Use the following article as a primary basis for discussing the pros and cons of teleworking for public employees:

Who Needs a Desk? Tennessee Takes Telework to the Max

The state's new approach to the workplace goes far beyond traditional telecommuting. It's not only making employees and managers happier, it's saving the state millions of dollars. CAROLINE COURNOYER | NOVEMBER 12, 2018 In recent years, Carmelita Hillsman spent more than three hours a day getting to and from her government job in downtown Nashville. Not anymore. Now, she starts working each day for the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at 6:30 a.m. from her home office, using a state-purchased computer. She doesnt even have an office in the departments headquarters. Among Tennessee state workers, Hillsmans not that special. In her department alone, 72 percent of employees telework most of the time. Theyre all participating in the states ambitious initiative, called Alternative Workplace Solutions (AWS), to transform its workplace. It goes far beyond traditional approaches to telecommuting, in which employees occasionally work from home but still spend most of the time in a central location. In exchange for giving up their desk or office, participating employees can work remotely (either at home or in the field) full- or part-time. When they do come into the office, they can select from a variety of seating options -- standing desks, lounge areas, conference rooms. They have lockers for personal possessions. The best schedule for each person is evaluated individually. Some employees come into the central office twice a week. Hillsman generally comes once a month, or more, if there are meetings she needs to be in. The concept of individual offices, cubicles and desks, arranged with family photos and bobbleheads, is becoming a thing of the past. Since mid-2016, when the program launched, 16 departments have given employees the option, with 6,000 of them taking it. About 27,000 of the Tennessee executive branchs 38,000 employees could eventually be eligible, according to Evan Smith, a senior management consultant who runs the AWS program. The idea came about when Reen Baskin, then the deputy commissioner of the Department of General Services, was asked to reduce the states office space. She soon realized that consolidating it had numerous other advantages. In the first two years of implementation, AWS has racked up an impressive record of benefits. According to internal Tennessee surveys, 60 percent of managers say employees have improved productivity and 80 percent of employees say they have a better work-life balance. Participating agencies have recorded a 37 percent reduction in sick leave use, and the state estimates that the average employee is saving $1,800 a year on gas. By the end of this fiscal year, Tennessee says it will have likely cut its real-estate rental costs by $6.5 million. Next year, it plans to sell one of its downtown Nashville office buildings, which is no longer needed. That could give the state an extra $40 to $60 million. The results have other states, including North Carolina and Utah, intrigued, according to Smith.