Image Credit: Euthman
It may not be easy to imagine our elected officials opting to telecommute from home, but it could be reality in the near future. Governments are starting to notice the way mobile technology empowers workforces to get their jobs done from anywhere. In cities, states and countries around the world, bureaucrats and officials are becoming part of the post-PC mobile workforce. While these new arrangements target more than just the digital aspects of remote work, smartphones, GPS tracking, desktop video, and access to cloud files are at the heart of the developments. A recent piece by David Israelson in The Globe and Mail examines Canada’s public sector and the efforts of other governments to harness their employee’s mobile potential.
Although formal regulations are still far and few between, there have been some major steps in that direction:
- In 2010, U.S. Congress passed the telework enhancement act requiring heads of government agencies to establish a policy for employees to network, determine who is eligible, and communicate these policies.
- The British deputy prime minister announced a plan to extend the right to be properly flexible to all employees with children, including those in the public sector.
- Sweden’s Agency for Government Employers set a framework for including flex time provisions in negations over work hours.
Read Israelson’s piece here.
