Transcripts For CSPAN Hearing On Remote Working During A Pan

Work and how the federal government could reduce office workspace. Months,st the past six the pandemic has completely upended our everyday way of life. One of the most stark and significant has been devastating during this crisis. Reducing expenses is increasingly important for individuals and businesses as the country struggles with the unexpected costs of the coronavirus pandemic. Such cost savings are likely to persist after the pandemic. Nearly one in five private sector chief Financial Officers plans to keep 20 of their workforce working remotely after the covid19 pandemic ends in order to cut costs. I believe the federal government should also be looking for opportunities to save taxpayer money wherever and whenever possible. In recent years, private reduced their real estate footprint to save money. Theyve been able to do this because modern Telecommunications Technologies have enabled them to adopt remote work options and other Flexible Work strategies. 2016, del technologies had already shifted one quarter of its employees to work from home either fulltime or a few days a week. To reduce Square Footage and implement more Flexible Workspace strategies, saving roughly 12 Million Dollars each year. American express has saved up to 15 million annually on real estate costs due to Flexible Work options. Flexible workspace and work from home options for 40 and percent of employees, to see need for office space by 2. 7 million square feet and saving the company 78 million each year. When the fed on the federal side, the General Services administration is the most agent in the federal government, pursuing remote work options and other related work strategies. Gsas total Workplace Program improved the use of office space and various workplace strategies. These include supporting mobile work, reconfiguring support sharing, and shifting from Traditional Office space to more flexible open plan workplace environments. A top priority of the gsa is to maximize the use of federal space, eliminate costly lease arrangements, and dispose of underutilized assets. Gsa has decreased the Square Footage of its own usable office space by 32 . It has cut its operations and make its costs by 10 million in four years. The office of Personnel Management reported to congress that over 900,000 federal employees were eligible to telework in the fiscal year. That is 42 of all federal employees. The Global Workplace analytics determined if all federal employees eligible for telework had to tell a communicated half the time, the federal government could reduce its need for office space by 25 . 1. 75ers could save billion in real estate costs alone and over 11 billion in total cost. Through such work, expenditures such as food, commuting, gas, and drycleaning could be saved. Todays hearing is an opportunity to examine how the lessons the private sector has learned about cost savings from telework can be translated to the federal government. These lessons will allow the government to reduce its footprint and save american taxpayer money. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today, and am now turning to Ranking Member carper for his statement. Im happy to be here with you wee and in person and welcome witnesses from as far ,way as texas and in california and we thank you all for joining us. California, i spent some time and thank youavy very much for getting up early. It goes without saying just about every aspect of our life has radically changed over six months. As a country, we have been forced to adopt a new normal wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and more. For millions of americans, one of the Biggest Challenges has been adjusting to the new normal of telework. When it comes to finding solutions for tough problems, i often say we ought to find out what works and do more of that. Flexible work strategies like telework has given us the opportunity to examine how those alternative methods actually work or dont work. This is our opportunity to find out what works and do more of that. What welearned learn about telework today will shape how we view and implement telework as a country from now and well into the future. One of the agencies under the jurisdiction of our community is sa, which operates Federal Building space. I hope the testimony we hear today will shed some light about the use of private space like peoples homes during telework, which could provide new insights about how we operate Federal Buildings. Im told the federal government is the Largest Consumer of energy and what we learn about telework today could help us figure out how to occupy and operate Federal Building space more efficiently and ultimately reduce our nations carbon reprint. Another footprint. The impact of telework on our air quality. As our witness from california will describe in greater detail, committees normally cloaked in smog arc breathing cleaner air and experiencing widely reduced travel. For too long, with experienced air pollution on Public Health and quality of life for so america so many americans, especially our most vulnerable communities. I believe we should be doing what we can soon as we can to reduce emissions associated with how we travel. Includes reducing vehicle in missions through fuel economy standards and trucks, the largest source of pollution in our country. Another important way to reduce travel related emissions is to invest in low emission transportation choices like biking and washing. Electrification can make a major difference in alleviating smog, using easing congestion, and reducing Climate Change emission and beyond. Andemic youve heard me quote Albert Einstein more than you would want to remember. In adversity lies opportunity. Ive been thinking about that because of our nations high adversity we are facing. Tragic,allenging and this pandemic has provided us a reallife case study on the effects of reduced and travel related emissions. I look forward to learning more about how we can translate those successes into longterm strategies and addressing Climate Change. Finally, the Government Affairs committee on which i serve and has jurisdiction over federal workforce issues held a hearing yesterday on issue similar to the ones will be taken up today. I look forward to drilling down on it again today with members of the community in person and over the internet, and maybe we could work with some of our friends on Homeland Security as we adjust to this new normal. There were ao ago, fair amount of Financial Services in delaware that they wereard said thinking of doing Something Different at Dover Air Force base. Are you going to put up a branch or something . They said we are going to hire spouses of military personnel, dependence to work for us from their homes on the base. I said really . Think there, and i were over 100 spouses working there, a second income for themselves and their families and Discover Card wins a lot of kudos for Customer Service. Find out what works, do more of that. Senator you so much, carper and we have some outstanding witnesses with us today. We will hear from them, all of whom are joining us remotely. Mark [, Senior Vice President of corporate real estate and Environment Health and safety with Dell Technologies. Hell be joining us remotely from round rock texas. Ofo, kate lister, president the Global Workplace analytics from carlsbad, california, and michael benjamin, chief of air Quality Planning Division for the California Air Resources Board. He is joining us from sacramento, california. Welcome, all. Three of you today. I will remind the witness is your full written testimony will be made of the effect part of the official record. Today, we ask you to keep your statements to five minutes so we may have time for questions. We look forward to questions. We will go to mr. Pringle, then miss weather and mr. Benjamin. Please proceed. Andood morning, chairman Ranking Member. Im the senior fight Vice President of environment for Dell Technologies. My biography is attached to the statement. Thank you for inviting me today to discuss Flexible Workspace strategies. And ways the federal government might implement these in the future. I will address the implications of the federal workplace approach. Dell has approach these workspace strategies. 