federal government full time telework positions/agencies? (or unicorn wishes?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my first child is due in April 2018 and in reevaluating my life (as one does before first baby) I would like a full time telework position with the federal government. JD with 4 years of fed. govt. experience in procurement, full time, and up for my GS-14 promotion in May 2018.

any advice on how to even begin the search for these virtual positions, tips or tricks, or what has worked for you or whether these even exist? can you recommend agencies that have full time telework options, I know GSA is one of the top ones? i'm also not sure how to apply to these GS-14 positions as many are supervisory.

Let me guess you want to Telework and avoid paying for childcare for your baby.

She probably wants to avoid the waste of time of commute. Nearly everyone knows that working full time you still need full time childcare. (I teleworked for 7 years...I started before I had my first kid. I had a full-time nanny but did not have to waste time commuting, which saved 2 hours a day and saved me from paying a nanny overtime over 40 hours.)

Maybe, but a few times a year some woman pregnant with her first starts asking to Telework while also talking about how much she will save not using childcare. The answer is always a firm no, but don't act like people aren't trying to have their cake and eat it too

DP. I have never heard this. My agency is crystal clear that if you are going to telework you still need full time childcare. This applies even if you just do it ad hoc occasionally. No one is confused about it.

Being confused about the rules and following the rules are very different things. I can't tell you how many times kids in the background interrupt calls with folks who are "teleworking."

Exactly! Or ignoring the rules and following the rules are two very different things

You can have full time childcare and your children can still come in the room when you're on the phone. It's not like the rule is they must be locked away out of your sight. My kids walk in all the time and make noise but they're being looked after by someone else.

True. But when your colleague says things like I will get you lunch or help with your art project in a few minutes - rather than please ask your babysitter for help - it strongly suggests no one else is caring for the child. Plus, even if there were someone there, if she can't effectively keep the kid out of your space so you can work, it doesn't really help. I know my 2 and 4 year olds would want me if I were home, regardless if they had a babysitter, so it simply wouldn't work. And finally, one colleague is very open about what she does. She assumes I am an ally because I also have young kids. She assumes wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my first child is due in April 2018 and in reevaluating my life (as one does before first baby) I would like a full time telework position with the federal government. JD with 4 years of fed. govt. experience in procurement, full time, and up for my GS-14 promotion in May 2018.

any advice on how to even begin the search for these virtual positions, tips or tricks, or what has worked for you or whether these even exist? can you recommend agencies that have full time telework options, I know GSA is one of the top ones? i'm also not sure how to apply to these GS-14 positions as many are supervisory.

Let me guess you want to Telework and avoid paying for childcare for your baby.

She probably wants to avoid the waste of time of commute. Nearly everyone knows that working full time you still need full time childcare. (I teleworked for 7 years...I started before I had my first kid. I had a full-time nanny but did not have to waste time commuting, which saved 2 hours a day and saved me from paying a nanny overtime over 40 hours.)

Maybe, but a few times a year some woman pregnant with her first starts asking to Telework while also talking about how much she will save not using childcare. The answer is always a firm no, but don't act like people aren't trying to have their cake and eat it too

DP. I have never heard this. My agency is crystal clear that if you are going to telework you still need full time childcare. This applies even if you just do it ad hoc occasionally. No one is confused about it.

Being confused about the rules and following the rules are very different things. I can't tell you how many times kids in the background interrupt calls with folks who are "teleworking."

Exactly! Or ignoring the rules and following the rules are two very different things

You can have full time childcare and your children can still come in the room when you're on the phone. It's not like the rule is they must be locked away out of your sight. My kids walk in all the time and make noise but they're being looked after by someone else.

For those of you working in agencies where everyone adheres to the rules, it must be nice. Some of us work at agencies where there is a blatant disregard for telework rules. Mothers doing it instead of childcare and not really working. Single people sitting by the pool on nice days and occasionally checking their mobile devices. People spending their telework day running errands, going to the mall, etc. I know of people who have, and continue to do, all of these things.

