Looking back through almost 25 years of federal employment, I’ve seen a noticeable decline in workplace camaraderie and socializing within my organization. I’m not the only one seeing this; others have noticed this trend as well. I sent out a survey to a few retirees and long-term co-workers in an attempt to coarsely gage any trends acrossRead… Read more »
It seems like an easy enough task, right? Getting along with your co-workers. But they’ve got a few little teeny, tiny annoying habits. Or maybe, instead, it’s a giant ego. What can you do when your co-workers drive you crazy? Good working relationships take more than luck While you may have lucked out in yourRead… Read more »
“I am a millennial champion!” proclaimed Lee Caraher, author of Millennials and Management: The Essential Guide to Making it Work at Work, during today’s Next Generation of Government Summit. In a room filled with hundreds of millennials, this assertion got a big cheer. However, Caraher admitted that there are many people in the workforce whoRead… Read more »
In today’s inter-generational work environment, some people in the diverse workforce approach their daily routine differently. For example, some of staffers may show great initiative while others simply wait for assignments to come to them. Still others avoid taking risks maybe out of concern that their ideas may not yield the desired results. Often employees areRead… Read more »
Ever felt like your boss’s expectations were unrealistic? Or your employee wasn’t doing what you asked? Didn’t like a colleague’s approach? If you’ve worked long enough, you’ve probably encountered conflicts like these on the job. Even the slightest conflicts can hurt productivity at work in ways small and large. As the Vice President for LeadershipRead… Read more »
I have a dear friend, colleague and mentor who spent her whole life in the government and was sidelined for almost as many years. The “funny” thing is, she’s a genius. And whenever they had a problem, they’d come to her. “That’s alright,” she used to say, “I keep everything in Outlook.” And she wouldRead… Read more »
Confession time! I’m a canary, of sorts. No, I do not sing like one. (In fact, during school assemblies, I was told to lip-sync, for the sake of everyone present!) — Like an estimated 15% of Americans, I am highly sensitive to many common chemicals found in offices, homes, and retail establishments. – Why amRead… Read more »
Whether it’s a simple tiff over dishes in the sink or a productivity-scuttling battle over who has authority over a project, coworker conflicts can contribute massively to office stress. As with any relationship, conflicts will pop up over time – over miscommunications, misunderstood expectations, personality differences, and a host of other little things. They’re inevitable, butRead… Read more »
There are so many long-running projects in government that have failed to gain traction or reach full implementation. When leadership sits down to figure out why, one of the top reasons (outside of cost overruns and missed deadlines) tends to be culture, or the necessity of culture change. Of course, that’s a pretty big undertaking.Read… Read more »
By Lily Whiteman, author of “How to Land a Top-Paying Federal Job”; speaker on career issues; Twitter: @Lilymwhiteman What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of working in federal headquarters offices located in the Washington D.C. area vs. working in federal field offices located throughout the U.S.? This question is answered by the two tablesRead… Read more »