework Exchange
and the Federal Managers
Association (FMA), an association
representing the interests of 200,000
Federal managers, announced the
results of a first-of-its-kind study of
Federal managers’ perceptions of
telework, "Face-to-Face with
Management Reality" - A Telework
Research Report.
Underwritten by TANDBERG, a leading
global provider of visual
communication products and
services, the Face-to-Face with
Management Reality study reveals
that Federal management resistance
represents a strong barrier to Federal
agencies embracing telework as a
standard operating procedure. For key
findings or to download the full study,
visit
www.teleworkexchange.
com/managementstudy.
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The General Services Administration
(GSA) opened its 14 sponsored centers
in the Washington, D.C. metro area at
no cost to Federal agencies, according
to the recently-issued press release.
GSA’s offer, good only until September
30, 2007, is a first for the agency and
responds to several findings regarding
Federal manager perceptions of telework
recently published in "Face-to-Face with
Management Reality," a study
conducted by the Telework Exchange in
partnership with the Federal Managers
Association.
Only first-time users of a telework
center are eligible to participate.
Offer is only good for Federal managers, supervisors, and senior executives.
Interested participants should first
visit GSA’s Telework Web site on
www.gsa.gov/teleworkcenters and then
contact the Telework Center Director
of their choice prior to registering.
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Phone 703.883.9000 | Fax 703.883.9007 | Cindy Auten 703.883.9000 x101
921 King Street | Alexandria, VA | 22314 | info@teleworkexchange.com
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