On March 24, 2020, John Banghart was quoted by Federal News Network on difficulties federal agencies face in maintaining regular operations through telework. According to the article, agency leadership requested nearly $46 billion in emergency funding, in part, to bolster IT systems to withstand a greater volume of remote traffic. But aside from technical issues like capacity, federal IT and cybersecurity officials say management and workplace culture issues remain a persistent challenge.
Banghart told Federal News Network that agencies face a “manageable challenge” in scaling up their telework capacity, but if they’ve implemented best practices to secure their information, the risk now shouldn’t be any higher than during normal operations.
However, he added that agencies also face challenges around training and familiarity with telework.
“Many organizations have a lot of folks who simply never work from home or never work remotely, don’t have the tools installed, don’t have the training to be able to know how to use it correctly,” Banghart said in an interview.
Best practices around telework, he added, come down to setting a routine and keeping a “work mindset” when working from home.
“This can be a challenge for a lot of people because kids are home, spouses and partners are home, but that can be disruptive,” Banghart said. “Do the best you can, give yourself a work environment where you can stay focused and have that routine.”
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