Teleworking in the Public Sector: An Annotated Bibliography

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The COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic increase in the number of people working from home. Before the pandemic, fewer than 6 percent of U.S. employees worked primarily from home; in April of 2020, that number had jumped to 69 percent. Among federal government employees, 90 percent teleworked at some point during the pandemic and the number of federal employees that now telework daily rose from 3 percent before the pandemic to 59 percent last year. 

This trend does not look like it’s going to disappear anytime soon. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management released the 2021 Guide to Telework and Remote Work in the Federal Government last year, which encouraged federal agencies to embrace flexible work arrangements that include telework opportunities for government employees. Some state governments are also moving to adopt telework policies for their workers. 

There are both challenges and benefits involved in moving to telework, and The GovLab has put together an annotated bibliography of resources available to help public institutions navigate the transition to technology-enabled remote and hybrid work. These practical guides cover many aspects of the transition to telework, including performance and change management, communication, trust and organizational culture, administrative and operational aspects, recruitment, onboarding, mental health, professional development, creating ergonomic workspaces, and mitigating security risks. 

The resources come in the forms of guides and toolkits, online self-guided videos, synchronous virtual classes, and interactive asynchronous courses; some are accessed for a fee, while many others are free and publicly accessible. 

As state governments and other public organizations make the transition to telework, they can look to these resources that guide public sector leaders in how to make this change and most effectively support their teams. 

 

Key Challenges in Transitioning to Telework 

In general, the literature covers three major issues with the transition to remote work: the challenge of ensuring ongoing productivity and accountability, strategies for measuring productivity and overcoming the stresses that arise from the loss of workplace culture and companionship:

• Accountability  

How to manage performance and hold remote or hybrid workforces accountable when traditional methods of engagement and supervision no longer exist? 

In a remote or hybrid setting, managers may struggle to maintain methods of performance management, accountability, supervision, and support for their employees. Without the ability to engage with their workers in person, managers struggle to balance the need to monitor productivity while refraining from micromanaging their workforce. They may also struggle to provide ongoing supervision and support for their employees. The traditional observation-based strategies do not easily apply to remote work settings, and managers may need to seek out new ways of managing and motivating employees to maintain or improve performance.

• Productivity Measurement 

How to measure productivity of remote or hybrid employees? 

Observation and behavior-based strategies for monitoring workers are not readily applicable to remote settings, and introducing remote monitoring (such as monitoring software) may create conflict and erode trust between employees and managers. Managers may need to consider new frameworks for measuring productivity, such as moving towards results-based management. 

• Establishing and Maintaining a Positive Workplace Culture 

How to create and support a workplace culture when remote? 

Managers will need to seek new ways of creating and maintaining a positive workplace culture while working remotely. Various studies have highlighted that remote work can lead to reduced communication, less connection between staff and their managers, employee concern about establishing a good routine while working from home, higher anxiety about job security, and a sense of uncertainty about workers’ future within the organization. Remote workers require additional or different types of support than those in person and building an honest, open, supportive workplace culture can help mitigate their anxieties.  

 

Practical Guides for Leadership on How to Navigate the Telework Transition 

The guides below offer comprehensive advice for leadership in transitioning to telework. 

• Teleworking during the Covid-19 Pandemic and Beyond - A Practical Guide (International Labor Organization)

The purpose of this guide is to provide practical and actionable recommendations for effective teleworking for policymakers, employers, and managers looking to develop or update teleworking policies and practices. The Guide includes sections on performance management, communication, digitalization, training, work-life balance, and trust and organizational culture, among others, accompanied by concise recommendations and illustrative case study examples from employers and policymakers in their transition to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• Toolkit on Teleworking in Public Administrations (Centre of Expertise for Good Governance)

This Toolkit is designed specifically for those working in public administrations and is especially intended for human resources managers, senior management, line managers and trade unions in designing and rolling out teleworking for their employees. Informed by research and international good practice, it addresses issues including creating a teleworking policy, digitalization, technology, administrative aspects, communication, and managing teleworking employees by objectives, creating a clear roadmap on key considerations and steps to be taken. 

 

Resources Developed by Governments for their Public Sector Employees and Managers 

• The State of Washington Statewide Telework and Hybrid Work Resources

This State Human Resources site provides resources to support employees in better understanding how to transition to remote work in Washington State. Each of the nine topic pages in their Statewide Telework and Hybrid Work Resources site - which include change and performance management, operational interruptions, equipment delivery, recruitment and retention, space use, footprints, and ergonomics - lays out guidance on a core component of telework and provides additional resources on implementation. Though many of the issues addressed in the topic pages are context-specific to Washington or designed for Washington State regulations and policies, this provides a helpful example of how a State government has designed and issued guidance for employees on its new teleworking policy, which other jurisdictions can learn from. Furthermore, in some of the topics, the guidance is more universally applicable. For example: 

• • Change management guidance for sustaining a remote or hybrid work environment - The guidance on this page covers change management models, reviews key milestones, and contains tools, templates and learning resources for telework and change management.

[For an example of how a specific state agency implemented their telework transition, Washington’s Department of Children and Families put together a Telework Program Handbook, an employee facing manual with telework guidance, transition plans and resources; created an Employee Telework Self Assessment, a thorough checklist for staff to assess their readiness for telework; and detailed the actions and outcomes of their telework transition in a blog post.] 

