June 4, 2008 9:12 AM
Good Government in Action, Embracing Telecommuting
Sometimes I'm too critical of government and its inability to craft effective broadband legislation, so it's important that I give credit where credit's due and celebrate those times when government gets it right.
Here's just such an example: the House passed the Telework Bill, which will afford qualified government employees the opportunity to work from home and telecommute two days every two weeks.
Now the bill is not yet law, but all signs point to it becoming so soon as a similar bill has already passed through a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.
I love this effort for a lot of reasons. It's helping legitimize telecommuting. It's proving that the government is opening up to the possibilities of using broadband to drive new efficiencies in its operations. And by being proactive I believe government is going to set a tremendous example for the private sector, which will hopefully spur adoption there as well.
One other thought worth noting is the relevance of telecommuting to homeland security. Some might wonder how it's relevant, but there's actually a very good reason: what happens in the event of another terrorist attack, or a natural disaster, or just really bad weather? What happens when the people who help run the government can't come into work? Do the gears of government come to a grinding halt?
Not if everyone's empowered with the ability and know-how to telecommute from home.
Of course, not every government service is effectively administered from home, but if we were to have a robust, decentralized system for working it'd make us much more resilient and flexible when it comes to reacting to large-scale emergencies.
So great job, Congress! Keep up the good work in realizing the power you hold to help drive the broadband revolution.
Comments (1)
I agree this is a step in the right direction. Realizing that we need another set of solutions I have laid out the framework for a distributed work center pilot and am interested in gaining support. Please visit the www.pocketsnet.com website for further information. I welcome you comments and recommendations.
Posted by Michael Shear on June 4, 2008 6:56 PM