Woah, January! If you were watching the stockmarket last month you were in for a wild ride. The stock market was incredibly volatile last month. “Our Chief Investment Officer said in January there were 10 days where there were 100 points swings. It was a roller coaster,” Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs, Federal Retirement ThriftRead… Read more »
Perhaps the most popular example of average Americans resisting authority came during the Prohibition Era of 1920-1933. Putting aside the imagery of movies like The Untouchables, moonshine & home breweries took on bigger, albeit clandestine, role in American innovation. Also of note during prohibition, production of sacramental wine for churches rose by hundreds of thousands… Read more »
As feds, we are entering the heritage month season. January brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. February has ushered in Black History Month and March will soon deliver Women’s History Month. In my conversations with employees about these events, I sense a malaise has seeped into these celebrations that dilute their effectiveness in promotingRead… Read more »
Serendipity is a staple ingredient of creativity and innovation.
Government jobs get a bad rap for putting employees behind a mountain of paper in a desolate land of poorly lit cubicles. Admittedly, those jobs do exist. However, the federal government also has a few opportunities that let you jump out of a plane, explore our national parks, or even hang out with lions. Six of theseRead… Read more »
On Sunday, February 1st, millions of football fans watched the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks compete in Super Bowl XLIX. At the end of the day, the victorious coach got a Gatorade bath in celebration of winning the most coveted prize in the sports world. Lost amid the action on the field, funny commercials and entertainingRead… Read more »
It is the responsibility of everyone to create safe, healthy and inclusive workplaces by encouraging, expecting, recognizing and embracing differences. Yet here in the real world, inclusion rarely happens. Based on the observations of cultural competency expert, Fernando Ortiz, here are some of the reasons we avoid the difficult work of inclusion. I Didn’t DoRead… Read more »
It’s lunch time here at the cubicle farm and I’m distracted while trying to come up with a clever subject for this week’s blog. I have three, seriously three, colleagues sitting near me clearing their throats every 30 seconds or so. Not in time or anything synchronized because that would be very funny. I don’tRead… Read more »
You are the happiest government employee in your agency just about now! You received the long awaited call from your human resource (HR). You got it! Yes! Yes! She, the HR Specialist called you to offer you the position. In fact, she even asked you if you are still interested in the position! How couldRead… Read more »
It’s the end of January – are you fit yet? Me neither. In fact, across the nation, the wave of new gym members has waned and the post-resolution blues have firmly set in for most of us. Rather than getting discouraged, my co-workers and I are together finding ways to build healthier choices into our dailyRead… Read more »