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Employees who answered the Return-to-Site survey in late May overwhelmingly said they would like to continue some form of telework even when Defense Finance and Accounting Service sites return to post-pandemic operations. Senior DFAS leadership initiated the survey to see how employees felt about returning to their site for work and the related issues or concerns. Over 6,600 employees answered, which is about 60 percent of the organization.
Leadership has taken a close look at the survey results, which was a collaborative effort with Human Resources, the Organizational Capabilities Team in Enterprise Project Solutions, and Corporate Communications. In addition, results were shared with senior leaders and site directors.
DFAS Director for Operations Aaron Gillison thanked those involved with coordinating the survey and the employees who took the time to fill it out.
"The information generated by this survey provides DFAS leadership with valuable insight to consider as we continue our return-to-site planning," wrote Gillison in an email. "Your work ensured DFAS once again was recognized as a leader in responsiveness to DoD actions resulting from the pandemic."
As DFAS heads into the end of the fiscal year, the agency's leadership continues to monitor the national and global health situation. Once DoD guidance and directives are published, DFAS will respond accordingly. In the meantime, employees should continue to read all official communications shared by their chain of command and contact their supervisors with questions, comments, or concerns.
The survey consisted of five questions, with most of the responses indicating that even when the sites return to traditional operations, employees would like to continue telework.
1. If given the choice once maximum telework is lifted, how much would you want to telework?
a. 84 percent said they would want to telework more after the pandemic period is lifted as compared to the time before DFAS instituted maximum telework in March 2020.
b. 12 percent said they would want to telework the same amount as they did before the pandemic period.
c. Only 4 percent indicated they wanted to telework less than before they did before March 2020.
2. How supportive are you of a phased return to onsite presence?
a. Of those 6,631 employees responding at the time of the survey, this question was the most evenly dispersed: Nearly 28 percent said they were "very supportive," while just over 28 percent said they were "not supportive. The difference between "very" and "not" were 14 respondents, 1,833 to 1,847.
b. 24.6 percent of those responding to this question indicated they were "slightly supportive," while 19.6 percent of those responding said they were "moderately supportive."
3. Are you interested in working more telework days than your pre-pandemic work schedule?
a. 87 percent of those responded indicated they were "very interested" in teleworking more than prior to the pandemic.
b. 5 percent said they would be "moderately interested" in working more days than before the pandemic, with 4% each indicating "slightly interested" and "not at all interested" in teleworking more.
4. How interested are you in returning to work on-site?
a. At the time of the survey, 60 percent of those responded were "not at all interested" in returning to on-site work.
b. 23 percent of those responding indicate they were "slightly interested" in returning to sight.
c. 10 percent of those responding were "slightly interested" and only 7% indicated "very interested."
5. Thinking about returning to work on-site in general, how concerned are you?
a. At the time of the survey, 41 percent of those were "very concerned" about returning to site.
b. 24 percent of those responding said they were "moderately concerned."
c.A nearly even split of 18 percent and 17 percent said they were "slightly concerned" and "not at all concerned."
Feedback to leadership
The survey gave employees a chance to provide written responses as well. Again, the safety of the work environment garnered the most responses, with 1,823 comments.
Comments reflected concerns for a safe work environment. They also were concerned about fellow employees following proper health procedures. Employees indicated they didn't want to put themselves or their families at risk.
Employees also expressed the need for clarity in policies from the site and department levels about masks, vaccines, and disease spread.
With all of the concerns, over 700 comments reflected positive thoughts about telework from home throughout the global pandemic. They noted a better quality of life and work-life balance as a result of being able to work from home.
Over 200 employees said that being able to work from home was positive for them overall. Some employees noted it helped them save money on everything from child care, gas and transportation costs to eating at home instead of at the office.
Many comments thanked leadership for keeping their safety at the forefront of policy considerations during the pandemic period. Many also expressed appreciation for the information flow, even when there seemed to be conflicting information throughout the period.
The situation continues to evolve, and employees will be kept informed as leadership receives information and guidance.
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.28.2021 15:35 |
| Story ID: | 411985 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Results: Employees answer return-to-site survey, by Christopher Allbright, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
