Home or office? New telework policy gives eligible California state workers a choice
The California state department charged with overseeing telework published a final telework policy this week, laying down a long-awaited milestone in state government’s transition to offering remote work permanently.
The Department of General Services policy directs all state departments to develop detailed telework programs within a year. The guidance is accompanied by a standardized agreement that every department under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s authority must use for every teleworking employee outlining state equipment usage, home office setups, work expectations and other elements.
While acknowledging that not every job is eligible for telework, the policy uses firm language to support the practice. It says all telework-eligible employees are “authorized to participate to the fullest extent possible,” so long as their performance isn’t diminished.
The policy advances a major shift in California state government employment, which has long been characterized by a rigid butts-in-chairs culture despite decades-old directives from state leaders to embrace remote work.
Everything changed in the spring of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced departments to abruptly adapt to protect workers’ safety. Departments cobbled together emergency guidelines that set temporary parameters for state work while they awaited this week’s final policy.
Two classifications of California civil servants
Under the new policy, employees are divided into two classifications based on whether they’re working at home or in the office.
“Remote-centered” employees work more than 50% of the time outside the office, with state-issued equipment set up according to ergonomic program guidelines. They have to share desks in the office to help optimize space, according to the policy.
“Office-centered” employees work more than half the time in the office. They get their own desks and must use their own equipment or department-provided mobile equipment when working from home.
The designations have already been used to set stipends in at least one union agreement.
The California Association of Professional Scientists recently reached an agreement that provides a stipend of $50 per month for remote-centered teleworkers and $25 per month for those who are office-based.
The union’s board of directors said in an email to members that the stipends need to be approved by the Legislature. The earliest the Legislature could approve them would be January 2022, but the stipends will be paid retroactive to Oct. 1, according to the email.
Human Resources Department spokeswoman Camille Travis declined to share any information about its signed agreement with the scientists’ union, and declined to say whether it has reached agreements with any other unions.
“We are working with all labor groups on this matter and will have more to say at the appropriate time, once negotiations are complete and agreements are ratified by the Legislature,” Travis said in an email.
Saves money, reduces traffic
The Department of General Services policy lists telework’s potential benefits, echoing those Newsom identified when he pronounced remote work was here to stay, including generating state savings, improving recruitment and retention, boosting productivity and reducing environmental impacts such as traffic congestion.
“It’s a huge difference from a policy point of view,” said Kate Lister, president of San Diego-based consulting firm Global Workplace Analytics. “How it plays it out in reality is the question.”
Lister, who has advised organizations on instituting remote work for two decades, said the state will need to put in place rigorous training and change management systems for the change to stick.
“It’s just not something that comes naturally,” she said, particularly for older managers.
Managers will need to figure out how to measure productivity and then learn to trust employees who prove they are productive to do their work with as much flexibility as possible, she said.
“It’s really managing by results,” she said. “You don’t have to wonder if people are working if you can measure their performance by what they do. And if you can’t, you’re really just babysitting anyway.”
Department of General Services spokeswomen did not respond to a request to interview department Director Ana Lasso about the new policy.
Geoff McLennan, a former Department of General Services deputy director, was a key figure in one of the state’s previous efforts to get telework off the ground.
McLennan was chairman of a state Telework Advisory Group, and worked on telework for 10 years under former governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown before retiring in 2015.
He praised the policy, but questioned provisions that require employees to “arrange in advance for any dependent care” and to maintain “distraction-free” remote work environments, saying those policies could be difficult to interpret or enforce.
“I’m happy to see this out in the open finally,” McClennan said. “A few little areas to scrub up on and correct, but overall I’m impressed.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 8:10 AM with the headline "Home or office? New telework policy gives eligible California state workers a choice."