Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations

39
Part Two: Selected Cases
51
Statistics Sweden - SCB (1997), p. 19.
52
see Huws, Ursula (1997), p. 16/17.

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The case
Background and motivation
There are 660 people working for the division North Netherlands of the Rijkswaterstaat, which
belongs to the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. The main tasks of the
division are the general outline of traffic policy and safety as well as the construction and
maintenance of highways and canals. A telework trial started in 1994. As in the case of the Federal
Office of Surveying in Austria, telework was triggered by an organisational reform. Here, three
offices in North Netherlands were merged into one. Further motives for the introduction of
telework were the retention of staff members by being able to cope with individual perspectives
on changes in the employees' lives, and the reduction of commuting time.
Implementation
Currently 70 employees out of a total of 660 are regularly doing administrative work, writing
papers and reports and carrying out desk research one and a half days per week at a distance from
the main office. A quarter of them work on remote office sites, three quarters practise alternating
homebased telework. Nine of ten teleworkers in this male dominated work environment are men.
The individual benefits of reduced commuting time together with environmentally smooth traffic
reduction, are objectives which the representatives of the administration have been promoting in
seminars, publications, radio and TV interviews. Advice is given to central government and local
authorities. The organisation won a European Telework Award for the Best Contribution to
Sustainability in 1997.
From certain aspects the case is notable for amazingly simple solutions, for instance, employees
dealing with financial (confidential) matters are excluded from teleworking. At least from the
organisation's view the introduction of telework must have been rather inexpensive. The employer
lends equipment to the teleworkers or asks them to purchase it themselves.
Obstacles
The only interviewee in our investigation, the Waterstaat's telework manager replied to the
question thus: ‘We have no particular problems.’
Regulations
The majority of teleworkers are fully employed, 15% are permanent part-time staff. A core time
for being reachable by phone [phone]hrs and 14.00-16.00hrs) and the maximum of two days
per week spent by teleworking are regulated by individual contracts.