I’m pausing our wildfire topic because I think it’s important to have this discussion now. One of our usual Anonymi posted this as a comment and I’m reposting it here.
I didn’t sleep well last night. I know there are many other federal employees that have been struggling with anxiety as well. There is an overall sense of despair across the federal government. We are being talked about as though we are not human. That we are conspirators. That we are lazy. That our agency missions and the laws we implement are not needed and harm the public. That our life’s work is not wanted. That we should lose our jobs. That we will lose our jobs. That our coworkers and friends will lose their jobs. That the intent is to make our work lives miserable so that we will quit. It’s working.
I am one of the hardest working people out there. I get more work done than 99% of the staff out there. I believe in maximizing efficiency and getting rid of dead weight. This is not how to do that. This must have been how all of those Twitter employees felt. Look how that turned out.
I completely understand and empathize with you. As a person with specialized skills (forest genetics), I know that it would have been hard for me to find a position outside government. In fact, that’s how I ended up in NEPA, because I thought planning would always be a source of employment. I think it’s probably the same for many natural resource professionals. It’s not like we can get a job at the local high school or hospital or RV manufacturing facility.
Here’s what I would say based on the people I have communication with:
Most of us appreciate federal employees and think most of you are serious and committed to their work, so don’t listen to those other voices. Like generic Republicans or generic Democrats, there is no generic federal employee. An IRS person is not a military person is not an NRCS or Farm Services person. But even within agencies, like the reported observation that a flush of money from IRA and BIL led to hiring more deputies in the ROs and so on- that were apparently not needed before-, people disagree about what jobs are most important to fill or leave vacant. And I have worked with less than satisfactory employees, both within the FS and at other agencies.
Other people are concerned that there is too much work from home, and that offices are not staffed to serve the public, and there is a lack of accountability for work performance. Even employees have told me the same. There is a lack of accountability and transparency that we have observed even here at TSW, and spending time on ideas and projects of dubious merit (either because “the idea must have sounded good to someone” or “political overlords made them do it.”
Like you said, I agree that this is not the way to improve things; but I’m not so sure Twitter is a good example. It seems to me that no one cared much about all this (improvement, I think the last was Reinventing Government during the Clinton years) in the previous administrations. Remember how I wanted to elect a Good Government Party that would just focus on improving government? I don’t think it helped that some feds were actively subverting the previous Trump Admin (which I’m sure led to mistrust). And the Admin has only four years, much of which will be consumed by lawsuits. I guess to the extent that we here can influence anyone at our agencies, or the DOGE folks, whom I think will be imbedded in each agency, what would you do?
One more thought, at the FS there was an effort to focus on streamlining work; I remember the engineering shop took it seriously and the rest of us stiff-armed it and were successful at not making change. As part of it, the WO Minerals shop moved to Denver, which pleased them and us. So as a veteran of time-sucking but mostly unsuccessful internally led efforts, I’m somewhat leery. And that was just the last similar effort, there were plenty of others now lost to time). Or perhaps someone somewhere wrote a history of FS improvement efforts? I remember the Pilot in the early 80’s and at least the part I worked on was successful (giving folks check-writing authority).
But maybe that’s all beside the main point. I can speak for many of us, and certainly many or all retirees, when we say that your work is deeply appreciated. I can’t say that nothing bad will happen with this Admin’s efforts to improve things, but I can say that you all have much support from people of all political persuasions. And I do hope that somewhere they find the funding to hire back the temporaries for next year.
I hope in the comment section others will add.
I also particularly enjoy the flying fish – hovering in the sky and what ever that flower/butterfly thing is above “We”
Of course we should support our Agency employees. Unfortunately, anyone GS 12, and lower will be impacted more than the higher grade levels. I’ve had several folks contact me on what I think; I really didn’t have a good answer for anyone, especially those nearing retirement.
Mainly, remain flexible, wait and see what actually transpires and look out for their on best interest instead of the Agency. The next step in the process of actually removing “boxes” on an org chart will really be stressful. Seniority, rehire rights, grade protection agreements, CTAP and ICTAPs, etc will just push those dominos in multiple directions. Until you go through these gut-wrenching processes and watch outstanding employees removed, you get a whole new education on fairness and labor management.
However, I know hindsight is great but way back, before COVID was ever heard of, pushing telework was a real “thing”. I never did like it, but it was actually on our performance standards for performance evaluations. Many, many folks felt employees should be at work, for various reasons. And yet here we are; where was our ELT/NLT?
Hang in there…..
Jim, thanks for your contributions here. I was never in management of any of the previous RIFs and downsizings, and I had seniority for the later ones, so your experience with how it works is very helpful.
As to telework, it worked fine for my staff but not when forced on people- some of whom didn’t want the costs of turning on the heat at home during the day. Or had active families. Or just wanted a clearer separation between work and home. I don’t know what the point of forcing people was, other than to ultimately save lease costs on rented buildings?