2009, delln technologies established our connected workspace program, which allows employees to choose the work style that best fulfills their needs on the job and in life in a highly mobile and Flexible Work setting. It has positively impacted our business and our environmental footprint. More than a policy, this is about a change in how we think about work. Work is not anchored to one place and time and instead come is focused on outcome. In 2013, after implementation of connected workplace, Dell Technologies established a goal to enable 50 of our workforce to work flexibly by 2020. At times in an office, but also at home and on the road. During thes year, onset of covid19, we had surpassed that goal to approximately 65 of Dell Technologies, leveraging Work Flexibility on the job. The connected workplace encouraged employees to design working arrangements including remote work, flexible hours, and job sharing. It involved supporting flex workers needs through infrastructure, training opportunities, and employee resource groups. From an Environmental Impact report in 2016, approximately 10,000 u. S. Employees who work remotely reduced travel by 136 million miles a year and fewer tons emmitted of Greenhouse Gases. That is the equivalent of taking nearly 7400 cars off the road each year. We estimate that positive impact has increased two to three times as our u. S. Remote workers have increased significantly over the last four years. Our connected016, Workplace Solutions have avoided an estimated 25 million kilowatt hours and we were able to realize approximately 12 million a year in real estate cost savings, over 50 billion over savings. In 2017, as Dell Technologies grow as a company, our real estate footprint change dramatically due to acquisitions. As a result, our overhead costs and strategy last few years has been tied primarily to supporting our Business Strategies which includes growth of sites, reducing, or eliminating sites and workplace investments. In 2020 the onset of covid19 required we convert nearly overnight 90 of our employees to work from home status, which has is looking forward on how best to support our employees work style and effectively manage our real estate portfolio. We estimate Dell Technologies can achieve 30 real estate savings over the next five years as we assess our future requirements. While the overnight transition to a Remote Workforce is big, we know coming out of this crisis, many employees wont need or desire to return to corporate offices, at least not on an old a fulltime basis. As we return to the process, we have surveyed employees on how and when they felt comfortable to return to the office. The results were fascinating. Across different regions, countries, results were consistent. 60 of employees desired to work from home with the flexibility to go to the office for collaboration and meetings a few days a week. 20 to 30 of employees desired to work from home fulltime. 10 to 20 of employees desired to work in the office fulltime. We see this as an opportunity to reinvent and redefine work in the new world and we are looking at ways to enable, innovate new ways of working with high levels of employee engagement. The dated evolve mindset of being in office fulltime as an actual business interior. We are rarely afforded the opportunity to make such dramatic changes to our businesses in such a short period of time. There are still rarer still is better preparing our teams for the digital landscape by helping us achieve organizational goals with innovation. Covid19 has exacted a devastating toll. Recover from both catastrophes, this could work in ways that improve quality life for our nations worker. We look forward to that journey. Thank you for inviting me here today. Sen. Barrasso thank you, mr. [. Grateful to have you as part of the testimony and we will turn to miss lister. Thank you, sen. Barrasso, Ranking Member carper for today. G me to come ive been a telework advocate for over 15 years because i go with facts and in the case of telework, they lead me to the conclusion the employer, employee environmental benefits are too compelling to ignore. The covid19 crisis forced 95 becomece workers to teleworkers practically overnight and now, more than four months into this Global Telework experiment, it looks like the experience is going to fundamentally reshape the future of where and when people work. Released in june 2020 a month ago show that 89 of executives expect more than 30 of their employees to continue to work at home at least one day a week. 55 expect more than 60 to do so. I know that is a lot of numbers, but this is going to change things. The employees wanted too. Of less than ideal conditions at home, seven in 10 want to continue to do so. The number is higher in government, based on a survey we fielded to 2800 local employees. It said just as we heard from mark that two to three days a week seems to be the sweet spot so it is not all in or all out. It is part of the time. The pandemic didnt start the telework trend, but will accelerate it. What will that mean for office space . Much of office space in this country is inefficient and ineffective. For more than a decade, occupancy studies around the globe have shown people are not at their desks the majority of the time. They are working in conference rooms, customer locations, coworking centers, working at home, anywhere they can get availability and broadband. Regardless of what you call it, employees are already mobile and all the things we need to do to support teleworkers are the same things we need to do to support the 21st century workforce. The majority of employers have let remote work happen rather than making it happen. Those who have been intentional about it have transformed their offices into places that support a wide range of activities. These leaders have read benefits in lower overhead, happier employees, and more. The success lies in practices and a choice of places and spaces that include some. The organizations that have prioritized cost production over people have been disappointed by results. Telework programs need to be supported from the top of the chart. A collaboration between human resources, real estate, i. T. , and other stakeholder groups. When you dont have that suffer. , outcome when deployed strategically, weve seen across sectors the potential benefits in telework are real. The chairman mentioned this in his opening comments. Government, some numbers would seem, Social Security administration reported 900 million in annual real estate savings. U. S. Patent and Trademark Office reported 50 million in annual real estate savings and almost 100 million reduction in vehicle mileage. There are many more examples in government. Andderal license survey Viewpoint Survey also documented significant positive impact on people. Compared to nontelecommuters, telecommuters are more engaged, satisfied, and less likely to leave the agency. Further evidence for how important telework is to Government Employees was revealed when the department of education canceled their Telework Program and surveyed employees nine months later. The vast majority of those polled said it didnt do what it was supposed to do, which was enhanced collaboration and improve Customer Service and in addition, it decreased productivity, hurt morale, increased absenteeism and increased turnover. There are lots of examples of privatesector successes in telework, as well. Cisco, one of the earlier companies to get involved in this, showed a 30 reduction in real estate in spite of a 15 increase in workforce. , savedsed 241 buildings another 200 million in operational expenses, and produced 300 million in income from the sale of other armed realist. A 33 greater occupancy in the same space. Adp saved 6,000 per parttime Remote Worker per year and the cost is only 500 per Remote Worker per year. Across the pond, rich telecom shows 150 million reduction in costs with their Financial Officers<\/a> plans to keep 20 of their workforce working remotely after the covid19 pandemic ends in order to cut costs. I believe the federal government should also be looking for opportunities to save taxpayer money wherever and whenever possible. In recent years, private reduced their real estate footprint to save money. Theyve been able to do this because modern Telecommunications Technologies<\/a> have enabled them to adopt remote work options and other Flexible Work<\/a> strategies. 