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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI was forced today
to send my five bullet point list of "what I did this past week".
Very demeaning and depressing. As if helping over 200 Veterans obtain and receive healthcare was not enough. Our clinic is insanely busy!
Our department was forced into this. We had no choice but to answer to this shithead and his 20-year-old hackers.
At least the wine is going down smoothly. Tomorrow is another day. *sigh*
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surfered
(5,226 posts)
Solly Mack
(94,182 posts)They had no right to demand you justify your worth.
brer cat
(26,812 posts)F%$# musk and F%$# trump.
newdeal2
(1,892 posts)Why have managers if Eloon’s good squad is assessing your performance.
ForgedCrank
(2,533 posts)to do this every week for the past 18 years at my job, everyone there who is on salary does. We even have a web form now to fill them out. There is no set number of "bullet points", but we have to list any substantial tasks that we are either working on or completed.
soldierant
(8,231 posts)an incompetent manager without telling me you are an incompetent manager."
ForgedCrank
(2,533 posts)I mean, I don't like doing it because it's another task I have to keep up with, but the managers want to keep up on what is happening in condensed form. They then sometimes call and ask details about certain items for various reason including budgeting, etc. I've seen people get reprimanded for not doing anything, and I've also seen the information lead to hiring more people when there is a deficiency in staff levels in certain areas. Many times, I've been able to get new equipment because of some old troublemaker piece of gear is costing more money than it's saving. Frankly, I don't find it offensive at all for the people who are paying me to want to know what I'm doing all day. Seems pretty fair to me in my environment. What DOGE is up to is another argument altogether, but I don't think asking for the information is something to get all bent up about. What they may do with it is another story though. We'll know eventually, but it's kind of hard with all the bullcrap that is being spread around right now, and I'd say damn near all of it is just that; bullcrap. That's why I get irritated with these things, no one seems to want to be honest about anything and I am stuck sifting through a sea of lies and misinformation.
soldierant
(8,231 posts)That may be just me. But I have been a manager - 10 years as a military officer - and I did get an MBA degree. I was taught that a manager/ supervisor should understand subordinates' work well enough, maybe not to do it every day, but to do it in a pinch.
ForgedCrank
(2,533 posts)the follow-up. You do raise valid points, but I don't think that can apply to every scene.
In my personal opinion, I think it depends on the conditions and structure at any given company. In my work, I deal with a lot of other companies rather than products so to speak, and I've seen both in various blends of chaos.
For example, in a controlled environment, lets say an accounting dept of 10 people and a manager. Yes, the manager should already know. You can tell who is producing and who isn't because you should know their job as well as they do. But when things get more generalized and a company is trying to keep the management fat trimmed as lean as possible, roles start overlapping and those managers are often at the mercy of "Rick who has been doing that specialty whatever for 37 years". The manager doesn't know Ricks job, and the company isn't going to hire an expert in said specialty to manage one guy. Even worse, sometimes, Rick IS the manager (over himself). But in other cases, the same manager might have a few dozen different hats he has to wear. I feel bad for these guys most times because they are basically herding cats all day and at the mercy of their employees, primarily the ones who don't want to work; and if that is the above mentioned Rick, there are serious problems for the company.
So yea, it can go both ways I think. Most of the issues that arise can be solved by the company itself, but in small and mid business, the margins aren't always there for them to be able to do that.
Anyway, my 2 cents worth.
Texasgal
(17,207 posts)We already have productivity report measures in place. most agencies do. Our productivity is monitored constantly and is brought up via point system during review times or if it's noticed that you are lacking somewhere in the point system.
I think you are missing the entire point of this OP. And perhaps the anger and disillusionment of federal employees as a whole.
The issue that is demeaning and depressing is the fact that we have some idiot that is not even a federal employee judging our work week. He is not our boss, our director or even part of HR! We should not be forced to answer to this fool and his gang of 20-year-olds that have no idea how hard we actually DO work.
ForgedCrank
(2,533 posts)didn't miss the point of the OP.
The Dept of VA falls under the executive branch. Whether we like it or not, the "CEO" is now Trump, and whoever he appoints is in charge. It might suck, but that's what it is. We can pretend to not accept it, but that only serves to work against us, not them.
