DeSaulnier-Requested Government Watchdog Report Confirms Benefits of Telework and Need for Federal Support to Help Communities Adapt

Washington, D.C. – A recently-released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report highlights how increases in telework have had positive effects on workers, the economy, and the environment and that more federal support is needed to help better plan and harness these impacts.

Commissioned by Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Ranking Member of the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on the Committee on Education and Workforce, along with Full Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott and former Chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Carolyn Maloney, the report found that increased telework contributed to changes in transit, vehicle use, and real estate. To respond to these changes, the GAO recommends that the Department of Transportation establish and implement a detailed plan to complete the required travel demand data and subsequent guidance to assist Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) community planning modeling so they can best support workers, their families, public transit, and affordable housing.

“This report confirms what we have suspected to be true since the pandemic – the workforce, and with it the needs of workers and their communities, is changing, and moreover, that the wellbeing of working families, the economy, and the environment are all interconnected,” said Congressman DeSaulnier. “I am proud to have spearheaded this effort that gives us the information and tools we need to begin building and adapting communities that meet the needs and realities of the day so we can improve the quality of life of all Americans.”

This is the third and final report in a series commissioned by Congressman DeSaulnier related to telework’s impacts. The first report examined trends in telework before, during, and after the coronavirus pandemic. The second report laid out data showing the positive impact telework has had on worker productivity and firm performance in certain sectors. 

The full GAO report can be read here.