2016, del technologies had already shifted one quarter of its employees to work from home either fulltime or a few days a week. To reduce Square Footage<\/a> and implement more Flexible Work<\/a>space strategies, saving roughly 12 Million Dollars<\/a> each year. American express has saved up to 15 million annually on real estate costs due to Flexible Work<\/a> options. Flexible workspace and work from home options for 40 and percent of employees, to see need for office space by 2. 7 million square feet and saving the company 78 million each year. When the fed on the federal side, the General Services<\/a> administration is the most agent in the federal government, pursuing remote work options and other related work strategies. Gsas total Workplace Program<\/a> improved the use of office space and various workplace strategies. These include supporting mobile work, reconfiguring support sharing, and shifting from Traditional Office<\/a> space to more flexible open plan workplace environments. A top priority of the gsa is to maximize the use of federal space, eliminate costly lease arrangements, and dispose of underutilized assets. Gsa has decreased the Square Footage<\/a> of its own usable office space by 32 . It has cut its operations and make its costs by 10 million in four years. The office of Personnel Management<\/a> reported to congress that over 900,000 federal employees were eligible to telework in the fiscal year. That is 42 of all federal employees. The Global Workplace<\/a> analytics determined if all federal employees eligible for telework had to tell a communicated half the time, the federal government could reduce its need for office space by 25 . 1. 75ers could save billion in real estate costs alone and over 11 billion in total cost. Through such work, expenditures such as food, commuting, gas, and drycleaning could be saved. Todays hearing is an opportunity to examine how the lessons the private sector has learned about cost savings from telework can be translated to the federal government. These lessons will allow the government to reduce its footprint and save american taxpayer money. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today, and am now turning to Ranking Member<\/a> carper for his statement. Im happy to be here with you wee and in person and welcome witnesses from as far ,way as texas and in california and we thank you all for joining us. California, i spent some time and thank youavy very much for getting up early. It goes without saying just about every aspect of our life has radically changed over six months. As a country, we have been forced to adopt a new normal wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and more. For millions of americans, one of the Biggest Challenges<\/a> has been adjusting to the new normal of telework. When it comes to finding solutions for tough problems, i often say we ought to find out what works and do more of that. Flexible work strategies like telework has given us the opportunity to examine how those alternative methods actually work or dont work. This is our opportunity to find out what works and do more of that. What welearned learn about telework today will shape how we view and implement telework as a country from now and well into the future. One of the agencies under the jurisdiction of our community is sa, which operates Federal Building<\/a> space. I hope the testimony we hear today will shed some light about the use of private space like peoples homes during telework, which could provide new insights about how we operate Federal Building<\/a>s. Im told the federal government is the Largest Consumer<\/a> of energy and what we learn about telework today could help us figure out how to occupy and operate Federal Building<\/a> space more efficiently and ultimately reduce our nations carbon reprint. Another footprint. The impact of telework on our air quality. As our witness from california will describe in greater detail, committees normally cloaked in smog arc breathing cleaner air and experiencing widely reduced travel. For too long, with experienced air pollution on Public Health<\/a> and quality of life for so america so many americans, especially our most vulnerable communities. I believe we should be doing what we can soon as we can to reduce emissions associated with how we travel. Includes reducing vehicle in missions through fuel economy standards and trucks, the largest source of pollution in our country. Another important way to reduce travel related emissions is to invest in low emission transportation choices like biking and washing. Electrification can make a major difference in alleviating smog, using easing congestion, and reducing Climate Change<\/a> emission and beyond. Andemic youve heard me quote Albert Einstein<\/a> more than you would want to remember. In adversity lies opportunity. Ive been thinking about that because of our nations high adversity we are facing. Tragic,allenging and this pandemic has provided us a reallife case study on the effects of reduced and travel related emissions. I look forward to learning more about how we can translate those successes into longterm strategies and addressing Climate Change<\/a>. Finally, the Government Affairs<\/a> committee on which i serve and has jurisdiction over federal workforce issues held a hearing yesterday on issue similar to the ones will be taken up today. I look forward to drilling down on it again today with members of the community in person and over the internet, and maybe we could work with some of our friends on Homeland Security<\/a> as we adjust to this new normal. There were ao ago, fair amount of Financial Services<\/a> in delaware that they wereard said thinking of doing Something Different<\/a> at Dover Air Force<\/a> base. Are you going to put up a branch or something . They said we are going to hire spouses of military personnel, dependence to work for us from their homes on the base. I said really . Think there, and i were over 100 spouses working there, a second income for themselves and their families and Discover Card<\/a> wins a lot of kudos for Customer Service<\/a>. Find out what works, do more of that. Senator you so much, carper and we have some outstanding witnesses with us today. We will hear from them, all of whom are joining us remotely. Mark [, Senior Vice President<\/a> of corporate real estate and Environment Health<\/a> and safety with Dell Technologies<\/a>. Hell be joining us remotely from round rock texas. Ofo, kate lister, president the Global Workplace<\/a> analytics from carlsbad, california, and michael benjamin, chief of air Quality Planning Division<\/a> for the California Air<\/a> Resources Board<\/a>. He is joining us from sacramento, california. Welcome, all. Three of you today. I will remind the witness is your full written testimony will be made of the effect part of the official record. Today, we ask you to keep your statements to five minutes so we may have time for questions. We look forward to questions. We will go to mr. Pringle, then miss weather and mr. Benjamin. Please proceed. Andood morning, chairman Ranking Member<\/a>. Im the senior fight Vice President<\/a> of environment for Dell Technologies<\/a>. My biography is attached to the statement. Thank you for inviting me today to discuss Flexible Work<\/a>space strategies. And ways the federal government might implement these in the future. I will address the implications of the federal workplace approach. Dell has approach these workspace strategies. 