Those of us who were forced to resign or were fired for not taking the jab weren't given any kind of parachute - no unemployment, no severance, and absolutely no idea if/when we would be able to return to our careers again. I know there are probably some honorable federal employees who held their ground and lost their jobs due to the mandates, but I bet these people whining to the judges about their 8-month buyouts were the same people screaming to put us all in quarantine camps and handing out masks at the grocery store. Sorry guys but no sympathy here!
Hubs company, not a Federal contractor, forced the jab on their employees in April of 2021 and got a giant kickback from the government for having a 100% vaccinated crew. They are evil assholes.
OMgosh...he got a shot. In Seattle on the pier, in a line like at a concentration camp. He called me afterwards and told me he felt dirty. They gave him (me) 5 days notice he had to get the shot and I had to try for an exemption with paperwork from home, but they denied it. I think his take on it was different because he was in the military and they gave him a shit ton of shots. But I am running around at home in Idaho like a chicken with my head cut off looking up legal ways to head them off, health care waivers, getting notes from his doctor even (which they overrode). It was beyond awful. And they did threaten to terminate anyone who didn't comply. He had 27 years with them at that point...he got the shot, signed nothing (because I told him to sign his name then put UNDER DURESS beneath his signature). I looked up his one shot number in 'how bad is my batch' and it was not listed as one of the hot lots that kill or maim. And everyone on his boat is just fine. So, after all the prayers, he is healthy. They required 3 shots but urged more. But we had the vaccine card. I can honestly say it was the worst experience in my life and I have had some rough times. He has all the correspondence in writing with his company denying his exemption and I told him if anything happens to him I will own that damn fishing boat.
There was a lot of that going around, especially in Jaydolf's Socialist Republic of Washingtonstan! I have several relatives who were in similar positions and ended up getting the shot(s). There have been successful lawsuits against employers but it is not quick or easy so I understand why it is rarely done. I am glad your hubs did not get a "hot lot" and hope and pray he and all the others continue to live long, healthy lives. I recommend Ivermectin on the regular as a hedge against spike damage. I wish that all those under these illegal mandates had spoken with one voice, which would almost assuredly have worked. For example, if all the Seattle firefighters had said, "fight your own fires" and stood firm I believe the mandate would have gone away. Wishful thinking I know.
Yes, I asked if he could band together with the rest of the engineers and refuse and he said they were all told by their wives to 'for God's sake get the shot!!!' so those wussies did. Thank you for the thoughts.
Great point! I'd like to see more discussions around redeeming these brave Americans who stood up for freedom! Does anyone think they'll be conversations about that?
My son is a federal employee and he asked and was “granted” a religious accommodation with respect to the jab. He was not laid off or fired but we were on pins and needles for over a year waiting for the other shoe to drop. There is no erasing the stress he went through in the waiting. Guess what? He was not compensated for that. I am grateful he kept his position. He worked from home for a while as the bulk of the employees were mindlessly believing the contagion hype.
My cousin was a Federal employee, a career worker with HUD out in California for almost 40 years. He was a 71 year old ‘developmentally disabled’ functioning person, who got the Jabs. He ’retired’ in December 2022, in January 2023 was found dead in his apartment in The Bay Area. Another ‘died suddenly’ case. COD “probable hypertensive cardiovascular disease”.
Bloody right! I haven't been employed by anyone since 1990, so mandates never meant sheet to me. However, I have fought for those who are employed since early 2021.
Jenna McCarthy, you might be the most brilliant person I have ever met. Seriously. No kidding.
Government employees have had no real CEO or leadership for decades. People need leadership, rules and guidance. A Musk or a Trump who says you either do your fecking job or your fired. Simple. That's how it works in the private sector!
Giving those fat, lazy sons of a bitches 8 months golden blimp is mercy. Enough said.
Now we are finding out how enormouslly pampered these people are. I lost 2 jobs within a week back in the day. I found my husband sorting tools in the garage at 2:00 in the afternoon once. He was let go and sent home that day. No severance. He had a boss that would not honor a Deferred renumeration contract which cost us in excess of $300,000 to 500,000 in retirement. We took him to court but he told us he would ruin us. He could too. My hubby squealed on him a few years later to the state tax office and the bastard had to pay a fine over 1 million dollars. A payback of sorts. I can’t find my teeny, tiny violin for these people. A new Starbucks is being built in my small town. Just sayin.
And it still boggles my mind how any sane person would disagree with wanting to know where their money is going? And how can one really, deep down, expect to be paid for not working a true days work? Any other company would fire these people. It’s time to grow up and adult and expect adult consequences. I love your writing style Jenna. Straight shootin’ as some would say!
