I am not saying this is Trump fraud, waste and abuse in action…

[Rahskie]

I think the issue with the email had more to do with humiliating them in hopes it might lead to further departures and since it also came through over the weekend when some employees didn't have access to their email or could have been on vacation/leave etc... the narrow timeline meant people could be fired even before they had an opportunity to respond.

This is straight out of Project 2025 where Russell Vought, the new OMB director, advocated traumatizing the workforce. So it's not the bullet points themselves that caused the outrage, it was the appearance that the federal employees weren't trusted or lazy and their job/mortgages/family were at risk if they didn't respond in a timely or a correct manner. It came across as unnecessary cruelty from an unelected ahole who appears to enjoy toying with people's lives..

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dude they said it was to make sure people were actually at work checking email. They stated there was concern that there were employees not connected or online working from home where we know email is the main communication tool. You basically are calling this bullshit, but I believe this is a VERY effective way to see if people are connected and at least paying attention to work related stuff. It is once a week......if you cannot do it, then that is a real problem in my opinion. Simple task and an opportunity for an employee to remove any doubt that they are at work AND working on important shit. If I was an employee, I would welcome the opportunity to PROVE that I am useful. People are getting fired......let me prove my worth. I have to provide updates to my boss on a regular and consistent basis, so this is not like it is something that is totally wacky.

 

[Dadar]

Agreed. We have somehow made it fine to criticize these folks who are just trying to do their jobs. That's partially why I'm such an aggressive defender of public teachers. Their are certainly some employees, like every organization who are poor employees, but the blanket negativity around Public Service workers is nuts.

Good point, mention of public education and teachers should probably have been at the top

 

[dpic73]

dude they said it was to make sure people were actually at work checking email. They stated there was concern that there were employees not connected or online working from home where we know email is the main communication tool. You basically are calling this bullshit, but I believe this is a VERY effective way to see if people are connected and at least paying attention to work related stuff. It is once a week......if you cannot do it, then that is a real problem in my opinion. Simple task and an opportunity for an employee to remove any doubt that they are at work AND working on important shit. If I was an employee, I would welcome the opportunity to PROVE that I am useful. People are getting fired......let me prove my worth. I have to provide updates to my boss on a regular and consistent basis, so this is not like it is something that is totally wacky.

Dude, that was his later excuse and I will repeat, it came through over the weekend and gave them one day to respond when they may have been out that day, without an opportunity to reply.

And it came with a clear threat that they would otherwise be fired, which is just obnoxious, unprofessional fear-mongering. They also didn't know if they would be fired if they didn't respond in a way that would please Der Fuhrer, so it's one thing to say you've also had to do that for your job but I guarantee you it didn't come with the threat of your dismissal from someone who had no idea about the work you do.

He could have sent them the request the week before but the lack of notice just added to the cruelty of it. And let's not forget that many of these people perform classified work that shouldn't be exposed through an unsecured email system. Working for the government is not the same as working for Piggly Wiggly corporate.

 

[southerncaltiger]

I will also say this, nobody who has ever had to personally terminate employees acts like Musk. It sucks firing peoplez even if they aren't great at their jobs. It impacts a lot of people and I was always aware of that.

Sometimes it's necessary,but I never celebrated it.

So the aging Weber Grill you see in many of my “Weekend Grilling” posts? That was a gift from Jacqueline, a GaTech educated engineer that I was close to at SCE (not a lot of ACC folks, so we had to stick together, lol). I supported her group on a number of regulatory issues and she was always so appreciative. Sent me internal “points”—enough to purchase the grill from our Ace Awards internal site.

She was let go in 2015 during one of those cutbacks I mentioned earlier…when they (after a Bain whiz kids analysis) decided to completely eliminate her work group—about 5 or 6 employees.

She stopped at my office doorway, in tears, with a security escort & holding a box of her office stuff. I gave her a hug and said goodbye. She was smart & landed on her feet, but it wasn’t handled well at all in my opinion.

So yeah, true assholes make fun of shit like that. Shouldn’t be celebrated or poked fun at publicly, even if it is an “addition by subtraction” severance.

 

[yoshi121374]

So the aging Weber Grill you see in many of my “Weekend Grilling” posts? That was a gift from Jacqueline, a GaTech educated engineer that I was close to at SCE (not a lot of ACC folks, so we had to stick together, lol). I supported her group on a number of regulatory issues and she was always so appreciative. Sent me internal “points”—enough to purchase the grill from our Ace Awards internal site.

She was let go in 2015 during one of those cutbacks I mentioned earlier…when they (after a Bain whiz kids analysis) decided to completely eliminate her work group—about 5 or 6 employees.

She stopped at my office doorway, in tears, with a security escort & holding a box of her office stuff. I gave her a hug and said goodbye. She was smart & landed on her feet, but it wasn’t handled well at all in my opinion.

So yeah, true assholes make fun of shit like that. Shouldn’t be celebrated or poked fun at publicly, even if it is an “addition by subtraction” severance.

How you treat employees, from the beginning until the end is where you demonstrate your company identity and philosophy. Sometimes it's necessary to reduce,adjust to changes, or even eliminate a position due to performance. Your other employees are watching and judging.

It helps me sleep better at night to know that I have treated my folks with respect and empathy. I also regularly provide feedback and when needed performance coaching documentation. By the time I had to terminate an employee for performance, they knew why,knew it was coming, and shouldn't have been shocked.

I always try to put myself in their shoes, something that's probably pretty hard for folks who have been rich since birth, and never were threatened with losing their livelihood at the drop of a hat

 

[UrHuckleberry]

Who is the "Deep State" and how do "they" do these nebulous nefarious things?

I think @hinds62 is referring to the beaurocracy at large. The agencies that have to interpret the laws and how they will be applied. So the argument is they take a broad law and apply it in ways that wasn't intended by Congress.

 

[yoshi121374]

I think @hinds62 is referring to the beaurocracy at large. The agencies that have to interpret the laws and how they will be applied. So the argument is they take a broad law and apply it in ways that wasn't intended by Congress.

I mean, could we all apply that to Trump since he is literally doing the same thing?

 

[UrHuckleberry]

I mean, could we all apply that to Trump since he is literally doing the same thing?

Right, I mean, laws aren't typically passed with enough detail to show exactly how it is going to functionally happen when its a regulation level etc (federal law says X chemical can't be more than X%, as an example. The law often just says that, and then the agency, assuming EPA/FDA in this example, would then set the specifics, like companies have to provide a sample or have an independent regulator do a test once per quarter, or whatever. So Congress does the law, but the agency interpreted it and made it functional). All of that could be wrong as its just my understanding. But I have heard push back that that makes the agency lawmakers as the once per quarter for example wasn't in the actual law from Congress. And Republican's do often push back on all those regulations on businesses in general. I get the argument, but HATE using "Deep State" and trying to make it nefarious, when it really is likely just someone trying to do their job and keep the law to the best of their ability.

 

[CUTiger1977]