2009, delln technologies established our connected workspace program, which allows employees to choose the work style that best fulfills their needs on the job and in life in a highly mobile and Flexible Work<\/a> setting. It has positively impacted our business and our environmental footprint. More than a policy, this is about a change in how we think about work. Work is not anchored to one place and time and instead come is focused on outcome. In 2013, after implementation of connected workplace, Dell Technologies<\/a> established a goal to enable 50 of our workforce to work flexibly by 2020. At times in an office, but also at home and on the road. During thes year, onset of covid19, we had surpassed that goal to approximately 65 of Dell Technologies<\/a>, leveraging Work Flexibility<\/a> on the job. The connected workplace encouraged employees to design working arrangements including remote work, flexible hours, and job sharing. It involved supporting flex workers needs through infrastructure, training opportunities, and employee resource groups. From an Environmental Impact<\/a> report in 2016, approximately 10,000 u. S. Employees who work remotely reduced travel by 136 million miles a year and fewer tons emmitted of Greenhouse Gas<\/a>es. That is the equivalent of taking nearly 7400 cars off the road each year. We estimate that positive impact has increased two to three times as our u. S. Remote workers have increased significantly over the last four years. Our connected016, Workplace Solutions<\/a> have avoided an estimated 25 million kilowatt hours and we were able to realize approximately 12 million a year in real estate cost savings, over 50 billion over savings. In 2017, as Dell Technologies<\/a> grow as a company, our real estate footprint change dramatically due to acquisitions. As a result, our overhead costs and strategy last few years has been tied primarily to supporting our Business Strategies<\/a> which includes growth of sites, reducing, or eliminating sites and workplace investments. In 2020 the onset of covid19 required we convert nearly overnight 90 of our employees to work from home status, which has is looking forward on how best to support our employees work style and effectively manage our real estate portfolio. We estimate Dell Technologies<\/a> can achieve 30 real estate savings over the next five years as we assess our future requirements. While the overnight transition to a Remote Workforce<\/a> is big, we know coming out of this crisis, many employees wont need or desire to return to corporate offices, at least not on an old a fulltime basis. As we return to the process, we have surveyed employees on how and when they felt comfortable to return to the office. The results were fascinating. Across different regions, countries, results were consistent. 60 of employees desired to work from home with the flexibility to go to the office for collaboration and meetings a few days a week. 20 to 30 of employees desired to work from home fulltime. 10 to 20 of employees desired to work in the office fulltime. We see this as an opportunity to reinvent and redefine work in the new world and we are looking at ways to enable, innovate new ways of working with high levels of employee engagement. The dated evolve mindset of being in office fulltime as an actual business interior. We are rarely afforded the opportunity to make such dramatic changes to our businesses in such a short period of time. There are still rarer still is better preparing our teams for the digital landscape by helping us achieve organizational goals with innovation. Covid19 has exacted a devastating toll. Recover from both catastrophes, this could work in ways that improve quality life for our nations worker. We look forward to that journey. Thank you for inviting me here today. Sen. Barrasso thank you, mr. [. Grateful to have you as part of the testimony and we will turn to miss lister. Thank you, sen. Barrasso, Ranking Member<\/a> carper for today. G me to come ive been a telework advocate for over 15 years because i go with facts and in the case of telework, they lead me to the conclusion the employer, employee environmental benefits are too compelling to ignore. The covid19 crisis forced 95 becomece workers to teleworkers practically overnight and now, more than four months into this Global Telework<\/a> experiment, it looks like the experience is going to fundamentally reshape the future of where and when people work. Released in june 2020 a month ago show that 89 of executives expect more than 30 of their employees to continue to work at home at least one day a week. 55 expect more than 60 to do so. I know that is a lot of numbers, but this is going to change things. The employees wanted too. Of less than ideal conditions at home, seven in 10 want to continue to do so. The number is higher in government, based on a survey we fielded to 2800 local employees. It said just as we heard from mark that two to three days a week seems to be the sweet spot so it is not all in or all out. It is part of the time. The pandemic didnt start the telework trend, but will accelerate it. What will that mean for office space . Much of office space in this country is inefficient and ineffective. For more than a decade, occupancy studies around the globe have shown people are not at their desks the majority of the time. They are working in conference rooms, customer locations, coworking centers, working at home, anywhere they can get availability and broadband. Regardless of what you call it, employees are already mobile and all the things we need to do to support teleworkers are the same things we need to do to support the 21st century workforce. The majority of employers have let remote work happen rather than making it happen. Those who have been intentional about it have transformed their offices into places that support a wide range of activities. These leaders have read benefits in lower overhead, happier employees, and more. The success lies in practices and a choice of places and spaces that include some. The organizations that have prioritized cost production over people have been disappointed by results. Telework programs need to be supported from the top of the chart. A collaboration between human resources, real estate, i. T. , and other stakeholder groups. When you dont have that suffer. , outcome when deployed strategically, weve seen across sectors the potential benefits in telework are real. The chairman mentioned this in his opening comments. Government, some numbers would seem, Social Security<\/a> administration reported 900 million in annual real estate savings. U. S. Patent and Trademark Office<\/a> reported 50 million in annual real estate savings and almost 100 million reduction in vehicle mileage. There are many more examples in government. Andderal license survey Viewpoint Survey<\/a> also documented significant positive impact on people. Compared to nontelecommuters, telecommuters are more engaged, satisfied, and less likely to leave the agency. Further evidence for how important telework is to Government Employees<\/a> was revealed when the department of education canceled their Telework Program<\/a> and surveyed employees nine months later. The vast majority of those polled said it didnt do what it was supposed to do, which was enhanced collaboration and improve Customer Service<\/a> and in addition, it decreased productivity, hurt morale, increased absenteeism and increased turnover. There are lots of examples of privatesector successes in telework, as well. Cisco, one of the earlier companies to get involved in this, showed a 30 reduction in real estate in spite of a 15 increase in workforce. , savedsed 241 buildings another 200 million in operational expenses, and produced 300 million in income from the sale of other armed realist. A 33 greater occupancy in the same space. Adp saved 6,000 per parttime Remote Worker<\/a> per year and the cost is only 500 per Remote Worker<\/a> per year. Across the pond, rich telecom shows 150 million reduction in costs with their Telework Program<\/a>. Interestingly, the u. K. Government shed over 120 properties in central london, reduced government owned buildings from 180 properties to just 63 in central london. It is important to note all of these impacts and these examples have taken the integrated approach. Not simply adopting telework. The potential for bottom line in government is clear. Ability the count office was charged by congress with