Specifically, I knew of three people who used telework to avoid paying for a full time nanny - all only worked occasionally during the day, and then ramped it up during naps and once their spouses arrived home. They definitely are not working full time from home, and they are not fully available as one should be when teleworking. All have been reported, but no one seems to care. So, indeed, while it should not happen and it is against the telework rules, it definitely does happen.

We get it. You don't like telecommuting. But do you also have such disdain for men who shoot the sh$t at work for hours? I know men who do very little at work.

DP. Yes, I do. Nothing is more morale sucking as a fed than knowing half your office doesn't do shit and that the boss would rather have the other have of the office get the work done than deal with the folks sitting on their asses. That people abuse things in the office, which is undoubtedly true, really isn't a good justification for telework abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my first child is due in April 2018 and in reevaluating my life (as one does before first baby) I would like a full time telework position with the federal government. JD with 4 years of fed. govt. experience in procurement, full time, and up for my GS-14 promotion in May 2018.

any advice on how to even begin the search for these virtual positions, tips or tricks, or what has worked for you or whether these even exist? can you recommend agencies that have full time telework options, I know GSA is one of the top ones? i'm also not sure how to apply to these GS-14 positions as many are supervisory.

Let me guess you want to Telework and avoid paying for childcare for your baby.

She probably wants to avoid the waste of time of commute. Nearly everyone knows that working full time you still need full time childcare. (I teleworked for 7 years...I started before I had my first kid. I had a full-time nanny but did not have to waste time commuting, which saved 2 hours a day and saved me from paying a nanny overtime over 40 hours.)

Maybe, but a few times a year some woman pregnant with her first starts asking to Telework while also talking about how much she will save not using childcare. The answer is always a firm no, but don't act like people aren't trying to have their cake and eat it too

DP. I have never heard this. My agency is crystal clear that if you are going to telework you still need full time childcare. This applies even if you just do it ad hoc occasionally. No one is confused about it.

Being confused about the rules and following the rules are very different things. I can't tell you how many times kids in the background interrupt calls with folks who are "teleworking."

Exactly! Or ignoring the rules and following the rules are two very different things

You can have full time childcare and your children can still come in the room when you're on the phone. It's not like the rule is they must be locked away out of your sight. My kids walk in all the time and make noise but they're being looked after by someone else.

For those of you working in agencies where everyone adheres to the rules, it must be nice. Some of us work at agencies where there is a blatant disregard for telework rules. Mothers doing it instead of childcare and not really working. Single people sitting by the pool on nice days and occasionally checking their mobile devices. People spending their telework day running errands, going to the mall, etc. I know of people who have, and continue to do, all of these things.

Specifically, I knew of three people who used telework to avoid paying for a full time nanny - all only worked occasionally during the day, and then ramped it up during naps and once their spouses arrived home. They definitely are not working full time from home, and they are not fully available as one should be when teleworking. All have been reported, but no one seems to care. So, indeed, while it should not happen and it is against the telework rules, it definitely does happen.

We get it. You don't like telecommuting. But do you also have such disdain for men who shoot the sh$t at work for hours? I know men who do very little at work.

DP. Yes, I do. Nothing is more morale sucking as a fed than knowing half your office doesn't do shit and that the boss would rather have the other have of the office get the work done than deal with the folks sitting on their asses. That people abuse things in the office, which is undoubtedly true, really isn't a good justification for telework abuse.

The driver for both telecommuting abuse and people in the office not doing anything is lack of work. If you had enough work then neither group would be able to continue getting away with not working. You're angry about the wrong thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my first child is due in April 2018 and in reevaluating my life (as one does before first baby) I would like a full time telework position with the federal government. JD with 4 years of fed. govt. experience in procurement, full time, and up for my GS-14 promotion in May 2018.

any advice on how to even begin the search for these virtual positions, tips or tricks, or what has worked for you or whether these even exist? can you recommend agencies that have full time telework options, I know GSA is one of the top ones? i'm also not sure how to apply to these GS-14 positions as many are supervisory.

