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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

+1, especially telework from a distance. I have a friend who was going to move non-locally and got approval from his supervisor for the long-distance telework. Then the administration changed and no dice. I think you'd have a very, very hard time finding a long-distance telework position, unless you have some kind of very specialized skill set that the government is desperate for (like cybersecurity). Otherwise, no dice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Sweetie, this is life. No one wants to be chained to a desk in a crappy location, but that's life. Your employer doesn't care that you want to live near your parents or you don't like your commute or whatever. Time to put on your big girl panties and suck it up and make tough choices like a grown up. Want to live near your mommy and daddy? Take a crappy job. Want more space than you can afford? Move to the burbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Chief Counsel IRS is three days but same rule on the first year.

Board of Veterans Appeals also is telework friendly. But I think you have to be there for a year first.

[Anonymous]

I was given a tremendous amount of flexibility when my DD was born. I did a combo of telework and unpaid leave for a full year, and I would have/could have transitioned to FT telework. However, my boss left and new boss is extremely averse to any telework, except in rare situations. At my agency, any flexibility and perk is at the whim of your direct supervisor.

[Anonymous]

I'm PP above - I should add that I had child care during telework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know some lawyers with SSA who have this type of deal.

w

Most lawyers in the DC area have 3 Days a week. 4 Days a week are coming— we’ve been told for the last 2 years.

[Anonymous]

I work at a production based agency (not USPTO) with 4 days/week of telework. Production is monitored weekly so there's not getting away with slacking. However, upper management heavily implies that promotion is limited for teleworkers. Quite often the majority of production awards are given to teleworkers, yet every townhall meeting features some supervisor hemming and hawing about telework abuse and how it's important to be in the office etc etc. There seem to be a lot of losers that need to be in the office actively watching people.

I may be an outlier, but I find telework vastly more productive due to not having a commute. Even if I do make a gourmet lunch or take a few coffee breaks, the actual time wasted is not as drastic as stopping in Bobbie Sue's cubicle at work to discuss her child's birthday party. Meetings and random socializing are huge productivity sucks in the office that no one really talks about.

[Anonymous]

My spouse did telework at home for two years and it was hellish on snow days, teacher work days, summer break, spring break, sick days....

Let's just say there was lots of video game time trying to keel the kids quiet, especially when it was hot or bad weather outside.

And because of the phone/video conferences, we could not have their friends over all the time like we usually do.

I imagine it would be very difficult to do this with a baby and especially a toddler/preschooler with no assistance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Sweetie, this is life. No one wants to be chained to a desk in a crappy location, but that's life. Your employer doesn't care that you want to live near your parents or you don't like your commute or whatever. Time to put on your big girl panties and suck it up and make tough choices like a grown up. Want to live near your mommy and daddy? Take a crappy job. Want more space than you can afford? Move to the burbs.

+1...these are the breaks OP. You want a GS-14 or 15, chances are you've gotta stay in DC. DH and I live in Fairfax County and easily commute to our jobs downtown and manage two kids. Suck it up and deal.