A NEW NORMAL
REMOTE VS. TELEWORK, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Both terms have been used independently and interchangeably to explain flexible work hours away from the office, but technically, they’re two different things, handled in different ways.
Based on OPM’s guidance, telework refers to an arrangement where the employee is expected to report to work both at an agency worksite and an alternative worksite on a regular and recurring basis each pay period, while remote work does not involve an expectation that the employee regularly report to the agency worksite each pay period.
Telework, in practice, allows employees to have regularly scheduled days on which they telework and regu- larly scheduled days when they work at their agency worksite. This includes any arrangement where an employee conducts work activities during any regular, paid hours, from an alternative location mutually agreeable to the employee and the agency (i.e., telework site, home).
Remote work is an arrangement that an agency, at its discretion, may choose if that arrangement is consis- tent with the agency’s needs and the duties of the given position. It may be initiated by the agency posting the position as one that will be performed remotely or by an employee requesting the privilege of working remotely. Requests would be granted on a case-by-case basis, as long as the remote work agreement accu- rately documents the employee’s worksite (to determine locality pay). And given budget implications, equity considerations and other factors, remote work policies would need to clearly outline the approval required to implement such an arrangement.
OPM’s guide and official Telework Hub provides agencies with resources and information to assist each in evaluating how to leverage these tools to meet mission-critical needs for their organizations and, at the same time, balance the needs of a changing workforce.
might advance the accomplishment of mission critical requirements and orga- nizational effectiveness,” according to the memorandum.
Some agencies and commands have already begun aligning with OPM’s new guidelines in determining remote work and telework best practices for their orga- nization and workforce, while others are still in the early stages of remote and tele- work policy analysis. Implementation won’t be universal, as each agency weighs which jobs can be done remotely or on a flexible schedule and which cannot, and then assesses the best ways to complement current policy with updated revisions.
14 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2024
“Te [OPM] data elements were developed mainly to cover existing gaps in our time- keeping and personnel databases that have become more evident as the definition of remote work changed [it used to be a form of telework] and more personnel are autho- rized to use it,” said Joel Stringer, assistant deputy for civilian personnel, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civilian Personnel.
Stringer, whose office advises senior leaders on all matters relating to human resources and life cycle management for the Army civilian workforce, said that the EHRI data element changes described in the March 7 OPM memo must be done at the
DOD level (not Army) as systems modifi- cations to the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System and Defense Civilian Payroll System. “DOD components will be noti- fied when the new remote work fields are available, along with instructions for how they are to be used.”
According to Stringer, the current posture on remote work and telework is that Army commanders and heads of execu- tive departments and agencies are still authorized and encouraged to use telework and remote work as workplace flexibili- ties to help employees maintain work-life balance, to the extent they can do so while meeting mission requirements.
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