Let me guess you want to Telework and avoid paying for childcare for your baby.

She probably wants to avoid the waste of time of commute. Nearly everyone knows that working full time you still need full time childcare. (I teleworked for 7 years...I started before I had my first kid. I had a full-time nanny but did not have to waste time commuting, which saved 2 hours a day and saved me from paying a nanny overtime over 40 hours.)

Maybe, but a few times a year some woman pregnant with her first starts asking to Telework while also talking about how much she will save not using childcare. The answer is always a firm no, but don't act like people aren't trying to have their cake and eat it too

DP. I have never heard this. My agency is crystal clear that if you are going to telework you still need full time childcare. This applies even if you just do it ad hoc occasionally. No one is confused about it.

Being confused about the rules and following the rules are very different things. I can't tell you how many times kids in the background interrupt calls with folks who are "teleworking."

Exactly! Or ignoring the rules and following the rules are two very different things

You can have full time childcare and your children can still come in the room when you're on the phone. It's not like the rule is they must be locked away out of your sight. My kids walk in all the time and make noise but they're being looked after by someone else.

For those of you working in agencies where everyone adheres to the rules, it must be nice. Some of us work at agencies where there is a blatant disregard for telework rules. Mothers doing it instead of childcare and not really working. Single people sitting by the pool on nice days and occasionally checking their mobile devices. People spending their telework day running errands, going to the mall, etc. I know of people who have, and continue to do, all of these things.

Specifically, I knew of three people who used telework to avoid paying for a full time nanny - all only worked occasionally during the day, and then ramped it up during naps and once their spouses arrived home. They definitely are not working full time from home, and they are not fully available as one should be when teleworking. All have been reported, but no one seems to care. So, indeed, while it should not happen and it is against the telework rules, it definitely does happen.

We get it. You don't like telecommuting. But do you also have such disdain for men who shoot the sh$t at work for hours? I know men who do very little at work.

DP. Yes, I do. Nothing is more morale sucking as a fed than knowing half your office doesn't do shit and that the boss would rather have the other have of the office get the work done than deal with the folks sitting on their asses. That people abuse things in the office, which is undoubtedly true, really isn't a good justification for telework abuse.

The driver for both telecommuting abuse and people in the office not doing anything is lack of work. If you had enough work then neither group would be able to continue getting away with not working. You're angry about the wrong thing.

That's a nice story, but not remotely accurate for my office at least. Things simply don't get done or what should take a day takes a week. There is plenty to do. I got so sick of a backlog on a certain type of project (and being told by people assigned to do them that it would take them at least months to get to it) I just took about 10 matters over and banged them out in a week. There was nothing hard about it, it was just a matter of actually working for more than 10 minutes straight over the course of the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my first child is due in April 2018 and in reevaluating my life (as one does before first baby) I would like a full time telework position with the federal government. JD with 4 years of fed. govt. experience in procurement, full time, and up for my GS-14 promotion in May 2018.

any advice on how to even begin the search for these virtual positions, tips or tricks, or what has worked for you or whether these even exist? can you recommend agencies that have full time telework options, I know GSA is one of the top ones? i'm also not sure how to apply to these GS-14 positions as many are supervisory.

Let me guess you want to Telework and avoid paying for childcare for your baby.

She probably wants to avoid the waste of time of commute. Nearly everyone knows that working full time you still need full time childcare. (I teleworked for 7 years...I started before I had my first kid. I had a full-time nanny but did not have to waste time commuting, which saved 2 hours a day and saved me from paying a nanny overtime over 40 hours.)

Maybe, but a few times a year some woman pregnant with her first starts asking to Telework while also talking about how much she will save not using childcare. The answer is always a firm no, but don't act like people aren't trying to have their cake and eat it too

DP. I have never heard this. My agency is crystal clear that if you are going to telework you still need full time childcare. This applies even if you just do it ad hoc occasionally. No one is confused about it.