investigating tools for implementing telework. The savings calculator was mentioned. They called it comprehensive and based on Solid Research<\/a> and based on a conservative assumption in that calculator, we estimate government could save over 11 billion per year or 13,000 per halftime teleworker per year. 700 billion of that have 700 million of that would come from reduction in real estate. We need to start seeing the strategic imperative. In a world where brains, not brawn are the creators of wealth, we need to break loose of the 20th century framework that keeps us tethered to the concept of work as a place rather than what we do. In the words of benjamin franklin, out of adversity comes opportunity and this is our opportunity to fundamentally retrain work in a way that is better for performance. I look forward to your questions. Thank you so very much. Senator carper, do you want to check in on these quote sources . Sen. Carper i dont know, it asked, alin when republic, if we can keep it. He never said in adversity lies opportunity. Einstein said that, he said, and hes right. Well give you a chance to rebut after the other testimony to we would like to turn michael benjamin, who is the chief air Quality Planning Division<\/a> California Air<\/a> Resources Board<\/a> joining us from sacramento, california. Thank you for being with us today, mr. Benjamin. I am michael chief of the, Science Division<\/a> at the California Air<\/a> Resources Board<\/a>. Member,rman, ranking thank you for inviting me to on Lessons Learned<\/a> from covid19 regarding the potential for Remote Working<\/a> to improve air quality and Climate Change<\/a>. 19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on and economy. People to date, more than 450,000 californians have contracted the virus and 8500 people have died. At the same time, the state of confronting his confronting a 450 billion dollar budget deficit and has seen more than 6. 5 million unemployment claims since midmarch. To address the Public Health<\/a> emergency, on march 19, Governor Newsom<\/a> issued an executive order instructing all californians to stay home except under limited circumstances. The potential longterm benefits of telework, Governor Newsom<\/a> has launched an Economic Recovery Task<\/a> force that has prioritized alongside addressing climate air quality and equity, exploring a statewide telework strategy. He has directed 75 of the 235,000 state employees who work from home at least parttime for the foreseeable future. The demand for travel has significantly changed in response to the governors executive order as well as other factors. Between midmarch and late april of 2020, statewide vehicle miles traveled dropped by approximately 75 relative to january. This reduced travel has had observable impact on overall michael from in missions from vehicles as well as air quality. In the first six weeks, reductions in passenger vehicle usage resulted in a 15 to 30 reduction in smog forming pollutants and a 50 reduction in Greenhouse Gas<\/a> emmissions statewide. Californias network of more than 250 airquality monitors detected a reduction in statewide ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, carbon particulates fine of approximately 35 . At the same time, average concentrations of groundlevel a statewidesed by average of about 12 compared to the same time. Period in 2015 to 2019. This is good news for airquality given recent research from harvard demonstrating a link between exposure, which disproportionately impacts communities of color and increased covid19 deaths. , as stayathome orders have been relaxed in california, vehicle miles traveled have begun to rebound. As of late june, californians were driving about 35 fewer miles than in january. With this continued reduction in travel, emissions of smog forming pollutants from Passenger Vehicles<\/a> are still down 5 to 15 relative to january while emissions of fine particulates are 25 lower. These ongoing reduction is in tailpipe emissions are measured across california. While reduced travel and increased teleworking has had some benefit for airquality and climate, they have also resulted in negative impacts on transit. And shared modes of transportation that will likely make it difficult to maintain thesion reductions as country recovers from the pandemic and more people return to work. Local transit agencies reported that ridership dropped as low as 10 of normal after stayathome ended. Other shared Mobility Services<\/a> rides and car sharing have been discontinued, further limiting limiting options for essential trips. The observed increases in Public Transit<\/a> use and shared services have led to an increase in personal vehicle use. When travel does occur and could lead to a preference for personal vehicle use longerterm , reversing observed gains in airquality and congestion. This is of particular concern according to a recent university of chicago study, 37 of u. S. Jobs can be performed at home. For many essential workers, Public Transit<\/a> is the only transportation option. Surveys have shown currently riders are0 of using transit, and 20 of healthcare workers in 20 of food preparation. Looking beyond covid19, it is hard to predict what travel will look like or how many employees will use telework. Although californias experience of covid19 highlights the potential environmental benefits of expanded teleworking, i would note many jobs, particularly lowwage jobs are not conducive to telework, and many of those workers do not have access to a car. Our economy depends on these people getting to work. In order to take advantage of the air quality and economic benefits of telework, we need to continue investing in a range of affordable and clean transportation options, including walking, biking, and transit that will enable all workers to get where they need to go. While continuing to decrease Greenhouse Gas<\/a> emissions. As we recover from covid19, we will begin tole drive more, and when they do, lets ensure those vehicles r0 emissions so we can continue to enjoy the benefits of cleaner air. That includes that concludes my testimony. Thank you very much to the three of you for your thoughtful testimony. We will start with a series of questions, and have rounds of five minutes each. Lister first. S. If the federal government more aggressively adopted telework, can we significantly decrease Office Requirements<\/a> for the federal government without harming productivity . How much money could taxpayers save . Absolutely you can reduce the footprint. The footprint is already bigger in the private sector, office space, many buildings are older. There is a great opportunity to reduce that real estate. The numbers we came up with our 1. 7 billion a year are based on 25 reduction in real estate for people working remotely half the time. That is only the eligible population. I would question if there are more eligible. Even based on how many are working at home right now. At 11ential is there ,illion a year times 10 years 110 billion over the decade. That is a lot of money. Thank you. Mr. Pringle . Thank you, mr. Chairman. From our experience at Dell Technologies<\/a>, the first part regards the impact of productivity, we are shifting employee satisfaction, flexibility. [indiscernible] you have more federal employees youwork, working from home, will see lower utilization rates of building and accessibility. Officel have less requirements in regards to that. [indiscernible] Health Technologies<\/a> contributed positively. I dont think that will impact [indiscernible] regards to over a decade how much could taxpayers save, i think there are two parts. The government needs to [indiscernible] about. Ms. Lister talk people want to work from home full time. You have to look at utilization rates, how people utilize it. As we look at this based on my , over the next five years i think without all the details of the data behind the gsa, ultimately you could save [indiscernible] deeper,could dig down because in terms of dell and the overhead costs you saved since you integrated remote work and an innovative workplace planning, some of that has been real estate and real estate related costs. There is a general overhead savings as well. Can you talk about how much you have saved, how much has been real estate related costs, and the other part of it as well . As we dig into this, there are a couple different parts. Testimony from 2016 distributed to our connective work face program, 12 million a year in real toate savings, which is up 48 billion. 