{"id":1999590,"date":"2023-08-13T20:24:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T00:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-democrats-hail-telework-rewards-but-gao-analysis-unclear-on-benefits\/"},"modified":"2023-08-13T20:28:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T00:28:06","slug":"house-democrats-hail-telework-rewards-but-gao-analysis-unclear-on-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-democrats-hail-telework-rewards-but-gao-analysis-unclear-on-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"House Democrats praise telework rewards, but GAO analysis lacks clarity on benefits."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-democrats-hail-telework-rewards-but-gao-analysis-unclear-on-benefits%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1999590&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Study Shows Productivity Benefits of Teleworking During Pandemic<\/h2>\n<p>Three top House Democrats are lauding a Government\u2062 Accountability Office \u200b(GAO) \u200cstudy of teleworking as &#8220;compelling evidence&#8221; of the productivity \u200dbenefits \u200dof the practice that became more widespread during the \u200ccoronavirus pandemic,\u2063 even though the analysis is\u2064 much more cautious on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>The GAO researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-23-105999\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concluded<\/a> that &#8220;telework generally had a positive impact on worker productivity and firm performance in certain sectors, but methodological issues complicate efforts to estimate its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/4-baseless-conspiracy-theories-the-media-continues-to-report-as-fact\/\" title=\"4 Baseless Conspiracy Theories The Media Continues To Report As Fact\">long-term impacts<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;For example, a\u2063 study of a\u2064 Chinese call center found that telework increased productivity by 13 percent,&#8221; the study said. &#8220;Some studies also found that telework mitigated the negative impact\u200b of the pandemic on\u200d firm performance and the economy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border border-[#D3D3D3] px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/house-oversight-committee-probes-gas-administrator-over-telework-allegations-4982410\">House Oversight Committee\u2062 Probes GAS Administrator Over Telework Allegations<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-[14px] leading-[18px] text-[#737373]\">1\/17\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/remote-telework-or-hybrid-how-about-a-raise-just-for-showing-up-4980862\">Remote, Telework, or Hybrid: How About a Raise \u200bJust for Showing Up?<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-[14px] leading-[18px] text-[#737373]\">1\/12\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/appeals-court-dismisses-discrimination-claim-of-federal-worker-wanting-to-continue-working-from-home-5335185\">Appeals\u200c Court Dismisses Discrimination Claim of\u200d Federal Worker\u200d Wanting to Continue Working From Home<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-[14px] leading-[18px] text-[#737373]\">6\/15\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/house-oversight-panel-wants-to-know-why-federal-workers-arent-at-their-offices-5111092\">House \u200dOversight Panel \u2063Wants to \u200cKnow Why Federal Workers \u200cAren&#8217;t at Their \u2064Offices<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-[14px] leading-[18px] text-[#737373]\">3\/9\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/what-if-federal-workers-never-showed-up-for-work-and-no-one-missed-them-5056538\">What If Federal \u2062Workers\u200d Never Showed \u2064Up \u200cfor \u200bWork and No One Missed \u200dThem?<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-[14px] leading-[18px] text-[#737373]\">2\/14\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But the\u2063 researchers also\u2062 cautioned that\u200d &#8220;estimating the long-term impacts of\u2064 telework is difficult, however, because some economic effects may\u200b emerge only\u2062 over time. For\u200d example, studies GAO reviewed identified potential cost savings from reduced office space\u2062 needs \u2063and potential collaboration challenges that could \u200bimpact worker productivity\u200b or firm performance in the longer run.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That qualified conclusion didn&#8217;t prevent Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight\u200d and Accountability, from claiming that the report \u200d&#8221;found that telework works.&#8221; Mr. Raskin was one of the members of \u2064Congress who requested the GAO study.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>The ranking\u200c Democrat\u2062 member of the\u2063 House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Rep.\u200c Jamie\u2062 Raskin (D-Md.), speaks during a hearing in Washington on July 19, 2023.\u2062 (Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIn a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-democrats-hail-telework-rewards-but-gao-analysis-unclear-on-benefits\/\" title=\"House Democrats praise telework rewards, but GAO analysis lacks clarity on benefits.