Telecommuting from the Stone Age

Reading the arguments against telecommuting in the Magic Valley Times-News editorial arguing for it  (Hat Tip: Eye on Boise.), I’m struck by how backwards the state is:

The governor’s suggestion was met with horror by some agency administrators. There would be no way to transfer secure information to and from an employee sitting at his or her kitchen table, they objected. The lack of an integrated state e-mail system might make such a system impracticable, and besides, who would police the goldbricking?

There are obviously some state workers who couldn’t telecommute, but many – perhaps most – could work from home a couple of days a week, saving taxpayers a fortune and conserving an ocean of gasoline.

Now, first of all to transferring secure information, I’ll plug the sponsor of my Podcast, GoToMY.com (which the State of Idaho can try free for 30 days at http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast.)

In all seriousness against telecommuting seem to come down to:

1) We are so backwards technologically that we can’t implement a practice that works well for several smaller and larger employers.

2) Our Employees are so untrustworthy compared to private sector employees that are just as productive or more so from home.

Either way, I think it’s high time that given the high level of taxes by Idahoans that we demand a little more accountability and proficiency than this, even if it means sacking a few state agency heads to do it.