It's well-known that "Want security? work government. Want salary? go private sector."
In my government-environment employment I witnessed the odd spectacle of government workers "arguing" that they were "underpaid compared to the private sector." (Kinda like "stagflation": two things supposed to be mutually exclusive.) "Umm, yeah, that's WHY you came here in the first place, remember? You were too scared to work in the highly competitive arena--with the set of 'skills' you bring to the table...")
However they vote as a bloc to elect people who promise to deliver salary increases.
There oughta be a law against that kind of voter fraud.
government workers used to be paid less than private contractors, and private sector, always. I believe that changed over the past dozen years.
Additionally, there are so many contracted out positions for the US govt. Booz Allen, PWC etc. It is a wonder there are still employees that do anything. My daughter was a BAH contractor and worked at the Pentagon, doing all of the defense stuff. She repeatedly shared stories of how govt employees do not do anything except blab on their phones and shop online
I was a NASA subcontractor for a while and know a guy that works for NASA. (Actually they work pretty hard). But my NASA friend was absolutely convinced that he was being paid poorly compared to contractors. I don’t think he listened, when I told him the contractors only make better money if they are retired NASA guys or gals with connections in NASA. Straight out of college STEM folks make the same as him as contractors, but without the sweet, sweet separate sick leave, vacation, bereavement leave, and near iron clad job security. 🤦🏻♀️
As someone who was always self employed with no sick days, no vacation days and no employer health insurance, I’m finding it difficult to have any mercy for these government employees. 8 months pay and benefits!!!! I think that’s way too much an offer. And why wouldn’t anyone take the offer? It’s so crazy to me. Great take on this Jenna!
I worked 20 years “from home” for a small healthcare consultancy and typically put in 11-12 hours a day (much to my wife’s chagrin). If I’d only known what a gravy train working for the federal government was! Ah, lessons learned (albeit too late…).
Yes, I have worked from home, usually put in a lot more than eight hours, plus you never really get away from work at all. when I was working as far away from home as Tokyo, I was basically doing 18 hour days. I was never really not working, always on call at any hour. There is quite a lot of simplistic noise and broad brushing from both sides, on this.
From what I have read it is one or the other with telework employees. Either they work harder, like you, or they skip on work.
The nature of government work is such that the job security allows the lazy workers to goof off without the ability to fire them. I love telework if employment is based on deliverables.
Bless your heart Jenna. So well said. My daughter was forced to leave her job because she refused the jab. She was treated like she was the enemy. It turned her life upside down but also opened her eyes to many truths. These people have been coddled for far too long. Thank you.
I have a little different take on that email. I truly think it was one way of weeding out the people that cannot stand to work under Trump, similar to the loons who are getting sterilized because they don’t want to bring a child into the world under a Trump administration. Just another way to get rid of people who are under the spell of TDS. If you love your job and are willing to do it, ignore the email. Be a happy warrior for your professional responsibilities. Take pride in your work.
Scott Adams' Dilbert gave me one of my favorite cartoons. Staff meeting. Pointy-hair Boss introduces topic, "Corporate has ordered each office to conduct a staff review for purposes of identifying and eliminating deadwood." 2nd panel. PHB again, "Is there anyone who has so little to do that they have plenty of free time to help me get this done?" 3rd panel. New guy jumping up and down waving his hand. Last panel. PHB, "Good, good... er, anyone, else??"
And is this really all that different from asking illegals to self-identify and self-deport? (I am assuming there's a pot of money allocated for 'relocation assistance' to help volunteers get to the back of the line.)
Trump is right, these people are probably working multiple jobs, in their pyjamas, stuffing their fat faces with pop tarts whilst multi-tasking between their job setting up payments for the AirBNBs of Mongolian rapists and their other calling as a chocolate teapot. They should all be chained together and sent out 9-5 on the roads to fill the pot holes.
The other day my husband called a customer service representative for a company regarding a faulty product. He could hear roosters crowing in the background LOL. Another time he called a lawyers office regarding our wills and in the background a party was going on that was so loud he couldn’t hear the guy on the phone! I could hear the noise and I was nearby and not on the phone. He asked the guy on the phone if he could take the call in another room and he said no. My husband asked if there was a party going on and he said yes. It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I have no words.
My son was in his last weeks on probation for his job at DoD. While he was distressed by what is going on, he was happy to take the deal figuring eight months to hang out which will extend to the summer while he lazily looks for another position at full pay seems like a fantasy fulfilled. But he's new so maybe he hasn't developed the proper bureaucratic mentality yet.
