A while back I wrote a post on annoying coworkers and how to deal with them. It clearly struck a nerve – after all, spending 40+ hours a week with someone who drives you nuts can really color your overall work experience. If those annoying coworkers stand out most in our minds, at least we canRead… Read more »
Government increasingly advocates for enhanced telework opportunities within the federal space. However, according to a 2013 report on telework in the federal government, many employees face management resistance when attempting to work remotely. This isn’t really surprising. Teleworking has gotten a bad rap for decreasing productivity, disrupting work routines, and creating security issues. The recent PatentRead… Read more »
Sometimes I wonder why good people suffer so in organizational life. For example: Messengers of doom are punished or ignored rather than rewarded. Computer glitches, safety lapses, ineffective leadership; employees who show every sign of endangering the workplace. All of these are routinely reported by attentive people, and frequently just as swiftly disregarded. StrategicRead… Read more »
DO YOU THINK YOU CAN’T GET FIRED? Don’t tell me that it’s never crossed your mind. When you become a tenured government employee, after around five years of service in most agencies, it’s natural to heave a great sigh of relief that you won’t be cashing unemployment checks any time soon. Urban legend says it’s impossibleRead… Read more »
Shortly before I left my previous job in April, I was sitting in a meeting when the host explained “this is the meeting before the meeting before the meeting,” and I couldn’t help but make a wise crack about it… after all, I had one foot out the door. I had spent the past threeRead… Read more »
I wonder, how many adults equate their annual performance evaluations with your progress reports of our primary school years? I doubt many, we tend to think those things are beyond us. The fact is, did we not even as adults going through our higher education years consider that our “grades” matter? As you know, sometimesRead… Read more »
Employee engagement is one of the biggest challenges facing the public sector. As agencies’ missions continue to grow increasingly complex and many senior staff prepare for retirement, the public sector must place an emphasis on recruiting and retaining the next generation of public leaders. This crucial topic was the basis of Tuesday’s Governing webinar, Engage,Read… Read more »
A few weeks ago, GovLoop hosted a Career Energizer event. The program featured an awesome husband-wife duo: Larry Chloupek is an award-winning mentor at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He’s also the first person to complete the Boston Marathon on crutches (and break a world record in the process!). Jennifer Chloupek is an Executive Coach atRead… Read more »
Over the years I’ve been fortunate to receive some really good advice from senior government leaders. I carry these “golden nuggets” around in my brain and refer to them often. Hope they are useful to you! 1. “If you want to be successful, be polite, be professional, and have a good work ethic.” 2. “TheRead… Read more »
Every person aspires to their career choice based on a past positive internship, a favorite relative, movie or TV show. For example, the USA Network TV show “Suits” provides business lessons for everyone to use while exploring the world of corporate lawyers and their legal endeavors. While the program is set in a fictional law firmRead… Read more »