Being confused about the rules and following the rules are very different things. I can't tell you how many times kids in the background interrupt calls with folks who are "teleworking."

Exactly! Or ignoring the rules and following the rules are two very different things

You can have full time childcare and your children can still come in the room when you're on the phone. It's not like the rule is they must be locked away out of your sight. My kids walk in all the time and make noise but they're being looked after by someone else.

For those of you working in agencies where everyone adheres to the rules, it must be nice. Some of us work at agencies where there is a blatant disregard for telework rules. Mothers doing it instead of childcare and not really working. Single people sitting by the pool on nice days and occasionally checking their mobile devices. People spending their telework day running errands, going to the mall, etc. I know of people who have, and continue to do, all of these things.

Specifically, I knew of three people who used telework to avoid paying for a full time nanny - all only worked occasionally during the day, and then ramped it up during naps and once their spouses arrived home. They definitely are not working full time from home, and they are not fully available as one should be when teleworking. All have been reported, but no one seems to care. So, indeed, while it should not happen and it is against the telework rules, it definitely does happen.

We get it. You don't like telecommuting. But do you also have such disdain for men who shoot the sh$t at work for hours? I know men who do very little at work.

DP. Yes, I do. Nothing is more morale sucking as a fed than knowing half your office doesn't do shit and that the boss would rather have the other have of the office get the work done than deal with the folks sitting on their asses. That people abuse things in the office, which is undoubtedly true, really isn't a good justification for telework abuse.

The driver for both telecommuting abuse and people in the office not doing anything is lack of work. If you had enough work then neither group would be able to continue getting away with not working. You're angry about the wrong thing.

That's a nice story, but not remotely accurate for my office at least. Things simply don't get done or what should take a day takes a week. There is plenty to do. I got so sick of a backlog on a certain type of project (and being told by people assigned to do them that it would take them at least months to get to it) I just took about 10 matters over and banged them out in a week. There was nothing hard about it, it was just a matter of actually working for more than 10 minutes straight over the course of the day.

Ok so instead the driver is that employees aren't punished for not getting their work done. Makes no difference where they are located when they are supposed to be working but aren't.

[Anonymous]

Center for Tobacco products.

Much of the FDA have 2-3 work at home days.

I worked in the basement office and the kids were upstairs with our aupair. It's really not that complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my first child is due in April 2018 and in reevaluating my life (as one does before first baby) I would like a full time telework position with the federal government. JD with 4 years of fed. govt. experience in procurement, full time, and up for my GS-14 promotion in May 2018.

any advice on how to even begin the search for these virtual positions, tips or tricks, or what has worked for you or whether these even exist? can you recommend agencies that have full time telework options, I know GSA is one of the top ones? i'm also not sure how to apply to these GS-14 positions as many are supervisory.

Let me guess you want to Telework and avoid paying for childcare for your baby.

She probably wants to avoid the waste of time of commute. Nearly everyone knows that working full time you still need full time childcare. (I teleworked for 7 years...I started before I had my first kid. I had a full-time nanny but did not have to waste time commuting, which saved 2 hours a day and saved me from paying a nanny overtime over 40 hours.)

Maybe, but a few times a year some woman pregnant with her first starts asking to Telework while also talking about how much she will save not using childcare. The answer is always a firm no, but don't act like people aren't trying to have their cake and eat it too

DP. I have never heard this. My agency is crystal clear that if you are going to telework you still need full time childcare. This applies even if you just do it ad hoc occasionally. No one is confused about it.

Being confused about the rules and following the rules are very different things. I can't tell you how many times kids in the background interrupt calls with folks who are "teleworking."

Exactly! Or ignoring the rules and following the rules are two very different things

You can have full time childcare and your children can still come in the room when you're on the phone. It's not like the rule is they must be locked away out of your sight. My kids walk in all the time and make noise but they're being looked after by someone else.

