Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Office of Personnel Management wants to rid federal employees and managers of their angst over the term "home work," which, for some, evokes painful memories of late-night cram sessions and mysterious stomach pains the morning of the big math test.

"Working effectively from home is a good thing and can actually bring greater productivity to the office, allow for continuity of service during local or national emergencies and improve an employee's overall quality of life," said OPM Director Kay Coles James, in reference to teleworking federal employees who work from their homes or other alternate locations on a regular, periodic basis.

To promote the many benefits of telework arrangements -- and to dispel the myths often associated with employees working off-site -- OPM sponsored a one-day "Telework -- It Works" training conference on November 4 in the agency's Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building headquarters.

The conference featured recognized experts on telework and offered a unique twist to assist managers and employees in the development of effective telework strategies. OPM and its telework partner, the General Services Administration (GSA), said teleworking gives employees the option to work from home or "work from anywhere."

"This conference unveiled a toolkit for HR officials and program managers that will help them set up successful telework programs that have been negotiated with local union leaders and management and then implement specific telework arrangements for employees," said James, who works at home one day each month. "The toolkit is a road map to move people off the highways and back into their homes where they will ably carry out their responsibilities for America's taxpayers, while reducing traffic congestion and getting federal employees to spend less time on the roads and more time with their families."

The telework toolkit contains a videotape, brochures, a CD with news articles and other aids to lead managers and employees down the road to the successful establishment and implementation of alternative work-site agreements.

Gil Gordon, an internationally renowned expert on telework, and Marty Wagner, the GSA's Associate Director for the Office of Governmentwide Policy, were featured conference speakers.

There has been significant interest in Congress to expand telework opportunities for federal employees, especially for those who work in congested metropolitan areas, and to make telework a routine business practice.

OPM and GSA have worked closely with agencies and the offices of Congressman Frank Wolf and other congressional members in the Washington metropolitan area. Congress has provided funding to promote telework and educate managers and employees on its benefits.

Telework offers tangible benefits to employees and employers alike. Studies have shown that:

• teleworkers use fewer sick days, increasing their employers' productivity

• teleworkers put in a fuller eight-hour work day, as there are fewer days when they need to use work time to recover from stressful morning commutes

• teleworkers possess greater loyalty to their employers

Telework contingency plans now are an important component of the federal government's Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), a playbook of agency/employee coordination with telework activities that would facilitate seamless service of vital federal operations following a local or national emergency on the scale of the September 11 terrorist attacks. In fact, teleworkers contributed significantly to continuing operations of government offices after the attack on America.

The availability of telework throughout the American labor force has increased dramatically. According to data released by the International Telework Association and Council, there has been a 40 percent increase since 2001 in the number of American workers who occasionally work out of their homes.

Data contained in a report issued in October by The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., says that an employee in Virginia making a 15-mile commute to work by highway or rail and who becomes a teleworker could save local governments from $3,000 to $6,200 per year in various commuting costs and subsidies. The same report cites a 2002 Urban Mobility Study by the Texas Transportation Institute that ranks the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area as fourth in travel time to work and fifth in annual excess fuel consumption due to road congestion during commuting hours.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.