HR and Homeshoring

In this article from Network World, telework advocate respond to the opposition to telework that has grown since a Veteran's Admin. laptop with valuable personal info on it was stolen. In particular I like the point made by Steve O'Keeffe, executive director of Telework Exchange:

"The analyst whose laptop was stolen from his house was not a teleworker, just someone who took work home with him. To link the incident to telecommuting is a mischaracterization, says Steve O'Keeffe, executive director of Telework Exchange. "I don't understand why it has been painted this way," O'Keeffe says. "The chap is not a teleworker. He brought work — sensitive but unclassified information — out of the office. But anyone could do that."

Also, there is at least one politician who not only understands the value of telework, but also understands what motivates managers, money:

To speed things up, lawmakers such as Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) have proposed financial penalties for agencies that resist teleworking. Two years running, Wolf has inserted language in spending bills requiring agencies such as NASA and the Commerce, Justice and State departments show an increase in the number of federal workers telecommuting or forfeit $5 million each.

Unfortunately, the biggest incentive to change is simply the threat that mangers who aren't team players won't be on the team after the next round of layoffs.  Of course, this threat is a non-issue in the federal government since even the most grotesquely incompetent managers linger around for years thanks to federal governments reluctance to demand performance out of them.