Drew Clark from BroadbandCensus.com, one of the leaders in the quest for public and transparent broadband maps, asked me to cover the first ever White House Conference on Workplace Flexibility last week. "Cool," I said, "but I live in San Diego." "No problem," he offered, "it's being broadcast live over the web." So I actually got to workshift my first White House news assignment (full disclosure: it wasn't so much a White House news assignment as it was a request to write a little blog post, but it's probably the closest I'll ever come to the former so I'm milking it for all it's worth).
What was clear from the kickoff by the First Lady to the Teleworker in Chief's final remarks, was that workplace flexibility, and in particular, workshifting is high on the federal agenda--not just for their own employees, but for the private sector workforce as well.
Michelle Obama talked about how much flexible work has meant in her own her family and how she's discovered throughout her career, that the more flexibility she gives the people who work for her, the happier they are and less likely they are to leave. The President described flexible work as key to being competitive in the global economy.
"It's about attracting and retaining top talent in the federal workforce and empowering them to do their jobs, and judging their success by the results that they get--not by how many meetings they attend, or how much face-time they log, or how many hours are spent on airplanes. It's about creating a culture where . . . work is what you do, not where you are," said the President. He urged those organizations already successful at making work flexible to spread the word.
Addressing the challenges to this new way to work the President promised "where regulations are in the way, we'll see what we can do to change them. Where new technology can help, we'll find a secure, cost-effective way to install it. Where training is needed to help managers and workers embrace this approach, we'll adopt the best practices from the private sector." Calling for a 50% increase in workshifting eligibility among federal employees in FY2011, he joked, "I do not want to see the government close because of snow again."
John Berry, head of the Office of Personnel Management, spoke about how flex policies improve the government's ability to hire and retain great people, "I want to make government (jobs) cool again." Adding with a smile that "if flexibility can succeed in the federal government with the unrivaled complexity of our missions--as well as our red tape . . . it can succeed anywhere."
Common themes throughout the conference included the stuff us workshifters have been saying for years; workshifting increases productivity, reduces turnover and absenteeism, and improves worklife balance. But hearing those words coming from White House mouths was music to my ears. Between that and wanting to make federal jobs cool again, it was clear this is not your grandmother's government. What do you think?
What was clear from the kickoff by the First Lady to the Teleworker in Chief's final remarks, was that workplace flexibility, and in particular, workshifting is high on the federal agenda--not just for their own employees, but for the private sector workforce as well.
Michelle Obama talked about how much flexible work has meant in her own her family and how she's discovered throughout her career, that the more flexibility she gives the people who work for her, the happier they are and less likely they are to leave. The President described flexible work as key to being competitive in the global economy.
"It's about attracting and retaining top talent in the federal workforce and empowering them to do their jobs, and judging their success by the results that they get--not by how many meetings they attend, or how much face-time they log, or how many hours are spent on airplanes. It's about creating a culture where . . . work is what you do, not where you are," said the President. He urged those organizations already successful at making work flexible to spread the word.
Addressing the challenges to this new way to work the President promised "where regulations are in the way, we'll see what we can do to change them. Where new technology can help, we'll find a secure, cost-effective way to install it. Where training is needed to help managers and workers embrace this approach, we'll adopt the best practices from the private sector." Calling for a 50% increase in workshifting eligibility among federal employees in FY2011, he joked, "I do not want to see the government close because of snow again."
John Berry, head of the Office of Personnel Management, spoke about how flex policies improve the government's ability to hire and retain great people, "I want to make government (jobs) cool again." Adding with a smile that "if flexibility can succeed in the federal government with the unrivaled complexity of our missions--as well as our red tape . . . it can succeed anywhere."
Common themes throughout the conference included the stuff us workshifters have been saying for years; workshifting increases productivity, reduces turnover and absenteeism, and improves worklife balance. But hearing those words coming from White House mouths was music to my ears. Between that and wanting to make federal jobs cool again, it was clear this is not your grandmother's government. What do you think?