Sharon, I think I remember about 2012-2013 when I first saw telework performance measures begin to creep into our standards. I remember the WO had several satellite offices around the metro that must have shown promise. I believe they were revamping the WO at that time too (I may be off a couple years either way), and these satellite offices got folks out of the way for reconstruction.
Then, we “heard” that once finished, the WO would not have the space but for only 1/2 to 2/3’s of their employee work force. Some folks called it “prairie dog town” the way the cubicles were laid out…🤣. I do believe the latter push, maybe around 2015/16, was Department/politically driven. The R-2, RO was in the midsts of relocating off 6th, and into the current location near NREL. I left prior to that move….
“look out for their on best interest instead of the Agency.” Good advice for the individuals (and I imagine most will do this), but not for the agency. Another good example of why the outcome of this approach is going to be more like the opposite of good government.
I ran across this on Linkedin, it’s a goodby message from Hilary Franz, the outgoing Commissioner of Public Lands for the State of Washington. It’s worth a read on its own, but I think her write-up is what I would say about feds, only better written.
“I’ve seen my folks and so many others think out of the box, using every tool in the toolbox, to help build housing so another family can come in from the cold. I’ve seen thousands of miles of beaches cleaned up and habitat restored by biologists, ecologists, and volunteers. I’ve seen foresters care for our forests providing the wood we need, and stopping the spread of disease, death, and fire. And I’ve seen communities come together to plant trees in our cities to provide shade on hot days and a place for peace on cool days.
I’ve seen people’s lives saved because of our law enforcement, and I’ve seen people’s lives changed because we invested in them, giving them a second chance planting our forests, restoring habitat, fighting our fires, or fixing our roads.
I’ve seen you, the people of DNR, firefighters and first responders, the people of Washington, the people of our nation, in all your decency, determination, dedication, and kindness, and I am grateful. At a time when it feels like more and more people are giving up on our democracy, each of you are what gives me hope because YOU are our democracy — the people willing day in and day out to give of your time, your energy, your heart, and hard work to make things better and solve difficult problems. “
Agree completely with Frantz. We joined the government to achieve important objectives not achievable by the private sector. And no amount of bilge emanating from some pathetic X account changes that.
Some practical coping tips: Regulate your news intake, regulate your social media consumption (the algorithms are trying to make you angry and scared – that’s how they win), talk to your union rep, and talk to older employees that you trust; this is admittedly an unprecedented time, but their experiences may be more relevant than you might suspect.
My message to public employees? Hold your head high, minimize the noise, and continue serving the people of the United States and protecting its resources and interests. Whether you love or hate the person currently occupying the White House, be proud of the work you do. If you are worried your priorities are at risk, articulate your reasoning and defend your values.
As a federal employee for nearly 23 years, I’ve served with some of the smartest, hardest working, most selfless people I’ve ever encountered. I’ve also endured some of the laziest, most entitled and self-serving people I’ve ever encountered. The best public servants are often annoyed by the turbulence of changing policies, priorities, and political winds, but welcome the challenge and opportunity of justifying their actions and demonstrating their value. No one should fear accountability.
Personally, I am excited for the federal employees at my higher headquarters in San Antonio to return to the office because they are almost entirely ineffective and unresponsive when teleworking. I realize this is not the case with many workers in the public and private sectors, but there are enough bad apples that even the tech giants have largely retreated from the telework nirvana we thought COVID had ushered in.
As I prepare for a career transition, I have been working numerous fronts to develop an unpaid internship with the USFS. I have experienced a similar diversity of employees ranging from those who never answer phones or correspondence, to those who respond rapidly in spite of the numerous efforts they are continuously juggling. One particular District Ranger has impressed me so thoroughly I’m hoping to intern there just to witness her leadership in person.
As a federal employee the public conversation about “return to work” (as if we have not been working this whole time) is the distraction. Forcing me back into an office that doesn’t have a working elevator, whose water has been deemed undrinkable multiple times this year, and whose bathrooms are frequently out of order isn’t the way to go about this. Especially when agencies have not been given enough funds to pay for the leases that currently exist and do not have the space to support everyone. The lack of thought and planning on this is what makes this administration dangerous to employees and will cost all agencies more money in the end.
The real concern to federal employees is in the republican tax plan: moving those that are closest to retirement to pay a higher contribution into retirement, reduce our retirement amount by moving to a “high five”, changing work related travel/ per diem to taxable income, and moving our health care to a voucher program to name a few. Add to it removing the mortgage interest tax deduction, head of household deduction, and student loan interest deduction. This is why employees are stressed and why performance will likely go down.
And if you haven’t looked at the tax plan information yet, I hope this community also sees that it includes selling federal land to offset tax deductions that many federal employees will never have access to because of our tax brackets.
Many of us understand that with each administration changes in our work happens, we are used to it and adapt. But this is different. Please don’t discard employees feelings around it. Our limitations around lobbying for ourselves create an opportunity for you, our allies, to lean in and support us. We could use it right about now.