For those of you working in agencies where everyone adheres to the rules, it must be nice. Some of us work at agencies where there is a blatant disregard for telework rules. Mothers doing it instead of childcare and not really working. Single people sitting by the pool on nice days and occasionally checking their mobile devices. People spending their telework day running errands, going to the mall, etc. I know of people who have, and continue to do, all of these things.

Specifically, I knew of three people who used telework to avoid paying for a full time nanny - all only worked occasionally during the day, and then ramped it up during naps and once their spouses arrived home. They definitely are not working full time from home, and they are not fully available as one should be when teleworking. All have been reported, but no one seems to care. So, indeed, while it should not happen and it is against the telework rules, it definitely does happen.

We get it. You don't like telecommuting. But do you also have such disdain for men who shoot the sh$t at work for hours? I know men who do very little at work.

DP. Yes, I do. Nothing is more morale sucking as a fed than knowing half your office doesn't do shit and that the boss would rather have the other have of the office get the work done than deal with the folks sitting on their asses. That people abuse things in the office, which is undoubtedly true, really isn't a good justification for telework abuse.

The driver for both telecommuting abuse and people in the office not doing anything is lack of work. If you had enough work then neither group would be able to continue getting away with not working. You're angry about the wrong thing.

That's a nice story, but not remotely accurate for my office at least. Things simply don't get done or what should take a day takes a week. There is plenty to do. I got so sick of a backlog on a certain type of project (and being told by people assigned to do them that it would take them at least months to get to it) I just took about 10 matters over and banged them out in a week. There was nothing hard about it, it was just a matter of actually working for more than 10 minutes straight over the course of the day.

Ok so instead the driver is that employees aren't punished for not getting their work done. Makes no difference where they are located when they are supposed to be working but aren't.

I agree. But my first post was responding to someone who argued that in office slacking justified telework abuse, which I took issue with.

I would also add that compliance is harder to monitor when people telework and some of the worst abusers in my office telework the most (and are hardest to reach on telework days).

[Anonymous]

OP here.

First off, I can't stand people that are "teleworking" but when I ask for information or call or email, I get a "dunno check with so so" "sent from my iphone." I also can't stand people that are "teleworking" and then I hear kids, dogs, birds, starbucks baristas, and street sounds in the background where these people are obviously not working. And sorry to say it, but this is totally the older folks abusing the system in my office, everyone that's younger knows our jobs aren't guaranteed, our GS increases aren't guaranteed, and you best damn make sure you are working, meeting deadlines, and being always available. Now kindly move on since your snark is at this point just clogging my thread.

Second, the wish for full time telework has everything to do with location - sorry I don't want to be chained to the 9 to 5 little brown desk on K street in the building with the blue door and the safetrack orange line metro. That's a bs expectation for work that can be done anywhere with a good wifi, a cell phone, and quiet. Parents are not moving, I've tried convincing them. DH and I have been in DC for over a decade and lived in small one bedroom apartments and studios to be close to our work. I want to be closer to my parents and get a house or a place with more space. We can't afford anything in this area. I can realistically have a child in our current one bedroom until he starts walking, being mobile.

In the meantime, to those who offered helpful suggestions, I can start working my network tracking more info - I'm realistic this will take at least a year to happen.

[Anonymous]

I'm an attorney with the USPTO and I telework full time. First, once you are hired you have to spend the first two years in the office. You start with 6 weeks of classroom training and then you spend the next 6 months with a mentor looking at all your work before it goes out. After 6 months you get authority to send out the first action on a file. After another 6-8 months you get to send everything out on your own. Once you have what we refer to as "full signatory authority" and hit the GS 13 mark, then you can apply to work from home. Bottom line, working from home does not happen immediately.

I have a nanny share for my little one. He isn't here during the day because the set up at our share family's house is better. Every day I put him in the carrier, put leashes on our dogs and head over to drop him off and walk the dogs at the same time. I get home and start working. I do the same thing in the afternoon to pick him up. There is no way I could even think about working without child care.

