I am a federal employee
I am a federal employee with the US Department of Labor, Office of Workers Compensation Programs. I am currently in "excepted, full-time" status, which means that I report to work without pay for the duration of the shutdown. I consider myself fortunate, in that I have a reasonable expectation of back pay when a budget is passed. From my desk, I can see plenty of empty chairs of co-workers who are furloughed. They are, by and large, the same co-workers who were stung by the sequestration furloughs this past spring and summer.
The best word to describe the last two days at work is "funereal". Silence is the new norm, and apart from various conversations about the obvious, we work on what we are allowed to work on, and watch the stack of things we can't do grow. The atmosphere is utterly draining; I walk in and feel the life ebb out of my bones, a slow and steady seepage, as I plot out my day and how to work my "8 and only 8" (no one wants to be caught short, and no one is confident that payroll will sort out any credit hours we may work).
We all live in fear of the common cold. There is no leave at all, so either getting sick or having a sick child is out of the question. No one wants to find out what happens if we are classified AWOL because we missed a day during the shutdown.
The vibe at work is toxic. I look at my coworkers, all of whom are fully capable and dedicated public servants, and wonder how they're going to make their mortgage payments and car notes and utility bills and maybe they have a secret I don't know about? The thing is, I can see the same questions in their eyes when they look at me.
I really enjoy my job, most days. I think the program I work for is a good one, that the work I do is meaningful to the population I serve, and I've spoken with plenty of employees, widows and children of employees who've thanked me for the help I've been able to offer. The last two days have taken quite a toll on that feeling.
Mostly, I'm tired of being used as political leverage, tired of being told over and over again (in deed, if not in so many words) by our elected officials that I'm not worth the money they pay me, that I'm the embodiment of waste and what's wrong with America. It seems to me, from my unvaunted position, that my livelihood and my ability to provide for my family is nothing more than a bargaining chip to be tossed on the table from time to time....and that's a pretty rotten feeling. The president wrote a public letter to federal employees in which he said that the way we're treated by Washington is not fair. The only thing I took from that letter was "Finally, someone said it!" It wasn't that much of a comfort, to be honest.
I should go to bed soon and try to sleep. I haven't gotten much sleep this week, and I'm not sure that will change any time soon. So yes, debate the ideologies and the issues and the personalities involved, but spare a thought for the federal employees, if you can.
Thanks.
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until they don't have it any more, and maybe this will help remind people that the government serves a good purpose and we need it and its employees. I just had a conversation this afternoon with a very helpful federal employee who called me to give me some information about my Social Security application - something very helpful that I would not have known if he had not called me.
I used to work for the state, and we got crap, too - you know, the usual canard about being overpaid and unnecessary; who really needs government, blah, blah, blah - so I do get it. I hope this doesn't last much longer but while it does maybe some people will wake up and realize that many things they take for granted won't happen unless government employees are there to do them.
Good luck to you.
and will stay there until everyone goes back to work. So sorry for all of this unnecessary crap that all of you are having to deal with.
My thoughts are with you.
A public service job can often be thankless. But you know the value of what you do, and even when that's all you have, you have to trust what you know.
I did the public service thing a long time ago. I was dedicated and conscientious and a lot of my time ended up being unpaid. I ended up with some top awards, but even without them I knew I was doing the right thing and that was enough to keep me going.
Hang in there. I hope the silence will end soon, when your missing colleagues are allowed to return to work.
I'm a public servant in Australia, and what public servants do does contribute to society and is valuable work. And it's that treating them like they're nothing more than a bargaining chip to be held hostage that shouldn't be allowed to happen. Appropriation bills should NEVER be blocked or hijacked with unrelated stuff tacked onto them, and I hope something's done in the US to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Hang in there. Hopefully yr colleagues will be back on board really soon