Well news flash for your son…I wouldn’t kick back & relax for too long. Eight months can go by in a flash. There may be another job in his future, but he might want to go look for it now, rather than wait after the summer.
Sorry, but you lost me at “his job doesn’t define him”. That sounds like progressive woke, mambo jumbo to me.
Despite what you say, even with his ability to “find jobs”, what he does for work and how he is paid to do that work does “define him”. Otherwise he couldn’t get any job if he didn’t have some past experience in ”his field or profession”, even though “he has lots of connections”.
It neither matters if one “works for the Government” or as a plumber. Your “work/life experience” matters out in the work force.
I am older and now am “retired’ from a 40 year career in the architecture and design field. Consistently over the course of that 40 plus years ‘career’ invariably when I met new people, whether it was a work related situation or dating a new guy, one of the first questions out of there mouths was …”What do you do”?
I find it hard to believe in 2025, that all the young adults like your son have quit asking that question when they meet each other. And prospective employers likely are still looking at a prospective employee’s work/life experience.
That's shame. Perhaps for you architecture felt like a calling as my husband who was a classical musician felt. But I never did nor did this aon. We get our satisfactions in life elsewhere which is how society was before we all decided that money is more important than anything else
You have completely missed the point of my response. Why would you say “That’s shame”? My response to your comment was about the idea of one’s son coasting on a somewhat generous “government severance package” for the summer, as opposed to looking for a job now, while one was “coming along for the summer.
I never felt ‘defined’ personally by my career as an interior designer,/landscape designer/building designer or even considered it a ‘calling’. I went from being a ‘ceramics major’ in college which I loved, and switched my degree path to environmental/interior design, after coming to the reality in my early 20’s, that a ‘ceramics degree’ was not one that could sustain me financially over the course of my life. (Maybe I could have become a ceramics “teacher” but teaching was never my thing.)
I did not come from a wealthy or privileged family, so I had to support myself. I did it for the “money”. Which you seem to think is not a worthy or valuable thing to want to support oneself, which involves doing some type of ‘work’ and being paid to do it.
I was very good at my ‘job’ and had an interesting and at times quite challenging, 40 year career in the design/build profession. There is no “shame” in that IMO.
If they don’t like ithe buyout and don’t return to the office, then fire them. No severance, just a “goodbye, see ya later.”
I want to know who owns the office furniture company?
If no one is coming into the offices to begin with, then WHY are we buying $3.3 billion worth of new furniture? What idiot agreed to this? And who is benefiting? You know there is a huge story of grift behind this one. Just like USAID.
I wrote a stack about this too. Some readers actually sided with the office workers being able to get pay for doing nothing, even while at work, and implied I'm a meanie for wanting them to work for their pay. SMH!!!
I have worked from home for twenty-five years--with no benefits at all. If I don't work, I don't get paid. Period. It's amazing how quickly that little fact builds a work ethic.
I agree, except I doubt that all of those workers are Democrats. IMO, lots of Republicans have also gotten used to the easy life. In Congress and in that "workforce".
I have an acquaintance who works one of the jobs affected. He told me he usually does not vote. He could not vote for Ds because of their immoral stance on abortion but he could not vote for Rs because he knew his job would be at risk and because he has a large family and likes the handouts he receives.
When he told me that, my first thought was, “You need to find a legitimate job that actually produces something and stop coveting other people’s money to feed your family.”
Absolutely! Lots of "Rs" have sucked on that government teat, and loved, loved, loved that free milk! (They pretend they don't, though, lol.) On the other end of the spectrum, there have actually been some "Ds" who have been self-sufficient and eschewed handouts even when they could have made life so much easier (raises hand). Broad strokes are needed for humor (and I love Jenna's humor!) but can keep us stuck in certain patterns of thinking.
Most government employees are lazy AF, but (I'd wager) a few actually do work! It'll be interesting to see what happens. If I were in that position it would be tempting to take the money and figure out how to double my income for those months while creating a more meaningful life!
There are also plenty of moms and dads out there who, through working at home, may have been able to be there for their kids in a significant way for the first time. This can be a very good thing and something the "Rs" would seem to champion (if the workers were also actually working too).
Also, many benefits to our culture to working at home, if its feasible, that go beyond the obvious, including not spending hours commuting/creating traffic, and the massive expenditure of keeping real estate for the purpose of office jobs that could be done elsewhere.
