Berry taking the option out of telework

Any notion any federal manager may have had about telework being an option is about to be wiped out.

Speaking to the Federal Managers Association’s convention in Crystal City, Virginia earlier this month, OPM Director John Berry made it clear that making telework work is a priority.

Wouldn’t that be cool if rather than saying “the federal government is closed today,” we could say “the federal government is on a mobile workday and make sure you take your computer home tomorrow because we need you to work from home.” That sends an entirely different message to the taxpayer. And we can maintain the Continuity of Operations.

Now, you all know, in this day and age, it’s not just snow that can close us down. A dirty bomb could go off in Lafayette Park at 10 o’clock this morning. God forbid. But if it does, probably about 15 federal office buildings are going to be (un)inhabitable for months, if not years.

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Well, we can’t just say “we’re not going to do that anymore.” We’re the government of the United States, by God, and we have a responsibility to keep our operations up and running. And so it’s incumbent on us as managers to solve whatever the stumbling blocks or the speed bumps on this are, so we can make this work.

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