I'm more reality based, so I'm holding out to see what actually happens as a result of this. If the worst is him asking what people did last week, then I think this is all just noise. It is not unusual to be asked to prove your worth in an organization, I have to do it every week and have for nearly 2 decades. I also don't think anyone believes Elon Musk is going to read hundreds of thousands of emails and analyze them, and neither are the couple dozen data analysts he has running queries. And even though we don't like it, HR now works for Trump as well. Does it suck? Yes, it certainly does, but that is what we have here.
We have to get out of this thinking that Trump is stupid. It might be funny to gag around, but he's not stupid. He's not going to destroy the VA, it would be suicide for him and any hopes he has of the legacy he is clawing for.
soldierant
(8,231 posts)He's not even part of the government - he's an "advisor." And I could use a lot more profane descriptive words than you did about him.
soldierant
(8,231 posts)in at least enough detail that one knows what kind of results to expect and be able to see from the results what is getting done and who is doing it, I don't consider that a competent manager.
And if the department is so big that no one human could do that, then the department is too big - it needs to be divided into smaller groups, each with it's own manager, and the overall manager needs to get that information from the junior managers.
If you thought I meant you, not your bosses, I apologize. That was not what I meant at all. I meant up the chain where managers need to have workers to tell them every week what they do. As a manager, I preferred to have workers working, not collecting statistics. (And when I was a worker - we all start somewhere - I preferred working to keeping a diary on what I was doing. Collecting the information would have taken time away from work and made me less effective)
RobinA
(10,261 posts)what you mean. I generally don't hang around employers that want me to spend much time listing what I do every step of the way. I've been a manager, I've been a nonmanager, and as a manager if I didn't know what my people were doing I would be embarrassed. Thankfully, I am about to retire. The workplace since I started working in 1980, at several different careers, has become truly onerous. I was planning to make it to 70, but I'm going at 67.5 for reasons of sanity. If I don't get out of this environment, the steps I have to take to put myself in it day after day are going to caise me problems.
I thank God I am in a position and age to retire and get out of employment. It's horrible. When I read what is being done to the Federal workforce I want to vomit.
msongs
(70,692 posts)
IbogaProject
(4,099 posts)They must be five items on a bullet point list. What clowns musk and his crew are.
UpInArms
(52,213 posts)
Skittles
(162,216 posts)to be given ANY orders by these fascist fucks 
Scrivener7
(54,284 posts)You help people. You make things better. You are too significant to let yourself feel demeaned by that ridiculous nepo slug.
You had to do it so you can continue to help people. There is no better reason. Let it roll right off you.
sinkingfeeling
(54,328 posts)Wonder Why
(5,127 posts)I wish them the best. I will continue to do it until Mumps is gone.
BOSSHOG
(41,255 posts)I’m an Old Vet and I Love You from afar.
Texasgal
(17,207 posts)The only saving grace in this crazy situation is that our Vets truly value us. Over the last several weeks, I have had many that have said " thank you for caring for us" ... that's what keeps me going.
Thank you for your kind message.
kerry-is-my-prez
(9,628 posts)I’m glad that they have someone good like you helping them. If this starts to interfere with your own mental health, however, you may have to leave. I had to quit a job that I used to love because I seriously thought I was going to lose it or become addicted. I was popping Valium dailyfor a month to stay sane.
spooky3
(37,050 posts)1) I helped 40 veterans obtain and receive health care
2) I helped another 40 veterans obtain and receive health care
3) I helped another 40 veterans obtain and receive health care
4) I helped another 40 veterans obtain and receive health care
5) I helped another 40 veterans obtain and receive health care
OhioBack2Blue
(50 posts)The Secret Service told people to write something like:
I did 100% of my tasks, with 100% effort, 100% of the day.
Why are people complying with real answers? I don't get it. They will fire people no matter the reason, including making something up. I also thought i read that judge issued a stop order on this activity yesterday or the day before.
kerry-is-my-prez
(9,628 posts)Skittles
(162,216 posts)1) FUCK YOU
2) FUCK YOU
3) FUCK YOU
4) FUCK YOU
5) FUCK YOU
....... yes INDEED
spooky3
(37,050 posts)
canetoad
(18,668 posts)You should learn to say what you really think.
peacebuzzard
(5,362 posts)They don’t read emails anyway it gets screened by bots for doecific expressions and words lol Thos qualifies for 0 satisfactory. Lol
AllaN01Bear
(24,066 posts)five pointed
double spaced
punctuation will be corrected .
this is stupid. treating us like 5 year olds .
dchill
(41,451 posts)Hassler
(4,076 posts)In "A Day in the Life" for a five things list. Hope you get past all this.
mcar
(44,044 posts)
ShazzieB
(19,558 posts)I'm imagining it now...
