Being in the world of Wilder Weather means reading into the mind of a federal employee. We can’t help but ponder the shutdown situation, and I want to check in from the world of the shutdown. As we enter the third week of the federal government shutdown, it’s time to check in on the health of our federal furloughed and excepted employees.
Furloughed feds first. For the last two weeks, with the holidays and the likelihood that many of you had some leave scheduled already, it might have been almost transparent that you were furloughed. Some “tells” have given it away, though. You didn’t turn in a timesheet. You may have had upcoming travel canceled, and you might be starting to miss calls or webinars that were on your calendar. Your partners are probably back into their work routines, and the kids are back to school now. Maybe the big to-do items on your list already got done. In short, this is probably the first week that being furloughed really starts to hit home.
What are your plans for this week? “They” say to do your best to keep your schedule. The extra rest is welcome, but do get up and moving in the morning, and go to bed at a relatively normal time. Here are some other ideas for things to do to help fill your days:
- Exercise. You know that exercise you put off because you didn’t have time? You’ll never have a better time to start the habit.
- Read. Libraries are free, and they’re filled with books you haven’t read yet. It doesn’t matter if it’s a trashy romance novel, a dense biography, a book related to your profession, or a YA you’ve secretly wanted to read.
- Get out. Especially if you’re an extrovert. Text a friend or coworker and meet up – over coffee or lunch if your budget allows, or for a walk or chat at someone’s home if you are stretched thin.
- Cook. It’s a great time to stock up the freezer with meals, to make that recipe that takes 3 hours of simmer or roasting time, or to use up what’s in your pantry.
- Make lists, plans, or idea bubbles. If you just can’t get your brain away from your job (or don’t want to), start collecting your thoughts on what you’ll attack and how once you’re back to work, once the shutdown is lifted. We’re all going to be slammed when we get back, and the prep work will help you dive back in.
- Create. Write, draw, sculpt, woodwork, knit, paint, sing, dance, play, or do whatever it is that scratches your creative itch and taps your artistic side. The act of creating a tangible something can be therapeutic.
- Tune out social media and news. At least for a while. Put down the computer and log out of the apps, if you must. It’s very tempting to follow the daily swells of political debates, the activities of conferences you’re missing, the tales and travails of your colleagues. Let yourself do it for a window of time. Then put it down and walk away. Do something else – anything else. At least for a while.
- Read all of the “thank you for working through the shutdown messages” you and your
NWS OUN in Norman, OK, posts comments and thank-your from its partners and public to keep positive thoughts front and center for its staff. Photo courtesy of Rick Smith, NWS.
office are receiving, whether it’s via email or social media. Print them. Post them on a board. Circle them with bright, bold highlighters. Know that the ones who don’t appreciate your contributions are a very, very, very tiny minority, even if some are in a position of political power.
- If you’re sick with a contagious disease, stay home. You’ll be put on furlough status, which moves those days from having backpay guaranteed to being a little less certain. Take some solace that every shutdown has been followed by backpay. In the meantime, bringing contagious diseases into your workplace will make it worse for everyone – you, sitting there and feeling miserable, and your coworkers, now exposed to disease and later feeling miserable and forced to make the same decision. There is already enough stress on your work place. It isn’t worth it. Stay home.
- Take care of each other. Make jokes*. Share food. Give rides. Watch each other’s kids.
- Pay attention to the youngest and newest employees, the ones who haven’t had years or decades to build up savings, are paying off student loans, maybe just made big down payments on new houses. They aren’t likely to ask for help, and they might refuse even if you offer. But offering is still kind. Also, maybe bring them a lunch, or if you know something they like, grab it from the store for them. We are all stretched, but some of us are definitely much more stretched than others. See them.
*Jokes. Gallows humor is inevitable and probably healthy, but there are two topics to avoid like lives depend on it: mental health and finances. You have coworkers who have mental health conditions, whether they have revealed it to you or not. Those conditions are almost certainly being aggravated by the stress of the shutdown. If you care even a little bit about their well-being, check yourself. Yes, it’s up to you. Yes, you must police your language, just as you do by, say, not cussing out your supervisor or your grandma. The onus is on you, so accept it. Here are a few resources for words that are not OK to use, ever, even if you think you’re joking: one for those who like journal articles and a couple for those who like magazine format, here and here.
Regarding finances, joking about your hardships can be perceived as coming from a place of privilege, which can be perceived as mocking your colleagues’ situations. Not every GS-13 (or GS-7) is in the same financial boat; things happen in people’s lives that cause additional hardships, and you may not be privy to their situations. Let it be. There are plenty of other jokes to make.
This is a tough week for us, fellow feds. It’s the week that we will miss our first paycheck. It’s the week where we should be getting back to post-holiday routines but won’t. It’s the week that many of us are feeling the first digs of loss – loss of income, loss of opportunity, loss of time. We are all in a hard situation that none of us chose. Be kind to yourself and to each other.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments about ways in which to handle the shutdown situation affecting many federal workers (and support contractors.)
I sent this link to a furloughed colleague, and will also be taking it to a medical staff meeting tomorrow (as a patient rep) to share awareness of what some other their patients may be going through.
Bill Hooke has commentary about the partial shutdown at this link:
https://www.livingontherealworld.org/idled-an-imposed-loss-of-agency-hurts-our-nation-and-the-world/