Impasse Panel appears to have ruled more favorably for management. Perhaps IFPTE negotiations are not going well for them and they see the writing on the impasse panel wall...so a pause would provide more time out of the office to “work” at home and for union officers to do union business instead of public service business? And if they are inferior officers, are they allowed to unionize? There are a lot of questions. The primary mission should be serving the public so hopefully the most expedient way to do that will be the path chosen by Agency leadership. Bickering about wanting more telework days does not seem very important when you think about the Agency mission of serving others. To the contrary, it only appears to be self-serving. Sad....
Considering that the POTUS now wants to eliminate OPM completely I would think the union would be a little more cooperative before they get dumped. "Oh they cant do that..." tell it to the air traffic controllers!!!
I left SSA to go to another federal agency. The primary reason was the opportunity for more telework. I was not an alj but I was a gs 13 with hopes to become an alj. I had all 5s on my performance reviews so I had a good chance of being an alj or aaj at some point. SSA s refusal to consider more telework affects the agency mission of serving others as it hinders their ability to retain good employees. They're left with patsies who can't think for themselves and limited ambition. Leaderships resistance to change leaves them stuck in the past. Management is mad they can't walk outside the office to pawn difficult assignments on because people are teleworking. But it does them no good if the only ones in the office struggle with more complicated work.
Anti-telework wackos like 3:15 make me wonder where people get their management ideas. In the private sector many Fortune 500 companies are expanding telework capabilities to draw and retain talent. When I was in private practice, my firm had VPN capabilities way before the government ever did. Yet when it comes to federal jobs, some seem to think the best way to manage people is to have them planted in a cubicle or office, as if that will somehow motivate them to work harder.
Decreasing telework is a solution looking for a problem. If an employee is not productive, management should deal with that employee. But of course, that puts the burden on management to actually manage. It's much easier to plant people in cubicles and check off the management boxes, feeling like your work is accomplished. It's much harder to actually lead people and deal with poor employees individually, whether they're working in the office or from home.
As the saying goes, it's a poor carpenter that blames his tools. Unfortunately, I see too often managers blaming their employees without doing much to create an atmosphere where employees feel empowered to do their best.
Some back story. This is new union leadership that ran on the "180 Degree Slate" and won most exec board seats in November 2018. Most of them are politically more in line with the GOP than the previous board, which was typically northeast-liberal. The 180 Slate ran on a largely pro civility, pro management, ticket. They expected to do better at the negotiating table because they were going to cooperate with management. That strategy has failed.
"I can't believe that panther ripped off my face!", says person who voted for the Panthers Will Rip Off Your Face party.
Many ALJs work in rural areas and have 50+-mile commutes to OHO. Telework is a huge productivity boon. ALJ dispo rates are very high this year.
Impasse Panel appears to have ruled more favorably for management. Perhaps IFPTE negotiations are not going well for them and they see the writing on the impasse panel wall...so a pause would provide more time out of the office to “work” at home and for union officers to do union business instead of public service business? And if they are inferior officers, are they allowed to unionize? There are a lot of questions. The primary mission should be serving the public so hopefully the most expedient way to do that will be the path chosen by Agency leadership. Bickering about wanting more telework days does not seem very important when you think about the Agency mission of serving others. To the contrary, it only appears to be self-serving. Sad....
ReplyDeleteConsidering that the POTUS now wants to eliminate OPM completely I would think the union would be a little more cooperative before they get dumped. "Oh they cant do that..." tell it to the air traffic controllers!!!
ReplyDeleteI left SSA to go to another federal agency. The primary reason was the opportunity for more telework. I was not an alj but I was a gs 13 with hopes to become an alj. I had all 5s on my performance reviews so I had a good chance of being an alj or aaj at some point. SSA s refusal to consider more telework affects the agency mission of serving others as it hinders their ability to retain good employees. They're left with patsies who can't think for themselves and limited ambition. Leaderships resistance to change leaves them stuck in the past. Management is mad they can't walk outside the office to pawn difficult assignments on because people are teleworking. But it does them no good if the only ones in the office struggle with more complicated work.
ReplyDeleteAnti-telework wackos like 3:15 make me wonder where people get their management ideas. In the private sector many Fortune 500 companies are expanding telework capabilities to draw and retain talent. When I was in private practice, my firm had VPN capabilities way before the government ever did. Yet when it comes to federal jobs, some seem to think the best way to manage people is to have them planted in a cubicle or office, as if that will somehow motivate them to work harder.
ReplyDeleteDecreasing telework is a solution looking for a problem. If an employee is not productive, management should deal with that employee. But of course, that puts the burden on management to actually manage. It's much easier to plant people in cubicles and check off the management boxes, feeling like your work is accomplished. It's much harder to actually lead people and deal with poor employees individually, whether they're working in the office or from home.
As the saying goes, it's a poor carpenter that blames his tools. Unfortunately, I see too often managers blaming their employees without doing much to create an atmosphere where employees feel empowered to do their best.
Some back story. This is new union leadership that ran on the "180 Degree Slate" and won most exec board seats in November 2018. Most of them are politically more in line with the GOP than the previous board, which was typically northeast-liberal. The 180 Slate ran on a largely pro civility, pro management, ticket. They expected to do better at the negotiating table because they were going to cooperate with management. That strategy has failed.
ReplyDelete"I can't believe that panther ripped off my face!", says person who voted for the Panthers Will Rip Off Your Face party.
Many ALJs work in rural areas and have 50+-mile commutes to OHO. Telework is a huge productivity boon. ALJ dispo rates are very high this year.