When working from home (I was in all phases of data processing), it was great to not have to drive on the congested interstate or find a parking place and pay for parking when I worked downtown. Of course, my jobs mostly consisted of projects that had an hours number attached, so I could choose to just spend an eight hour day, or work through the night if feeling inspired - or running a big system test. And in the office, some were always on smoke breaks or gone out for lunch somewhere or whatever. A very mixed bag. I did have a couple of online jobs where screenshots were taken at random intervals and keystrokes were counted. But software maintenance, for example, sometimes consists of spending quite a few hours just trying to figure out wtf the programmer was thinking or if the user was misrepresenting the problem. All hard to quantify. I wonder what kind of jobs are being cut. And I hope everyone involved finds another job; I am not really into the haha! thing.
Y’all might be missing the essential bloody point. Please comment if you agree or disagree. I welcome dissent.
I was CEO and chief bottle washer of a relatively small (but, seriously relevant) import and distribution company for over 25 years. I can't remember exactly how many sales people I employed in that time. I never micromanaged one person; not one. I only ever fired one person for not performing.
I was completely transparent at all times. I said to everyone that worked with me (note that I said with me) that I don't give a damn how you manage your time because I don't know how you tick. Heres the deal. These are my expectations and how you get it done professionally is up to you.
Work smart. It's never the hours that matter. If you can see 20 accounts in two days and sell a pant load of vino then fabulous.
We need people to be motivated to be working smart and productive. Everyone wins!
Agree! I would add I'll never ask someone to do something for me that I wouldn't do (or haven't done) myself. Clear expectations and free reign to get the job done!
Precisely, Jenna! I always understood every job because at one point I had to do that friggin job. A good leader knows what they are good at and what they suck at.
Excellent point, Chuck! I couldn't and wouldn't micromanage, but they were held accountable. That is what I love about sales! It's all transparent. Your sales numbers are genuine and tangible.
Today, I would be seriously considered a horrible BOSS LADY. ;)
Indeed, excellent point, Chuck. Government actions suck because "there is no feedback loop." FAILURES do not redound back onto the failers and cause them to go the h*ll out of business! More often than not, in government, FAILURE is used as PROOF that EVEN MORE RESOURCES need to be devoted to THE PARTICULAR RAT HOLE!
Government, as an entity, EXPECTS to FAIL! How could it not, given what it accepts as predicates? As a consequence, it ACCEPTS failures by its EMPLOYEES as the norm.
Yeah, Kat, don't know how common your type is among CEOs. I never met a boss like you--after I graduated college that is. Before college, down in the trenches, I did have bosses that absolutely had peoples' backs.
My old dad advised me this way, "Son, (that's what he called me sometimes) remember, you're not looking for a good job, you're looking for a great boss. Find that, and work will be joy."
OTOH, he never went along on a job interview with me, so I found there was still a lot of guesswork involved.
My husband is a federal employee, I voted for Trump, and I agree with what’s been said here. Yes, my husband may lose his job—which is pretty much the situation many employed people in the private sector face from time to time. I am not engaging in any performative panic for TikTok like many others. My husband never worked from home—we have 6 kids—he can’t get out the door fast enough in the morning. All this to say that my family will be fine—and so will everyone else if they can manage a little grit and resourcefulness.
I never like to paint situations like this with a broad brush. Your husband is probably a hard worker and good employee, and could probably tell all kinds of stories about other employees that are not. I'm sure his position is secure.
Those of us who were forced to resign or were fired for not taking the jab weren't given any kind of parachute - no unemployment, no severance, and absolutely no idea if/when we would be able to return to our careers again. I know there are probably some honorable federal employees who held their ground and lost their jobs due to the mandates, but I bet these people whining to the judges about their 8-month buyouts were the same people screaming to put us all in quarantine camps and handing out masks at the grocery store. Sorry guys but no sympathy here!
Excellent point!
Ten thousand percent agree. ZERO SYMPATHY! An 8 month buy out “isn’t enough time”!?! Believe me, “Bless their Hearts” is NOT what I’m thinking!
7 months tooooo long.
YES, THIS!!!! In the fall of 2021, people were given a couple weeks to get the jab or find other employment. Exemptions were hard to come by.
Hubs company, not a Federal contractor, forced the jab on their employees in April of 2021 and got a giant kickback from the government for having a 100% vaccinated crew. They are evil assholes.
Did your Hubs comply or quit?
