Testimonials on the Impact of DOJ Worklife Initiatives

First Assistant U.S. Attorney:  “Our AO has informed me that the Department is soliciting worklife experiences. I am the First Asst. US Attorney for this district and have been an AUSA for 20 years and a supervisor for 18. I have 2 children, one just turned 14 and one 8.

Thanks to the Department’s policies and the support of the last 3 US Attorneys in this district, I have rarely had to miss any of my children’s school events as leave and flexibility in applying for leave has been available to me. In addition, and more to the point of actual worklife policies, I am currently working a flexitour schedule that enables me to come to work early and leave early so that I may be more available to my children by matching my hours as much as possible to their school hours. This schedule was wholly supported by our US Attorney who consistently works with the staff on these issues.

Not only have I personally benefitted from the worklife policies but as a supervisor, I have seen what a difference the flexibility can make for many employees. We have had several employees utilize these policies to care for their children, parents and other dependents or to fit a temporary need in the employee’s life. The impact on the work of the office has been beneficial.

I am VERY appreciative of the Department’s support in this area and I fully support them for all employees. There is no question but that the flexibility to meet the family needs of employees not only aids in retention and productivity of employees but is the right thing to do.”

Grants Specialist, Office of Justice Programs on telecommuting:   “Cannot imagine another way to work. It allows me to catch a breath in the middle of the week by saving the 3 hours commute I have each day (I can work at home on Wednesdays and Fridays). It gives me uninterrupted, concentrated time to review material, write, consult with grantees and colleagues— so I am able to be more productive. It is empowering because it lets me control my work flow and schedule. It allows me to be able to take my son to after school classes that begin at 5:30 (as normally I don’t get home til 6:30 or 7:00 p.m.). It allows me to get to doctors appointments when necessary without taking off a half day from work. It’s the only way to treat adults. If it were more widespread in the workplace, there would be fewer cars on the road and less workday traffic/pollution; the workforce would be more highly motivated and productive (and more loyal - at least until it becomes a matter of course when every employer allows flexiplace arrangements!).”

Secretary, Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)  “For me the flex-time [compressed work schedule] allowed me to help my daughter when she needed day care for my granddaughter. Also when a family member was sick or operated on we could each take a day to help out and my flex-day off allowed me to participate and not take leave.”

Deputy U.S. Marshal, U.S. Marshals Service:  “I have been participating in a job share with Deputy U.S. Marshal [name omitted] since January of 1999. The opportunity to participate in this worklife initiative has been very beneficial for my family and me. It has provided the chance to become the primary caregiver for my two children ages 5 and 5 months, while maintaining my career status with the government. Since I have assumed these responsibilities, my wife has been able to pursue career opportunities that otherwise would have been impossible. Both of our careers have benefitted from the worklife initiative.”

Deputy U.S. Marshal, U.S. Marshals Service:  “Thank you for asking me for an input on the worklife experience. In short, it is the greatest thing that happened to my family. Here is a scenario on one of my days off. In the morning, I feed my kids breakfast and send them to school then I do some house chore tasks such as cleaning, cooking, dusting, etc., etc. About noon time, I go to the school, pool and gym and work out. At about 4:00 p.m., my kids return from school, they get fed and start their homework. By the time my wife comes in from work at about 6:30 to 7 p.m., the kids are done with their homework, fed and bathed. My wife comes home to a relaxed home and no rushing at all. All in all, it’s wonderful.”

Personnel Specialist, U.S. Marshals Service:  “My situation involved helping my mother assume responsibility for the care of her terminally ill 68 year old younger brother. He lived in Michigan and she lived in VA. I called DCC and asked for information about Medicare/Medicaid, how to determine which were good nursing home facilities from a long distance, things to consider if we were going to pursue home health care, dealing with insurance companies, etc. Not only did my call get immediate attention, DCC made special efforts to give me information that same day…I received valuable literature, a several hundred page “real world” book on dealing with the aging and health care issues of an older person, references to contact upon arrival in Michigan, information on dealing with the local Area Agency on Aging… After getting my uncle situation in a nursing home, my mom and I returned home. DCC called me to be sure I had received the information and offered continued assistance if needed. Taking care of an older person is really difficult and thats when the loved one is local…when you need to do this from a distance, you really need help. I was delighted that DCC would offer help for us to assist my uncle. Their information network was invaluable. The case worker was calm and helpful. Just what I needed at that time. They were great.”

