What is Telecommute

For public-sector administrators burdened with the task of recruiting and retaining information technology (IT) professionals, these are difficult times. A shortage of IT personnel combined with intense demand for new technology skills has made recruiting and retaining staff harried pursuits; additionally, the demand for technical workers in corporate America keeps rising (Pawlowski, Datta, & Houston, 2005). This demand for workers with leading-edge IT skills is exacerbated by the looming retirement of seasoned government workers, estimated at a 30% reduction in public-sector workforce across state governments by 2006 (Council of State Government [CSG], 2002). Despite the mounting demands on IT to be leveraged in state governments as a cost-reducing and efficiency-increasing tool (Levinson, 2003), even with economic recovery (Information Technology Association of America [ITAA], 2004) many scholars and industry analysts fear a widening shortage in available IT professionals (Pawlowski et al.).