OMgosh...he got a shot. In Seattle on the pier, in a line like at a concentration camp. He called me afterwards and told me he felt dirty. They gave him (me) 5 days notice he had to get the shot and I had to try for an exemption with paperwork from home, but they denied it. I think his take on it was different because he was in the military and they gave him a shit ton of shots. But I am running around at home in Idaho like a chicken with my head cut off looking up legal ways to head them off, health care waivers, getting notes from his doctor even (which they overrode). It was beyond awful. And they did threaten to terminate anyone who didn't comply. He had 27 years with them at that point...he got the shot, signed nothing (because I told him to sign his name then put UNDER DURESS beneath his signature). I looked up his one shot number in 'how bad is my batch' and it was not listed as one of the hot lots that kill or maim. And everyone on his boat is just fine. So, after all the prayers, he is healthy. They required 3 shots but urged more. But we had the vaccine card. I can honestly say it was the worst experience in my life and I have had some rough times. He has all the correspondence in writing with his company denying his exemption and I told him if anything happens to him I will own that damn fishing boat.
There was a lot of that going around, especially in Jaydolf's Socialist Republic of Washingtonstan! I have several relatives who were in similar positions and ended up getting the shot(s). There have been successful lawsuits against employers but it is not quick or easy so I understand why it is rarely done. I am glad your hubs did not get a "hot lot" and hope and pray he and all the others continue to live long, healthy lives. I recommend Ivermectin on the regular as a hedge against spike damage. I wish that all those under these illegal mandates had spoken with one voice, which would almost assuredly have worked. For example, if all the Seattle firefighters had said, "fight your own fires" and stood firm I believe the mandate would have gone away. Wishful thinking I know.
Yes, I asked if he could band together with the rest of the engineers and refuse and he said they were all told by their wives to 'for God's sake get the shot!!!' so those wussies did. Thank you for the thoughts.
Great point! I'd like to see more discussions around redeeming these brave Americans who stood up for freedom! Does anyone think they'll be conversations about that?
I was self-employed so I could easily refuse the shots, but I was downgraded to Non-Essential!! I’ll never forget.
And I’ll never forget our decorated army buddy, Reserves officer who died after taking the shot. The military did an autopsy, yep myocarditis.
The whining federal employees can go jump in a lake as my mom would say.
You and your mom sound like real ladies. I have another phrase to replace 'go jump in a lake'.
I debated about ‘jump in a lake’ vs fuck off!!
As an “essential” worker who was fired for not getting the jab—I couldn’t agree more with this sentiment!!
My son is a federal employee and he asked and was “granted” a religious accommodation with respect to the jab. He was not laid off or fired but we were on pins and needles for over a year waiting for the other shoe to drop. There is no erasing the stress he went through in the waiting. Guess what? He was not compensated for that. I am grateful he kept his position. He worked from home for a while as the bulk of the employees were mindlessly believing the contagion hype.
My cousin was a Federal employee, a career worker with HUD out in California for almost 40 years. He was a 71 year old ‘developmentally disabled’ functioning person, who got the Jabs. He ’retired’ in December 2022, in January 2023 was found dead in his apartment in The Bay Area. Another ‘died suddenly’ case. COD “probable hypertensive cardiovascular disease”.
Bloody right! I haven't been employed by anyone since 1990, so mandates never meant sheet to me. However, I have fought for those who are employed since early 2021.
Never ever comply to BS. Mandates are BS
This💯
Well said
That says it all, folks!
Jenna McCarthy, you might be the most brilliant person I have ever met. Seriously. No kidding.
Government employees have had no real CEO or leadership for decades. People need leadership, rules and guidance. A Musk or a Trump who says you either do your fecking job or your fired. Simple. That's how it works in the private sector!
Giving those fat, lazy sons of a bitches 8 months golden blimp is mercy. Enough said.
XOXOXOXOXO
Omg, I have so much more to say, but I would rather read my tribes comments. So much more fun!
Now we are finding out how enormouslly pampered these people are. I lost 2 jobs within a week back in the day. I found my husband sorting tools in the garage at 2:00 in the afternoon once. He was let go and sent home that day. No severance. He had a boss that would not honor a Deferred renumeration contract which cost us in excess of $300,000 to 500,000 in retirement. We took him to court but he told us he would ruin us. He could too. My hubby squealed on him a few years later to the state tax office and the bastard had to pay a fine over 1 million dollars. A payback of sorts. I can’t find my teeny, tiny violin for these people. A new Starbucks is being built in my small town. Just sayin.
maybe a bassoon for the buffoons. Maybe lol
And it still boggles my mind how any sane person would disagree with wanting to know where their money is going? And how can one really, deep down, expect to be paid for not working a true days work? Any other company would fire these people. It’s time to grow up and adult and expect adult consequences. I love your writing style Jenna. Straight shootin’ as some would say!
government employees are very very difficult to fire.
In fact, over the years, many encourage friends and family to "get into the system" it is
a job for life - and you can goof off bc there are so many of you.
