NEW OPM FEDERAL GUIDELINES ENCOURAGE TELEWORK

By Chris Westbrook, Assistant Director, Curriculum Development

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The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced the publication of new and more-expansive guidelines for telework and remote work across the U.S. Government on Nov. 12, 2021. 

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The new guidelines are the first major update of federal telework policy since 2011. In a memorandum to agencies accompanying the new guidelines, OPM Director Kiran Ahuja encouraged agencies to leverage lessons learned in the current COVID-19 global pandemic to “integrate telework and remote work into their strategic workforce plans.”

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“This updated guidance replaces the original guide published in 2011 and provides agencies with practical resources and information to help contextualize the continued evolution of telework as a critical workplace flexibility, including a new section providing Federal agencies with policy guidance on remote work,” said Ahuja.

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The 79-page 2021 Guide to Telework and Remote Work in the Federal Government encourages agencies to make remote work a fundamental element of their workforce policies and to seek to offer some aspect of remote work to as many of their work units as possible. 

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For further analyses of this ground-breaking guidance, please consult the following:

• OPM Encourages Agencies to Expand Telework, Remote Work Permanently in New Guidance, Government Executive, November 12, 2021.
• In new guide, OPM urges agencies to weave telework, remote work into workforce culture, Federal News Network, November 12, 2021.

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Please follow us on Twitter @FedCareer and join our Federal Career Connection page on LinkedIn or find us on Meetup at meetup.com/mbc-cnm.

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To get updates on upcoming workshops and career coaching sessions, visit https://federalcareerconnection.org/2021-fcc-calendar/