Record levels of unemployment. A depressed economy showing no signs of abating. Workers disengaged with their workplaces, with a corresponding dip in employee wellness.

At the same time, we know that telework improves productivity, is a benefit that is valued highly by employees (demonstrated by its ability to attract and retain workers), and employees who telework report lower levels of stress.

So what’s the problem? Well, for the first time since WorldatWork began studying telework in 2003, the number of teleworkers has dropped. The total number of people who worked from home or remotely for an entire day at least once a month in 2010 was 26.2 million, down from 33.7 million in 2008. Part of this decline is consistent with the overall decline in the workforce due to high unemployment; but there’s more to the story.

Telework 2011: A Special Report from WorldatWork posits there are two reasons, aside from the unemployment rate, that could be contributing to the drop in teleworkers. First are employees’ own concerns about job security. Rightly or wrongly, there is a perception among some that if you are not visible, it is assumed you’re slacking off. Indeed, a separate study by WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work-Life Progress on global flexibility found that between 8% and 24% of workers in developed countries (including the U.S.) have experienced, or believe they will experience, a variety of negative repercussions from using flexibility benefits.

The second reason posited in the report is that employees are just not aware of the option to telework. The WorldatWork survey on flexibility practices found that approximately 6 out of 10 employers with telework programs implemented them informally, meaning there are no written policies and telework is implemented at the discretion of individual managers. Additionally, only 28% of employers communicated information about telework to their recruits.

It’s not all bad news though. While the overall number of teleworkers has decreased, the frequency of telework has risen among those who do telework. A rising number of households (68% in 2011, up from 63.5% in 2010) have access to broadband services (which are essential to teleworking). And the federal government has taken an active lead in encouraging the expansion of telework programs, from offering recommendations on better broadband services to guidance on implementing the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010. It seems that the next frontier in encouraging telework isn’t technology, but psychology.

Carrie Clark is a Public Policy Analyst for WorldatWork responsible for monitoring and reporting on regulations and legislation that could affect total rewards and human resource professionals in the United States