Teachers unions are pretty much the same.
hysterical that teachers have a union if our Government is supposed to be funding and "running" the schools. What a crack up that is.
It seems to be it should be illegal.
It's well-known that "Want security? work government. Want salary? go private sector."
In my government-environment employment I witnessed the odd spectacle of government workers "arguing" that they were "underpaid compared to the private sector." (Kinda like "stagflation": two things supposed to be mutually exclusive.) "Umm, yeah, that's WHY you came here in the first place, remember? You were too scared to work in the highly competitive arena--with the set of 'skills' you bring to the table...")
However they vote as a bloc to elect people who promise to deliver salary increases.
There oughta be a law against that kind of voter fraud.
government workers used to be paid less than private contractors, and private sector, always. I believe that changed over the past dozen years.
Additionally, there are so many contracted out positions for the US govt. Booz Allen, PWC etc. It is a wonder there are still employees that do anything. My daughter was a BAH contractor and worked at the Pentagon, doing all of the defense stuff. She repeatedly shared stories of how govt employees do not do anything except blab on their phones and shop online
I was a NASA subcontractor for a while and know a guy that works for NASA. (Actually they work pretty hard). But my NASA friend was absolutely convinced that he was being paid poorly compared to contractors. I don’t think he listened, when I told him the contractors only make better money if they are retired NASA guys or gals with connections in NASA. Straight out of college STEM folks make the same as him as contractors, but without the sweet, sweet separate sick leave, vacation, bereavement leave, and near iron clad job security. 🤦🏻♀️
yes, the job security, insurance benefits all of that. You are correct
As someone who was always self employed with no sick days, no vacation days and no employer health insurance, I’m finding it difficult to have any mercy for these government employees. 8 months pay and benefits!!!! I think that’s way too much an offer. And why wouldn’t anyone take the offer? It’s so crazy to me. Great take on this Jenna!
The smart ones took the offer.
I worked 20 years “from home” for a small healthcare consultancy and typically put in 11-12 hours a day (much to my wife’s chagrin). If I’d only known what a gravy train working for the federal government was! Ah, lessons learned (albeit too late…).
Yes, I have worked from home, usually put in a lot more than eight hours, plus you never really get away from work at all. when I was working as far away from home as Tokyo, I was basically doing 18 hour days. I was never really not working, always on call at any hour. There is quite a lot of simplistic noise and broad brushing from both sides, on this.
You are an exception. It has a lot to do with one's character. A huge amount don't have any.
Amen, Carolyn. 🙏🙄
From what I have read it is one or the other with telework employees. Either they work harder, like you, or they skip on work.
The nature of government work is such that the job security allows the lazy workers to goof off without the ability to fire them. I love telework if employment is based on deliverables.
But I’ll bet you are not the type to look for a gravy train. 11-12 hour work days shows your dedication to excellence and giving your best.
"What do you think about the current administration’s audacious demands on the federal workforce?" A: Cry me a river.
Indeed!
Bless your heart Jenna. So well said. My daughter was forced to leave her job because she refused the jab. She was treated like she was the enemy. It turned her life upside down but also opened her eyes to many truths. These people have been coddled for far too long. Thank you.
I have a little different take on that email. I truly think it was one way of weeding out the people that cannot stand to work under Trump, similar to the loons who are getting sterilized because they don’t want to bring a child into the world under a Trump administration. Just another way to get rid of people who are under the spell of TDS. If you love your job and are willing to do it, ignore the email. Be a happy warrior for your professional responsibilities. Take pride in your work.
Interesting hypothesis! :)
Scott Adams' Dilbert gave me one of my favorite cartoons. Staff meeting. Pointy-hair Boss introduces topic, "Corporate has ordered each office to conduct a staff review for purposes of identifying and eliminating deadwood." 2nd panel. PHB again, "Is there anyone who has so little to do that they have plenty of free time to help me get this done?" 3rd panel. New guy jumping up and down waving his hand. Last panel. PHB, "Good, good... er, anyone, else??"
And is this really all that different from asking illegals to self-identify and self-deport? (I am assuming there's a pot of money allocated for 'relocation assistance' to help volunteers get to the back of the line.)
My thoughts all along, and if it's real, a brilliant strategy!
Trump is right, these people are probably working multiple jobs, in their pyjamas, stuffing their fat faces with pop tarts whilst multi-tasking between their job setting up payments for the AirBNBs of Mongolian rapists and their other calling as a chocolate teapot. They should all be chained together and sent out 9-5 on the roads to fill the pot holes.
