Who Gets Denied Telework in the U.S. Federal Service?

Abstract

Discretionary rewards can motivate employees but increase social inequity. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, when supervisors had substantial discretion over whether and how frequently U.S. federal employees teleworked, those who did so several times a week liked most aspects of their jobs more than those who teleworked less, especially those who were denied telework. Though telework became a necessity rather than a reward during the pandemic, supervisor discretion is increasing during the return-to-the-office period, making unequal access to telework a potential site of social inequity. Using logit analysis on the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) before and during the pandemic, we examine how race, sex, disability status, and sexual orientation affected who was denied telework and how job characteristics affected those decisions. Black, Latino, and younger employees and employees with disabilities were more likely to have telework requests turned down; differences by gender and sexual orientation barely existed.