Paralegal Specialist, EOIR:  “I had the opportunity of using the DCC program. It was the start of the school year and (at the very last minute) I needed to find child care for my two girls for both before and after school. I am a single parent and don’t have a lot of free time on my hands. I made numerous telephone calls in search of childcare, but my efforts were unsuccessful. I called the DCC hotline and provided the requisite information. The DCC Counselor did all of the legwork for me by calling the childcare providers in my area to determine if they were in my school district and interested in providing before and after school care for two girls, ages 8 and 10. There was only one person available to provide the childcare and she happened to be two streets away from my home. I immediately called the childcare provider and made arrangements to start my girls there the next day. It turned out that I had met her in the past, as her son and my youngest daughter had been in the same classes over the past couple of years. I called DCC with the information and the very next day the counselor had a babysitter for me!! A lot of my stress was relieved!!!”

Testimonials from Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Field Office, Supervisory Special Agents concerning Part-Time Special Agents (PTAs):

“It is worth retaining these PTAs rather than losing their investigative experience to resignation.”

“Having a PTA on a squad is not disruptive to squad morale or operational effectiveness.”

“There is little administrative difficulty in assigning cases, preparing performance ratings, and insuring that PTAs receive the required training.”

Special Agent, FBI:   “I have been an [FBI] agent for 11 years and been assigned to the New York office since graduating from Quantico. I requested participation in the Part-Time Program [FBI Special Agent Part-Time Program] 3 years ago, a few months prior to my first son’s birth. Upon returning to work after my maternity leave, I started a part-time schedule of 3, 8-hour days. I recently gave birth to my second son and plan to remain in the Part-Time Program when I return to work in January 2000.

The Part-Time Program is, in every way, an excellent program. It has permitted me the valuable opportunity to have more time at home with my young son, while at the same time allowing me to work as a Special Agent and maintain my professional commitment to the FBI. It has allowed me to ‘balance’ my professional, financial and personal needs with the needs of my family. The program is flexible enough to accommodate the FBI’s needs, particularly in the New York office, regarding staffing and scheduling and case assignments. When the work requires, I come in for an extra few hours or days on occasion. I can easily do so. When family commitments require, I take a day off now and then. I have been able to do so without sacrificing the quality of my work.

The Program has been particularly successful for me, in large part, because my immediate supervisor, is a very realistic, organized, no-nonsense yet flexible supervisor. We work well together because I respect his professional, investigative and supervisory skills and he, in turn, respects my decision to opt for the Part-Time Program. He expects me to do the best I can with my cases within my part-time schedule and I do my best in return.”

“I have many friends who are professional working women—in law, medicine, science—and most of them do not have part-time opportunities with their employers. Some of them have expressed envy, and I don’t blame them! I am very grateful for the program and feel it serves the FBI by retaining loyal, experienced and enthusiastic agents, and it serves the agents by permitting them to share their time with their children as well as their job. For the ‘FBI family’ what better way to put philosophy into action?!”

BOP Medical Facility Administrator:  “As a BOP Manager with direct authority over many hospital departments and employees that utilize AWS’ [Alternative Work Schedules—such as the compressed work schedule]—I am convinced these schedules best meet the needs of our patients, and customers, and at the same time, foster a better working environment for our staff. AWS’ have been approved and in place for over 10 years promoting and enhancing employee derived benefits such as high morale, increased job satisfaction and retention of valuable medical employees. AWS’ have been found to foster an improved working environment that benefits both the family and the workplace. Grateful staff seem to have an extra reserve of goodwill and a positive attitude which are critical in times of high stress. Additional benefits have been derived in the workplace by successful recruitment and retention of hard-to-fill medical positions…due to flexible scheduling. Employees confirm AWS’ benefit them both personally and professionally. We must take note when an employee tells us ‘my decision to accept a job with your organization was based on AWS’ with an improved family worklife environment.’

We have found that when an organization is dedicated to both family and work life issues, a win-win situation results with increased morale and productivity.”