[Anonymous]

The feds I know who telework full time were able to negotiate their original job to telework. The trust and connection were already there. Can you work anything out with your current employer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my first child is due in April 2018 and in reevaluating my life (as one does before first baby) I would like a full time telework position with the federal government. JD with 4 years of fed. govt. experience in procurement, full time, and up for my GS-14 promotion in May 2018.

any advice on how to even begin the search for these virtual positions, tips or tricks, or what has worked for you or whether these even exist? can you recommend agencies that have full time telework options, I know GSA is one of the top ones? i'm also not sure how to apply to these GS-14 positions as many are supervisory.

Let me guess you want to Telework and avoid paying for childcare for your baby.

She probably wants to avoid the waste of time of commute. Nearly everyone knows that working full time you still need full time childcare. (I teleworked for 7 years...I started before I had my first kid. I had a full-time nanny but did not have to waste time commuting, which saved 2 hours a day and saved me from paying a nanny overtime over 40 hours.)

Maybe, but a few times a year some woman pregnant with her first starts asking to Telework while also talking about how much she will save not using childcare. The answer is always a firm no, but don't act like people aren't trying to have their cake and eat it too

DP. I have never heard this. My agency is crystal clear that if you are going to telework you still need full time childcare. This applies even if you just do it ad hoc occasionally. No one is confused about it.

Being confused about the rules and following the rules are very different things. I can't tell you how many times kids in the background interrupt calls with folks who are "teleworking."

Exactly! Or ignoring the rules and following the rules are two very different things

You can have full time childcare and your children can still come in the room when you're on the phone. It's not like the rule is they must be locked away out of your sight. My kids walk in all the time and make noise but they're being looked after by someone else.

For those of you working in agencies where everyone adheres to the rules, it must be nice. Some of us work at agencies where there is a blatant disregard for telework rules. Mothers doing it instead of childcare and not really working. Single people sitting by the pool on nice days and occasionally checking their mobile devices. People spending their telework day running errands, going to the mall, etc. I know of people who have, and continue to do, all of these things.

Specifically, I knew of three people who used telework to avoid paying for a full time nanny - all only worked occasionally during the day, and then ramped it up during naps and once their spouses arrived home. They definitely are not working full time from home, and they are not fully available as one should be when teleworking. All have been reported, but no one seems to care. So, indeed, while it should not happen and it is against the telework rules, it definitely does happen.

We get it. You don't like telecommuting. But do you also have such disdain for men who shoot the sh$t at work for hours? I know men who do very little at work.

DP. Yes, I do. Nothing is more morale sucking as a fed than knowing half your office doesn't do shit and that the boss would rather have the other have of the office get the work done than deal with the folks sitting on their asses. That people abuse things in the office, which is undoubtedly true, really isn't a good justification for telework abuse.

The driver for both telecommuting abuse and people in the office not doing anything is lack of work. If you had enough work then neither group would be able to continue getting away with not working. You're angry about the wrong thing.

That's a nice story, but not remotely accurate for my office at least. Things simply don't get done or what should take a day takes a week. There is plenty to do. I got so sick of a backlog on a certain type of project (and being told by people assigned to do them that it would take them at least months to get to it) I just took about 10 matters over and banged them out in a week. There was nothing hard about it, it was just a matter of actually working for more than 10 minutes straight over the course of the day.

Ok so instead the driver is that employees aren't punished for not getting their work done. Makes no difference where they are located when they are supposed to be working but aren't.

I agree. But my first post was responding to someone who argued that in office slacking justified telework abuse, which I took issue with.

I would also add that compliance is harder to monitor when people telework and some of the worst abusers in my office telework the most (and are hardest to reach on telework days).