The other day my husband called a customer service representative for a company regarding a faulty product. He could hear roosters crowing in the background LOL. Another time he called a lawyers office regarding our wills and in the background a party was going on that was so loud he couldn’t hear the guy on the phone! I could hear the noise and I was nearby and not on the phone. He asked the guy on the phone if he could take the call in another room and he said no. My husband asked if there was a party going on and he said yes. It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I have no words.
OMGGGGGGGGG
Sounds like it’s time to get a new lawyer, holy guacamole!
Sometimes, Dan, it's a simple image that brings such a comfort.
My son was in his last weeks on probation for his job at DoD. While he was distressed by what is going on, he was happy to take the deal figuring eight months to hang out which will extend to the summer while he lazily looks for another position at full pay seems like a fantasy fulfilled. But he's new so maybe he hasn't developed the proper bureaucratic mentality yet.
Well news flash for your son…I wouldn’t kick back & relax for too long. Eight months can go by in a flash. There may be another job in his future, but he might want to go look for it now, rather than wait after the summer.
Thanks but he's actually quite good at finding good jobs and has lots of connections. His job doesn't define him.
Sorry, but you lost me at “his job doesn’t define him”. That sounds like progressive woke, mambo jumbo to me.
Despite what you say, even with his ability to “find jobs”, what he does for work and how he is paid to do that work does “define him”. Otherwise he couldn’t get any job if he didn’t have some past experience in ”his field or profession”, even though “he has lots of connections”.
It neither matters if one “works for the Government” or as a plumber. Your “work/life experience” matters out in the work force.
I am older and now am “retired’ from a 40 year career in the architecture and design field. Consistently over the course of that 40 plus years ‘career’ invariably when I met new people, whether it was a work related situation or dating a new guy, one of the first questions out of there mouths was …”What do you do”?
I find it hard to believe in 2025, that all the young adults like your son have quit asking that question when they meet each other. And prospective employers likely are still looking at a prospective employee’s work/life experience.
That's shame. Perhaps for you architecture felt like a calling as my husband who was a classical musician felt. But I never did nor did this aon. We get our satisfactions in life elsewhere which is how society was before we all decided that money is more important than anything else
You have completely missed the point of my response. Why would you say “That’s shame”? My response to your comment was about the idea of one’s son coasting on a somewhat generous “government severance package” for the summer, as opposed to looking for a job now, while one was “coming along for the summer.
I never felt ‘defined’ personally by my career as an interior designer,/landscape designer/building designer or even considered it a ‘calling’. I went from being a ‘ceramics major’ in college which I loved, and switched my degree path to environmental/interior design, after coming to the reality in my early 20’s, that a ‘ceramics degree’ was not one that could sustain me financially over the course of my life. (Maybe I could have become a ceramics “teacher” but teaching was never my thing.)
I did not come from a wealthy or privileged family, so I had to support myself. I did it for the “money”. Which you seem to think is not a worthy or valuable thing to want to support oneself, which involves doing some type of ‘work’ and being paid to do it.
I was very good at my ‘job’ and had an interesting and at times quite challenging, 40 year career in the design/build profession. There is no “shame” in that IMO.
If they don’t like ithe buyout and don’t return to the office, then fire them. No severance, just a “goodbye, see ya later.”
I want to know who owns the office furniture company?
If no one is coming into the offices to begin with, then WHY are we buying $3.3 billion worth of new furniture? What idiot agreed to this? And who is benefiting? You know there is a huge story of grift behind this one. Just like USAID.
I wrote a stack about this too. Some readers actually sided with the office workers being able to get pay for doing nothing, even while at work, and implied I'm a meanie for wanting them to work for their pay. SMH!!!
I have worked from home for twenty-five years--with no benefits at all. If I don't work, I don't get paid. Period. It's amazing how quickly that little fact builds a work ethic.
Exactly. same here. 💕
Me too, self employed for 37 years. I thank my grandmother for giving me a work ethic, and a ‘penny saved is a penny earned’ philosophy.
And now....no more pennies.
I agree, except I doubt that all of those workers are Democrats. IMO, lots of Republicans have also gotten used to the easy life. In Congress and in that "workforce".
I have an acquaintance who works one of the jobs affected. He told me he usually does not vote. He could not vote for Ds because of their immoral stance on abortion but he could not vote for Rs because he knew his job would be at risk and because he has a large family and likes the handouts he receives.
When he told me that, my first thought was, “You need to find a legitimate job that actually produces something and stop coveting other people’s money to feed your family.”