20172020 challenging because of our acquisitions and investors divestitures. Part as we biggest look forward into the next five years, we have looked at it based on teleworking, we think we can get close to [indiscernible] senator carper. Thanks, mr. Chairman. Let me ask a question and short answer from each of you. Why do you think it took so long as a nation to move into this direction of teleworking . Why did it take so long . Why only now . There. Ll jump in the biggest hold back since the nots has been, managers do trust their employees to work untethered. The biggest thing we will learn is that they realize people are productive. We still need a lot of training on managing by results rather than what is in the seats. That is the biggest difference. Thank you. What i would say is the ,iggest change we have seen [indiscernible] managers perceptions. Telework connective workplacewe enabled flexibility and choice. The biggest challenge what has been interesting when covid19, it has driven technologyo build and 90 of our work force working from home. And to have individuals work from home. In california, the Resources Board<\/a> act in march, we conducted an Employee Survey<\/a> of our staff. We have 1700 staff. Our survey results yielded results similar to what ms. Lister and mr. Pringle mentioned in their surveys. One of the things we have learned is, very much echoing what ms. Lister just said, i think some of the inertia previously about teleworking trust, in large part to and i think the current experience we are having is indicating it actually is very feasible for an institution or agency to work effectively, and manage people remotely. This has been a big learning experience for us as an agency as well. Mentioned of you have people needing to have access to transit to get to work. We have seen significant dropoffs in amtrak. Significant job loss in people traveling by air. Talk to us if you would about why it is important to provide support for transit for people to get to work. When we look at the data for Public Transit<\/a> usage, it is very said,r to what you senator carper. Relative to personal usage, down concern as i our mentioned in my testimony, that many lower income workers rely on Public Transit<\/a> to get to their jobs. They are essential workers, and there will always be a large segment of the economy that requires handson work that is not amenable to telework. We will need to figure out collectively how best to enable those individuals to get to the workplace in ways that are affordable and accessible, but have the lowest Environmental Impact<\/a>. Others, please. Anything either of you would like to add . Mr. Pringle . I think it is important to oftinue all modes transportation that reduce our Greenhouse Gas<\/a>es and energy usage. For a long time, more than a in the telework Transportation Demand<\/a> management community, so i think some of the moneys that have gone to Public Transit<\/a> issues really need to think about getting people off the road altogether. We have to support it. There has to be a blend. We needsis has proven fore able to work remotely continuity of operations. It is absolutely critical. This is not the last time this will happen. Publict dissing transportation, we need to do that, but we need to recognize telework is not just something that happens and to be made to happen, and it will take effort and money to make it happen. Pringle, anything you want to mention on this . I guess not. Sorry, Ranking Member<\/a> carper. In regards to that, i think it isimportant what ms. Lister talking about, using teleworking for individuals. One of the key challenges will be how to collaborate, a lot of people working from home. Some people five days a week, some three days. As you see that, it is important to continue to support Public Transportation<\/a> [indiscernible] opportunities of people working through this, especially with technology and innovation around 5g and broadband will help quicker. Thanks to all of you, especially our friends in california. I am surprised some of you are not in your pajamas. That would have been acceptable. Thank you, senator carper. We have a number of members participating remotely. Thank you, senator barrasso. Up thatthe thumbs everybody can hear me. Share a border in West Virginia<\/a>maryland. When we were in the house together, he he and i worked on an issue because of the d. C. Area and the ability of telework , we worked with that with tom davis. It never really took off. It,e were suspicions around and i am glad we are having this discussion again because i think it is absolutely what we know, in West Virginia<\/a> we have the irs, coast guard, all kinds that encompass telework as well as relocating federal employees into the more rural parts of the greater d. C. Area. One of the issues i talked about , before we can get to this for everybody and have equal access, we have a connectivity problem. Thisringle, during pandemic, it has been obvious not just in the telework space, but telehealth and education. I work to introduce legislation e act to give us flexibility for the federal agencies and private entities to expand or capability. Where do you see this in terms is this going to enhance our Digital Divide<\/a> if we go to more telework, and Rural Communities<\/a> are not connected . How critical is this, and what can we do to jumpstart this in conjunction with the private sector . Thank you, senator. To your point, the home is traditionally used for tv and video content, and especially the covid19, each home has become [indiscernible] there are two parts. Had we bridge that divide, and as you look forward, how do you ensure bandwidth capacity in a secure way that enables the home or the router viaanage the workloads tunneling to prioritize work versus school versus media or gaming . Along with the application of ai and device features always connected. Most importantly it is 5g, wifi, and as you look at 5g they have wireless Access Points<\/a> that allow people to bridge the Digital Divide<\/a>. It isn help enable investing, supporting 5g, the and ensuring as we manage this from a home router [indiscernible] i look forward to working with all of you on that as we have continued to do. Federal resources in combination with private entities. Havingthe benefits i see my state be part of the larger d. C. Metropolitan area is the savings for a federal employee. The average cost of a home in my inte is 110,000, where washington, d. C. It is 600,000. From your experience, to enjoy significant cost savings when it comes to housing as a result of increased emphasis on telework so they can really locate lowcost areas, more rural areas. When you look at the disease spread and pandemic, these areas desirable. Much more there andu can work avoid the congestion that we see has been contributing to the spread. I do not know if you or ms. Lister have an opinion on that. Lister. Ead, ms. I think it is a very good question. We need to not create a nation of halves and haves and havenots. This is a real opportunity for Rural Communities<\/a> to upgrade the ir employment opportunities. In theake the Investment Information<\/a> highway as we did the superhighways read tha. An employee saves between 2500 and 4000 a year getting , fivek, dry cleaning dollar coffee depending on where you are. If they have the opportunity to move outside the area, there is more savings. About 16 of the population we surveyed said they would like to work remotely fulltime. You have to get to that if you are going to make a dramatic move out of the city. We are hearing in the private sector, does that mean i will take a pay cut . If i make San Francisco<\/a> wages and moved to alabama, do i make the same amount . There are a lot of questions we do have answers to that the government can help set the example. I think that is significant. Processed that in that way. I think that will be a good part of the conversation. The other issue in closing, having been the appropriate or gsa, the billions of dollars we spend for buildings that are not occupied fully and are spaced out inefficiently. The irs going in martinsburg which has several hundred people they have been teleworking for years. Between 7 to 10 is in a building built for 10 times that amount of people. Need to lookng we at, and i look forward to working with all of you on the committee. Senator cardin. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman and Ranking Member<\/a>. I appreciate this hearing. I want to underscore the point mr. Benjamin made and senator carper. We have noticed during covid19 the environment has been more friendly. I take warning walks, and the amount of wildlife we see we had seen a major improvement in our environment. I am also one of the senators who commutes to work. I live in baltimore. The route from baltimore to washington daily, and the commute time has been cut in half as a result of less traffic on the roads, as it should. My point is this, and mr. Benjamin, i agree to your point, if we set up the ideal way of telework and i hope we do, and many workers can be more efficient working from home, save a lot of time and help the environment there will still be those who need to get to work physically. Therefore our commitment to transit must continue. Our commitment to the transportation alternative programs that allow us to have bike paths must continue. I appreciate that point and want to underscore that, one of the Lessons Learned<\/a> from covid19. I want to ask the question onated to the center point of connectivity. It will be critically important if workers can telework. If you do not have connectivity, you are not able to compete in our current economy. Yes, we have specific programs that deal with conductivity in the department of agriculture that deals with Rural America<\/a>, the federal Communications Commission<\/a> has funds to deal with connectivity. Program could be more targeted and flexible to allow communities to get that last connection. I want to thank the senator for working to help modernize that program to make it more accessible to local governments to do what they need with their economies, which include connectivity. We want to make it easier for them to use those funds for connectivity. We have an Incredible Opportunity<\/a> now. There has been an underscore of inequities where you do not have connectivity for students who have had to do distant learning as a result of covid19. The senator is correct that is prevalent in Rural America<\/a> were connectivity is more challenging, but it is true in urban centers where for economic reasons homes do not have an activity. Private dividers are providing the service because they do not have enough customers and are not providing the infrastructure necessary for Broadband Internet<\/a> service. A survey ofwe did our boards of education and superintendents of schools, we have 24 School Districts<\/a>. Every one of the School Districts<\/a> have challenges of connectivity. I mentioned that because as we talk about how to telework in policy, we need every avenue available for advanced connectivity. Today we are talking about the next round of covid stimulus, and i do hope in the house bill, we include significant resources for connectivity for our students. If we do that, it will help their parents who will have the opportunity to telework in the future. They will have the connectivity that we need in our community. I will start with ms. Lister as to the need to deal with an activity as it relates to having the right balance on those who can telework moving forward. Go on thewill have to hybrid system, where you work some days from home, some days from work. Had you do that if you do not have connectivity . You are absolutely right, senator, you cant. It has to be a priority to make connectivity available to everybody. I think there have been examples during this of companies that or some internet availability in places where there is no connectivity, so that children can do homeschooling. We have to i hope we will get past this, and we will not have this huge load on the home. Some will go back to schools. We will not all be in one small place. Some of that may sort itself out. One has to go with the other, you are absolutely right. It is not just connectivity but the affordability of connectivity. When you have everyone home of the same time, you have to upgrade connectivity so everybody can get the service they need. Any families do not have the economic ability to do that. That is necessary for us to figure out how we can have equitable availability of Internet Service<\/a> in this country. Part of it is rural problems, part of it is economic albums. Part of it is outreach and education. Part of it is the economics in regulating the industry. This needs to be a high priority to get the right balance for education, schools, and commerce and families. From telework and having to go into work, you cannot do that unless you have connectivity. That saves money on transit and saves us we do not need as much rental space, and can save money for taxpayers in this country. Senator braun. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and thank you for bringing up a topic. In the year and a half i have been here, we are talking cost savings and doing things to save the government money. It is refreshing to hear and see that. Maybe one of the Silver Linings<\/a> of this crisis we are going through, telecommuting, telehealth as well. To put it on perspective, i am in the Budget Committee<\/a> and would be even is not to bring it up that we run trillion dollar deficits structurally in this federal government. And to put it into perspective, walmart is the Largest Company<\/a> in the world in terms of sales five hundred 20 4 billion. The federal government is roughly nine times that size. Each year in just her operating means, we borrow 23 of our budget. Analytics,o global when the Workplace Analytics<\/a> did the amount of savings by telecommuting, half of the federal employees, which are just under a million did that half a year would save maybe 11 billion to 12 billion. If we did it all the time, you could double that. It puts into perspective how big the problem is that we try to address piecemeal. The other thing the public needs to know is the driver of these deficits would be Social Security<\/a> and medicare, other mandatory spending, interest on our debt that comprises between 65 and 75 percent of what we spend. I am glad to see we are taking effort here to find savings. We need to do it, but we need the political will to look more deeply into what drives this government each year into irresponsible place running trillion dollar deficits. We heard a little bit about the benefits of telecommuting. I would like to hear from the three panelists, we have done this in our own business to some extent. I am not involved with it anymore, but i know it works. We used telehealth for a long time before it came into vogue due to the crisis. I would like to hear from the panelists what might be some negative drawbacks if any, if we are working from home more and more. Anyone can jump in and start. I will start with that. What we have seen from companies that have been doing this the withst is they struggle maintaining the Company Culture<\/a> of having people feel connected to the purpose. Some solutions to that will come out of silicon valley. I think about the day of holograms, making it more rich. Having that hybrid, that parttime working in the office and parttime at home helps solve some of those problems. We have examples in the private ,ector of companies 100 Remote Companies<\/a> with 1500 employees. They have overcome some of these problems. I think we have to dig deep and think about how do we not replicate the way we did things in the office question mark how do we make it better . Anyone else . Senators. Mark pringle. With ms. Lister, there are a couple different things. As people telework, they continue to work from home, there will be a