\">perilous national \u2062public health emergency<\/a>, telework ensured continuity in all federal agency \u200boperations and enabled federal workers to\u200b provide essential \u200bservices to the American people,&#8221; Mr. Raskin added in a joint <a href=\"https:\/\/desaulnier.house.gov\/media-center\/press-releases\/government-watchdog-report-finds-telework-can-increase-productivity-and\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> with two Democratic colleagues. &#8220;[The study] \u200calso found that, in addition to mitigating some of the harms caused by the pandemic, telework in many cases actually \u2064increased worker productivity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>House Education and the Workforce Committee ranking member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) acknowledged that the GAO report\u200d wasn&#8217;t \u200dan unqualified endorsement of teleworking, and\u200c he further noted that access to remote\u2064 work &#8220;was not equal\u2062 across our economy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;While \u200dadditional findings from the GAO are forthcoming, this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shotgun-discovered-near-body-of-former-clinton-aide-mark-middleton\/\" title=\"Shotgun Discovered Near Body of Former Clinton Aide Mark Middleton\">initial report shows<\/a> that telework generally had a positive effect on worker\u200c productivity in certain settings,&#8221;\u200d Mr. Scott said. &#8220;However, the report also illustrates that, despite the vast public health risks for workers, access to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic\u200d was not equal across our economy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The GAO report shows\u200d how, instead, telework was\u2063 concentrated among certain workers and industry sectors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.),\u200b the top \u200dDemocrat on the education and the workforce panel&#8217;s Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions subcommittee, also\u2063 praised the report.<\/p>\n<p>He said the pandemic provided Americans the opportunity to \u2063experience &#8220;firsthand how the \u2064flexibility and \u2062efficiency\u2063 of telework could \u200bimprove the quality of life for them and their families, and now we have compelling evidence that this labor model can also increase worker\u2064 productivity and \u200bcompanies\u2019 overall performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Rep. Bobby Scott \u200c(D-Va.),\u2062 chairman of the Education \u200band Labor Committee, at the U.S. Capitol in\u2062 Washington on July 29, 2020.\u2063 (Drew Angerer\/Getty \u2064Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The California Democrat, whose district is in the San Francisco Bay area, said he \u2062believes\u200b that &#8220;as we emerge from the pandemic, we\u2063 should harness and build\u2064 on this knowledge to expand telework options to benefit both the economy and working Americans, particularly lower-income and \u200cminority workers who have not had equal opportunity for this kind of work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>What is clear from the GAO \u200danalysis is the extent to \u2064which Americans worked \u200bfrom \u2063home during\u200b the pandemic rather than in \u2063the office.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;The percentage of workers who worked from home (teleworked) rose sharply between 2019 and \u200b2021. The increase was concentrated among workers with higher earnings and \u200beducation and in certain \u2064occupations, according to GAO\u2019s analysis \u200cof nationally representative survey \u200cdata.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Specifically, GAO\u2019s analysis of the \u2063American\u2062 Time Use Survey\u2064 (ATUS) found that the \u200cestimated percentage of workers who teleworked for any portion of an average workday increased from 24 percent in 2019 to 38\u200d percent in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Similarly, GAO\u2019s analysis of the American \u200dCommunity\u200d Survey (ACS) \u200cfound that the estimated percentage of workers who primarily teleworked in the \u2063prior work week more than tripled from 5.7 percent in 2019 to\u2062 17.9\u2063 percent in 2021.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But, as Mr. Scott noted, the GAO concluded that teleworking was practiced in different\u2062 amounts by occupation type.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For example, 28 percent of workers in management and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-democrats-hail-telework-rewards-but-gao-analysis-not-clear-on-benefits\/\" title=\"House Democrats praise telework rewards, but GAO analysis lacks clarity on benefits.\">related occupations primarily worked<\/a> from home in 2021, compared to\u2064 7.5 percent of\u200c workers in service occupations,&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/men-over-50-should-watch-out-for-these-4-heart-conditions\/\" title=\"Men Over 50 Should Watch Out for These 4 Heart Conditions\">study authors wrote<\/a>. \u200d&#8221;Despite increases in telework, most workers did \u200cnot telework \u200cin 2021.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>productivity and well-being,&#8221; but also noted that the long-term effects are uncertain. Despite this caution, the House Democrats are emphasizing the positive aspects of teleworking, highlighting its potential to enhance productivity. The GAO study serves as valuable evidence supporting the benefits of teleworking, particularly during the pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":1999591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1999590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1999590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1999590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1999590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1999591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1999590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1999590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1999590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}