Absolutely! Lots of "Rs" have sucked on that government teat, and loved, loved, loved that free milk! (They pretend they don't, though, lol.) On the other end of the spectrum, there have actually been some "Ds" who have been self-sufficient and eschewed handouts even when they could have made life so much easier (raises hand). Broad strokes are needed for humor (and I love Jenna's humor!) but can keep us stuck in certain patterns of thinking.
Most government employees are lazy AF, but (I'd wager) a few actually do work! It'll be interesting to see what happens. If I were in that position it would be tempting to take the money and figure out how to double my income for those months while creating a more meaningful life!
There are also plenty of moms and dads out there who, through working at home, may have been able to be there for their kids in a significant way for the first time. This can be a very good thing and something the "Rs" would seem to champion (if the workers were also actually working too).
Also, many benefits to our culture to working at home, if its feasible, that go beyond the obvious, including not spending hours commuting/creating traffic, and the massive expenditure of keeping real estate for the purpose of office jobs that could be done elsewhere.
When working from home (I was in all phases of data processing), it was great to not have to drive on the congested interstate or find a parking place and pay for parking when I worked downtown. Of course, my jobs mostly consisted of projects that had an hours number attached, so I could choose to just spend an eight hour day, or work through the night if feeling inspired - or running a big system test. And in the office, some were always on smoke breaks or gone out for lunch somewhere or whatever. A very mixed bag. I did have a couple of online jobs where screenshots were taken at random intervals and keystrokes were counted. But software maintenance, for example, sometimes consists of spending quite a few hours just trying to figure out wtf the programmer was thinking or if the user was misrepresenting the problem. All hard to quantify. I wonder what kind of jobs are being cut. And I hope everyone involved finds another job; I am not really into the haha! thing.
Okay, sorry I have to add something.
Y’all might be missing the essential bloody point. Please comment if you agree or disagree. I welcome dissent.
I was CEO and chief bottle washer of a relatively small (but, seriously relevant) import and distribution company for over 25 years. I can't remember exactly how many sales people I employed in that time. I never micromanaged one person; not one. I only ever fired one person for not performing.
I was completely transparent at all times. I said to everyone that worked with me (note that I said with me) that I don't give a damn how you manage your time because I don't know how you tick. Heres the deal. These are my expectations and how you get it done professionally is up to you.
Work smart. It's never the hours that matter. If you can see 20 accounts in two days and sell a pant load of vino then fabulous.
We need people to be motivated to be working smart and productive. Everyone wins!
Agree! I would add I'll never ask someone to do something for me that I wouldn't do (or haven't done) myself. Clear expectations and free reign to get the job done!
Precisely, Jenna! I always understood every job because at one point I had to do that friggin job. A good leader knows what they are good at and what they suck at.
I thought this sheet was common sense?!
I say give 'em free rein--like the best horses get. But give 'em free rain if you want. It's your stack.
Your employees were held accountable. Government employees generally are not.
Excellent point, Chuck! I couldn't and wouldn't micromanage, but they were held accountable. That is what I love about sales! It's all transparent. Your sales numbers are genuine and tangible.
Today, I would be seriously considered a horrible BOSS LADY. ;)
Indeed, excellent point, Chuck. Government actions suck because "there is no feedback loop." FAILURES do not redound back onto the failers and cause them to go the h*ll out of business! More often than not, in government, FAILURE is used as PROOF that EVEN MORE RESOURCES need to be devoted to THE PARTICULAR RAT HOLE!
Government, as an entity, EXPECTS to FAIL! How could it not, given what it accepts as predicates? As a consequence, it ACCEPTS failures by its EMPLOYEES as the norm.
Yeah, Kat, don't know how common your type is among CEOs. I never met a boss like you--after I graduated college that is. Before college, down in the trenches, I did have bosses that absolutely had peoples' backs.
My old dad advised me this way, "Son, (that's what he called me sometimes) remember, you're not looking for a good job, you're looking for a great boss. Find that, and work will be joy."
OTOH, he never went along on a job interview with me, so I found there was still a lot of guesswork involved.
My husband is a federal employee, I voted for Trump, and I agree with what’s been said here. Yes, my husband may lose his job—which is pretty much the situation many employed people in the private sector face from time to time. I am not engaging in any performative panic for TikTok like many others. My husband never worked from home—we have 6 kids—he can’t get out the door fast enough in the morning. All this to say that my family will be fine—and so will everyone else if they can manage a little grit and resourcefulness.
Great comment - thank you! (Laughed out loud at “can’t get out the door fast enough” haha!). Best to you and your family!
I never like to paint situations like this with a broad brush. Your husband is probably a hard worker and good employee, and could probably tell all kinds of stories about other employees that are not. I'm sure his position is secure.