combination of a hybrid model. Collaboration is critical for innovation. There are tools and such that continue to evolve to facilitate that, but ultimately you will need some collaboration and engagement. The other part is building the culture. You need to ensure a culture of inclusivity. People who work in the buildings, it was easy to improve that, but as people telework, leadership and the different managers and individuals should drive inclusivity. As we get to this model, you will see more of that involved. Those are the challenges. Thank you. Dr. Benjamin. I would agree with ms. Lister and mr. Pringle. Going throughow the type of transformation that ms. Lister described, which is from an organization that has worked i merrily in the workplace primarily in the workplace to migrating rapidly towards telework. Us, a key priority is how do we maintain that Organizational Culture<\/a> . How do we onboard people and maintain high morale given that we are working in a different ay than we have in the past . Senator ernst. Chair, andu mr. Thanks to our panelists for joining us today. During my time in the senate, i have made it a priority to find ways to save taxpayer dollars and make the federal government work more efficiently. I am glad we are taking this opportunity to examine the topic today. I have long been a proponent of moving federal jobs outside of washington, d. C. Congresses, io introduce the strategic withdrawal of agencies for meaningful placement act, the swamp act. Currently we see the headquarters of nearly all of our executive Branch Agencies<\/a> are clustered in and around washington, d. C. That concentrates hundreds of thousands of jobs in the region. The swamp act creates a Competitive Bidding<\/a> process that allows states, cities, and towns across the country to compete to be a federal agency new home. During the covid19 pandemic, many of our federal workers have successfully done their jobs from outside of d. C. , showing us they do not necessarily need to be in washington to do their jobs. I think this bolsters my argument that we can and should move more jobs out of washington , and closer to the folks who know the needs of their states, their farms, and their. Usinesses best and in the process we will see more job creation and greater opportunities for communities across the country, and not just in d. C. I would echo the sentiments of that there arend a number of us who choose rural areas, and we agree there is great opportunity in those Rural Communities<\/a>. Mr. Pringle, if we can start delldu, please, workforce ive what challenges has dell encountered in its implementation of the connected Workplace Program<\/a> . How have you been able to overcome those . As we implemented the connected Workplace Program<\/a>, obviously the benefits, the biggest unforeseen benefit was [indiscernible] we are at 65 , today we are working at 90 . In terms of challenges, the biggest challenge would be as you look at it, how do you manage the real estate . One of the other benefits we are starting to pursue, which is what you mentioned, we have an opportunity for Talent Acquisition<\/a> which allows us to access talent, more inclusivity across the u. S. That we probably would not have been able to access if we were locked to a specific [indiscernible] end, saving the dollars as well has been important. As you mentioned, the talent and finding talent for dell, if we look at the talent that would be available if the swamp act were to be in limited, moving federal outside ofke usda washington, d. C. And into the areas they represent like a place like iowa where you have innumerable minimum and who have men and women, many at our fine universities, agricultural programs. The talent is in those areas. We could see the usage of remote work and relocation. We think it would be beneficial. With your program, mr. Pringle, do you think that could be duplicated for a federal agency . And bs successful as what you have seen at dell . And be as successful as what you have seen at dell . Yes, we use the connective Workplace Program<\/a> to help support the federal government, local and state governments, and ultimately you can leverage different ways to support different organizations and states through teleworking. You can access more diverse talent. Thank you very much, and i look forward to learning more about teleworking as we move into the future. I think there is a way to save taxpayers some dollars, and allow them to keep their hard earned cash. I look forward to exploring it further, and thank you for the opportunity. Ms. Lister, we are winding down. A question for you about advancement in the workplace. Working with me now this summer, i have four wonderful interns, we have pages here. Are getting a chance to look at them, they look at us. If they have the will and skill to work, is it a good fit . They can prove their value. The question is, in terms of other advantages across the board . You have written a lot about this, for advancement in the workplace in terms of proving value and being able to promote oneself, standing out, are there advantages you have seen to being physically present to make the best case for you . And what have you seen along these lines as we move to more people working remotely . That is a very good question. It is one of those areas that companies are struggling with. On boarding is not working as well. Converting interns to employees is not working as well. That subtle grooming that takes place at the office is important. I spoke to aid New York Times<\/a> reporter who said i learned how to interview sitting in the bullpen listening to other people interview. I think we need to replicate that or improve on it in the virtual world. There again, it is not all or nothing. There are ways to mentoring and matching people to help solve some of these problems. Companies that do this all virtually. One Company Hires<\/a> everybody via chat. They become an employee never having talked to a person live or seen them. There are solutions out there, but again i am a big fan of the hybrid mode, and i think we need to feel our way through this. In terms of the data, we show that the media overemphasizes the problem of career advancement. We find 25 of people say they feel they will not advance quickly, or be penalized in terms of salary. Thank all of you for your time and efforts today to join us from around the country. We have had good participation from senators. There may be more questions, and written questions for the record. We will keep the record open for two weeks, so try to respond back to them. I thank you for your time and testimony, and at this point the hearing is adjourned. [captions Copyright National<\/a> cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [indistinct conversations] congress is set to return from summer recess with the senate back in session today. They will take up judicial for the Eastern District<\/a> of wisconsin. That is live at 3 00 p. M. Eastern. The house returns for business next week with work expected on condemning antiasian bias, decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, and reauthorizing u. S. Intelligence agencies. Two items not on the schedule, but we could see, a covid relief package from republicans, and that deal to fund the government after current funding levels expire. Watch the senate live on cspan2, in the house when they return on cspan. Vice president mike pence talked about the economy at a Campaign Stop<\/a> in wisconsin. He noted the economic status in midmay. He was introduced by senator ron johnson. Good morning. The Vice President<\/a> of the United States<\/a> is here, so good morning. All right, fantastic. As i said earlier, thanks for being here today and i want to thank kurt our for his remarks earlier. We are grateful today to","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia601908.us.archive.org\/0\/items\/CSPAN_20200908_072700_Hearing_on_Remote_Working_During_a_Pandemic\/CSPAN_20200908_072700_Hearing_on_Remote_Working_During_a_Pandemic.thumbs\/CSPAN_20200908_072700_Hearing_on_Remote_Working_During_a_Pandemic_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240716T12:35:10+00:00"}