This isn't what I was saying at all. I have an issue with slacking whether you're telecommuting or in the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my first child is due in April 2018 and in reevaluating my life (as one does before first baby) I would like a full time telework position with the federal government. JD with 4 years of fed. govt. experience in procurement, full time, and up for my GS-14 promotion in May 2018.

any advice on how to even begin the search for these virtual positions, tips or tricks, or what has worked for you or whether these even exist? can you recommend agencies that have full time telework options, I know GSA is one of the top ones? i'm also not sure how to apply to these GS-14 positions as many are supervisory.

Let me guess you want to Telework and avoid paying for childcare for your baby.

She probably wants to avoid the waste of time of commute. Nearly everyone knows that working full time you still need full time childcare. (I teleworked for 7 years...I started before I had my first kid. I had a full-time nanny but did not have to waste time commuting, which saved 2 hours a day and saved me from paying a nanny overtime over 40 hours.)

Maybe, but a few times a year some woman pregnant with her first starts asking to Telework while also talking about how much she will save not using childcare. The answer is always a firm no, but don't act like people aren't trying to have their cake and eat it too

DP. I have never heard this. My agency is crystal clear that if you are going to telework you still need full time childcare. This applies even if you just do it ad hoc occasionally. No one is confused about it.

Being confused about the rules and following the rules are very different things. I can't tell you how many times kids in the background interrupt calls with folks who are "teleworking."

Exactly! Or ignoring the rules and following the rules are two very different things

You can have full time childcare and your children can still come in the room when you're on the phone. It's not like the rule is they must be locked away out of your sight. My kids walk in all the time and make noise but they're being looked after by someone else.

For those of you working in agencies where everyone adheres to the rules, it must be nice. Some of us work at agencies where there is a blatant disregard for telework rules. Mothers doing it instead of childcare and not really working. Single people sitting by the pool on nice days and occasionally checking their mobile devices. People spending their telework day running errands, going to the mall, etc. I know of people who have, and continue to do, all of these things.

Specifically, I knew of three people who used telework to avoid paying for a full time nanny - all only worked occasionally during the day, and then ramped it up during naps and once their spouses arrived home. They definitely are not working full time from home, and they are not fully available as one should be when teleworking. All have been reported, but no one seems to care. So, indeed, while it should not happen and it is against the telework rules, it definitely does happen.

We get it. You don't like telecommuting. But do you also have such disdain for men who shoot the sh$t at work for hours? I know men who do very little at work.

DP. Yes, I do. Nothing is more morale sucking as a fed than knowing half your office doesn't do shit and that the boss would rather have the other have of the office get the work done than deal with the folks sitting on their asses. That people abuse things in the office, which is undoubtedly true, really isn't a good justification for telework abuse.

The driver for both telecommuting abuse and people in the office not doing anything is lack of work. If you had enough work then neither group would be able to continue getting away with not working. You're angry about the wrong thing.

That's a nice story, but not remotely accurate for my office at least. Things simply don't get done or what should take a day takes a week. There is plenty to do. I got so sick of a backlog on a certain type of project (and being told by people assigned to do them that it would take them at least months to get to it) I just took about 10 matters over and banged them out in a week. There was nothing hard about it, it was just a matter of actually working for more than 10 minutes straight over the course of the day.

Ok so instead the driver is that employees aren't punished for not getting their work done. Makes no difference where they are located when they are supposed to be working but aren't.

I agree. But my first post was responding to someone who argued that in office slacking justified telework abuse, which I took issue with.

I would also add that compliance is harder to monitor when people telework and some of the worst abusers in my office telework the most (and are hardest to reach on telework days).

This isn't what I was saying at all. I have an issue with slacking whether you're telecommuting or in the office.

I understand that. You and I agree on that point. But someone else - right before I made my comment re telework you initially responded to - took a different approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dep of treasury

I thought Treasury- you have to go in every day for the first year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dep of treasury

I thought Treasury- you have to go in every day for the first year

IRS you have to be in the office every day for the first year and then you can go to 4 days a week telework.

[Anonymous]

I know folks at the NLRB who telework 2-4 days a week.