• The Danish Employees and Competence Agency Virtual Management Inspiration and Tools

The Government of Denmark provides actionable recommendations and resources for managers to successfully navigate remote work environments through their Employees and Competence Agency. This includes advice for virtual meetings, well-being at a distance, onboarding at a distance, and management in the hybrid workspace. However, the use of this as a template for other jurisdictions may be limited: some of the virtual courses are only accessible for employees and the sites must be translated into English via Google Chrome.

• Canada’s School of Public Service Going Remote Guide

The Canadian government’s School of Public Service offers an easily accessible online Going Remote Guide, which contains guidance on mental health, professional development, virtual meetings, videoconferencing, project management, communication, and culture, all in the context of remote work, with additional, distinct pages for employees and managers. Though the specific pages for the aforementioned issues are on the brief and overly simplified side and therefore do not offer comprehensive guidance, each page contains links to further resources. Additionally, the government also hosts a Virtual Team Toolkit on their website, which include ten online self-guided courses ranging from “Establishing Effective Virtual Teams” to “Encouraging Team Communication and Collaboration” in a virtual workspace, available in English and French. 

 

Additional Trainings for Public Sector Employees and Managers 

While many of the private training options have been developed for private sector employees, the resources below have been either specifically created for a public sector audience, or have been utilized by government employees in their transition to telework. 

• U.S. Federal Government Office of Performance Management Trainings - The Office of Performance Management offers interactive courses for employees and managers moving to telework. They each offer various lessons, a course review, and a concluding quiz. 
  • Telework Fundamentals – Employee Training - This course provides a brief, practical introduction to telework. It teaches strategies for teleworking efficiently, staying “plugged in” to the office, and managing interactions with coworkers and customers. 
  • Telework Fundamentals - Manager Training - This training introduces managers to basic telework concepts. It walks managers through the process of developing a program, selecting employees for telework, and managing effectively in a telework environment.
• Colorado State University Workshop Programs — These courses, developed by Colorado State University and the Colorado Workforce Development Council, are recommended by the Colorado state government for their employees to provide training on the transition to telework. They are interactive asynchronous courses for individual contributors, managers, executives, and organizations and they identify pain points surrounding performance and productivity management and offer solutions. 

• Remote Work for Workers — This program guides workers on how to be effective and productive while working remotely. Participants will receive a review of tools and strategies for individual and team success while working in virtual environments for a wide range of industries. The learning outcomes include strategies to work effectively, meet expectations, connect with others for development, collaboration, and support, mitigate security risks, and build a community of support, all within a remote context. This course is 2-3 hours and costs $75. 
• Remote Work for Supervisors and Leaders — This program equips managers and leaders with the best practices, tools, insights, and skills needed to effectively lead remote individuals and teams in any industry. The learning outcomes include strategies on change management, success factors, developing an organizational development plan, employee performance plans, communication, management and leadership, all within the context of remote work. This course is 2-3 hours and costs $75.

• Private Providers Offering Training for the Public Sector 
  • LinkedIn Learning Courses on Remote Work - The State of Colorado has contracted with LinkedIn Learning for agency employees to have access to LinkedIn’s courses on remote work for a yearly fee. Though the courses come at a cost, they include access to over 120 trainings with experts on remote work, which offers the opportunity to tailor information to the specific concerns and questions employees and managers are looking to address. We are happy to connect those interested in learning more about this agreement with the Colorado team. 
  • DDI - Leadership Development Microlearning Courses — The State of Washington worked with external training provider DDI on transitioning to remote work including a course on how to adjust to telework. While these trainings are not publically available, DDI serves as an example of a private provider creating training to support state workers adjust to telework. 
• Academic Providers - Certain academic institutions, such as Stanford University, Lehigh University and Cornell University offer virtual leadership training and certification based on the challenges of managing a remote team. Courses range from Stanford’s “Leading from Home: Managing Remote and Hybrid Teams” course to Lehigh’s “Virtual Leadership: Essential Skills for Leading a Hybrid and Remote Workforce, Now and Post-COVID” to Cornell’s “Leading Remote Teams.” These courses are expensive, but may highlight a more robust model for cohort based executive training on these topics. 

 

Trainings for Developing Specific Skill Sets

A number of resources are available for public sector employees to develop specific skill sets. For example: 

• Creating Effective Virtual Teams - Canada's School of Public Service Establishing Effective Virtual Teams is a one-hour self-paced course that introduces basic techniques for managing teams that are completely or partially virtual (hybrid teams). Participants will learn how to build virtual relationships, establish communication standards, leverage appropriate communication tools, support remote team members, and lead virtual team meetings. 
• Setting up a Safe and Ergonomic Workspace - Queensland, Australia’s Program for Remote Workers is a short, interactive course offered by the Queensland government to provides a basic training for all workers on how to set up a remote workspace in a safe and ergonomic manner, taking into account hazards like bad posture, electrical safety, and mental health challenges. 
• Creating a Secure Telework Environment - The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency created a Teleworking Essential ToolKit to assist business leaders, IT staff, and end users in their transition to a secure, permanent telework environment through simple, actionable recommendations. 
• State of Pennsylvania - The State of Pennsylvania shares references to training courses that are only accessible for state employees through their Employee Resource Center and include courses on managing for results, managing telework teams, and managing for Continued Excellence. This online resource includes detailed guides for Pennsylvania employees and supervisors. 

Telework continues to be a primary work setup for many Americans. In adopting telework or hybrid workplace policies, states can give their employees flexibility and the ability to take important precautions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The resources developed by governments, universities, and private companies and shared in this annotated bibliography can assist public sector leaders in making a successful transition to telework or hybrid work, while effectively supporting their employees through the change.