Program Analyst, ATF:   “ My experience with telework has been an extremely positive one. I telecommute on a part-time basis which is 2 or more days per week. The costs associated with my commute to the district have decreased significantly. I am less stressed since I do not have to commute as often for long periods of time to get to the office. On the days I do commute to the office I spend approximately 1 hour getting to work and approximately 2 hours on the return trip due to traffic. When I telework, I immediately start work within 15 minutes of arising. I am already less stressed at that point since I have had an increased amount of sleep and I do not have to deal with traffic. I still start working at the same time I would start if I was in the office and because I am so comfortable in my office at home, and without distraction, I often find myself working the entire day straight through with the time passing very quickly. The amount of work produced when I telework is at or exceeds the work produced while I am in the work office setting. Much more is accomplished since the interruptions that are inherent to an office setting are not present. The communication channel between my supervisor and me has increased as well as with my second-line supervisor. We have a wonderful system that works well for us. I ensure my supervisor is aware of my scheduled work to be completed and I produce final products upon my return to the office. The biggest bonus for me is more on a personal nature since I have a school age child. I am home when my daughter gets off the school bus which for a working parent is a very wonderful thing. This allows me more quality time with my child in a less stressful situation. My daughter has actually commented that I am more fun on days that I don’t drive to the office and I am since I have not dealt with traffic. More people should try to telework. It is good for the overall well-being of the employee, it allows the employee to be more productive, it allows cost savings for employees that are not in financially advantageous stages of their career, it allows an employee to spend more time with their families and the Government wins when you produce more work.

Financial Management Specialist, OJP:  “ I would like to say it is a wonderful option for me. My schedule is very busy with helping others internally and externally in my current work capacity during core work hours. I am always meeting, resolving issues, or assisting others with various issues relating to financial matters. This allows me to plan, organize the workload, tasks, etc. for my unit. I am able to preapre the staff for assignments forthcoming due to the constant changes in the work environment. I am able to stay abreast of the constant policy changes taking place in the financial and audit arena. Additionally, it allows me to focus on reviewing and analyzing financial reports prior certification. If gives me an opportunity to problem solve. This is increasing my productivity. I hope this program continues to be implemented in OVW personnel. It is a great way to reward excellent and outstanding employees. Additionally, it is a great morale booster. Thank you for allowing me to share my point of view and brief testimony on the telework program.

Attorney-Advisor, Executive Office for Immigration Review:  “ Flexiplace allows me to minimize my commutes and the time and energy-both mental energy and fossil-fuel energy- wasted therein. I save over an hour per day by not commuting on Flexiplace days. This "found" time goes to my kids, particularly helping my older child with her homework. Furthermore, because my Flexiplace location is my home-and it is unoccupied during the day-it actually has less distractions and noise than a typical office. It is often the best place for uninterrupted legal research and writing. Lastly, Flexiplace allows me to fit mundane things such as letting the plumber in, or walking the dog, into the course of my workday, so I don't have to waste extra annual leave commuting to and from the office to handle these small things.

Human Resources Specialist, United States Marshals Service:  “ My Telework schedule is once a week with Program Management responsibility for several Human Resources Programs, including Telework. I began Teleworking about a year ago, and have found that my Telework days are extremely productive. The lack of interruption during the Telework day gives me an opportunity to complete tasks that are best accomplished in a quiet place. The ability to work on projects that may be complicated, or require intense concentration, can be done more effectively at home than in the workplace. In addition, I live quite a distance from the office, and the commute is long and tiring. Having a day to work at home is also more productive because for one day of the week, stress, time and energy expenditure of getting to the office is eliminated. The cost of the commute for the day is also elimintated. Telework has many advantages, and is a wonderful program to assist people in many ways. For example, in addition to our Core Teleworkers, employees at USMS often Telework during times of medical emergencies. This gives USMS the opportunity to receive the benefit of the employee's continued work, and the employee is paid during the time they can Telework. There is also a huge value in Telework in regard to our Continuation of Operations Plan for emergencies such as a Pandemic, a Terrorist Attack or a weather emergency. People who are ALREADY set up for Telework will be a critical asset to the USMS. As a Teleworker, as well as the USMS Program Manager for Telework, I understand the value of having Teleworkers already working at home BEFORE an emergency occurs. It takes time to complete all the planning, security issues, and IT aspects of Teleworking. People must have computers set up for Telework, and the systems required for them to perform their duties. Most emergency situations will be unexpected and quick. Trying to complete the process of getting computers, equipment, software programs, etc. in place after the emergency has started would be much more difficult. The USMS sees Telework as one of the most important elements in handling an emergency situation. Finally, Telework is good for morale. It is one of the ways that supervisors can provide employees with a working situation that benefits them, and can help to retain well qualified employees.