From the
Tacoma News Tribune:
At the Social Security Administration office in an Auburn office building, the routine has been the same each day.
Dozens of workers touch the same keypad to enter
the building. They use the same bathroom doors. They don’t always sit 6
feet away from colleagues. They share a kitchen, a copier and a fax
machine.
While President Donald Trump urges people not to gather socially in groups of 10 or more,
employees in many federal offices have been doing that day after day -
and worrying about whether they’re being exposed to the coronavirus. ...
The agency has taken steps this week to implement telework policies.
Agency spokesmen in Washington, D.C., and Seattle did not answer
requests for comment.
Nor has the agency responded to some congressional requests.
“Social Security employs approximately 40,000 public-facing workers,
some of whom have reported an array of concerns from lack of ability to
telework, limited access to cleaning supplies,” wrote Rep. John Larson, D-Connecticut, chairman of the House Social Security subcommittee, and others, to Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul on Tuesday.
Larson’s office said he has received no response. ...
Read more here: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/coronavirus/article241338426.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/coronavirus/article241338426.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/coronavirus/article241338426.html#storylink=cpy
6 comments:
Only a hand few of the Teleservice center employees can telework. It requires expensive equipment to manage the phone traffic. It's not like other agency employees that can just take home their laptops. And with offices closing it puts more strain on the teleservice center employees.
Ann Robert, the Chicago Assistant Regional Commissioner for Management Operations Support just said approximately: “We should focus energy and attention where it belongs. Not on COVID 19, but on service.” Which, had they not been so unserious the last few weeks, would probably be easier. Multiple conflicting communications and a slow response have meant a number of hastily convened meetings, etc. She also said something like, “Fear causes us to make our own realities.” Which sounds a lot like, Calm down, you guys are exaggerating.
Interestingly, the Chicago RO appears to be focusing its energy and attention on moving RO employees to fixed shifts and restricting folks from working credit. Never waste a crisis, I guess.
Just shut everything down for 2 weeks. RIP the bandage off and get over it. At least 80% of employees can work at home. After the danger passes we to full capacity to make up for lost time. The problem is that the management culture at SSA has an overwhelming need to micromanage and poor leadership skills. Some managers are outstanding but are also micromanage and can't do the right thing. It is a shame.
The biggest hurdle in maximizing Telework in SSA is going to be the Telephone traffic. The telework hardware that is most commonly used in SSA is not up to the strain of increased phone traffic while on telework. MySSA is no savior either because setting up the account is so difficult most people need to call the 1-800 number, than when that fails they need to come in to the office.
Once a user has a MySSA account services are actually relatively easy to complete totally on line. Employees on the MySSA click to chat also prefer it taking calls.
Late on Friday, telework was finally rolled out (grudgingly, in response to a statewide shelter in place order) to all staff in the PC and RO. Not sure about other regions, but the Chicago region is still requiring management to be onsite 5 days per week - despite all of the staff teleworking. What is the point of having a manager onsite when the entire staff is working from home? What duties does the manager have that cannot be completed at home? it seems that upper management and executives feel so compelled to exert control over the situation that they're forcing management to do this. Rather than doing the right thing in a time of public emergency, SSA is instead continuing to have people commute into a metropolitan office, most on public transportation - which is exactly what public health experts and statewide government officials actively discourage. The need for management to perform these mysterious onsite duties seems to override concerns for the health of the general public,since SSA is endorsing continuing to spread this disease.
Regional executives were also touting the "sacrifice" of field office workers, who are being forced to go into the office despite it being closed to the public. To perform duties that could easily be done at home. Field office staff are not "making a sacrifice", since this is not their choice. Rather, Regional executives are sacrificing the health and well-being of these employees because of their excessive need to micromanage (mentioned in a previous comment) and their fear that these measures may prove telework is effective.
Seattle leadership lags behind other regions. At one time they had a cadre whose purpose was to improve office performance but it was terminated because of creating turmoil. Relations with the Union declined. Leadership jumped from one fad to another like drunken sailors. Trying to get telework implemented across the board was dismal failure. I drove by one of the offices yesterday and saw guard and some employees there.
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