1. Woke up, fell out of bed
2. Dragged a comb across my head
3. Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And so on and so forth... 
COL Mustard
(7,234 posts)My agency, somewhat surprisingly, told us not to respond to an unverified and unencrypted email.
I guess either they really have our backs or we'll all be out tomorrow!
Squaredeal
(593 posts)Or are their weak-kneed members still much too much up their dear leader’s a$$, at least until they come to the realization that their own goose is being cooked too?
Greywing
(1,129 posts)Also VA …
Response to Greywing (Reply #18)
Post removed
Scrivener7
(54,284 posts)DoBW
(2,314 posts)it's a good one
pansypoo53219
(21,990 posts)TheBlackAdder
(29,310 posts)Biglinda 52
(100 posts)Send it as a .pdf so nothing can be changed
Crunchy Frog
(27,412 posts)I hope we can eventually see King Ketamine in prison.
drmeow
(5,469 posts)I have to provide my supervisor with a weekly bulleted list of what I did the previous week - every. single. week! I have a PhD and 20+ years of experience.
Of course, I'm not being threatened with the loss of my job - although if they actually cut the indirect rate to 15% and my university can't make up the difference, it is not impossible that I will end up losing my job - just not because of a psychopathic rapist and his team of adolescent incel insufferable suppositories!
Martin68
(25,045 posts)authority to demand such an accounting without going through the proper channels. The request should be ignored.
regnaD kciN
(26,794 posts)…and I’m not even a federal employee. 
Martin68
(25,045 posts)
carpetbagger
(5,152 posts)What pissed me off was that they sent out an emergency message on the call cascade to respond.
Martin68
(25,045 posts)carpetbagger
(5,152 posts)My section has 10 people. All exempted from the deferred resignation and probationary firings. We (they, I'm retiring) will be down to 7 in 60 days and possibly 3 or 4 by year's end.
3825-87867
(1,280 posts)In one paragraph tell us:
"And what did you do on your summer vacation, little Jimmy?"
LogDog75
(309 posts)How many ways can you say you processed X number of requests, interacted with X number of people/customers, attended X number of meetings, entered data into computer system, and file X number of files?
Musk doesn't need to know what every government employee does; that's why you have directors, managers, and supervisors.
MLAA
(18,962 posts)every single day. 
Cheezoholic
(2,728 posts)Corporate world offered easily 30-35% more than I was making at smaller companies (IT server and network admin) but I did NOT like it AT all. 2 of the 3 big corporations I worked for required either weekly or bi-monthly work reports of what I did. One of them you would get fired if you turned them in 24 hours too late 2 times in a year. It literally took an hour a day to fill out their stupid paperwork. It's all about analytics anymore, which I think is BS. I'm so sorry to hear you having to go through this.
Nulock
(31 posts)Obviously it's not that easy. Daily financial survival overrides fuck off asshole. Can't fault workers for that either. Bosses and owners like Trump and Musk and a lot more get some kind of perverted jolt from humiliating and demeaning workers. They're lowlife assholes. Don't let them break you either way. It's always my hope that someday we get our act together as a class and change that. Doesn't hurt to dream.
mahina
(19,498 posts)Response to Texasgal (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Abolishinist
(2,249 posts)It's our favorite crust!
GP6971
(34,159 posts)
Tactical Peek
(1,318 posts)
Since Musk will use AI to screen the input, use some keywords:
RainCaster
(12,266 posts)Mine may have been more cynical.
Meowmee
(7,452 posts)Thank you for everything you do to help people 🤗 Unlike those psycho pos.
HeartsCanHope
(845 posts)Thank you for all you do for our veterans!
rampartd
(1,669 posts)answering stupid questions like that should be worth a bonus.
Jilly_in_VA
(11,649 posts)to send the orange slime and especially our congresscritters (MOST especially if they are MAGAts like mine is) the same demand. After all, they work for US!
I saw a meme yesterday in a similar vein which said something to the event that the person had called their congresscritter's phone x number of times during working hours and it was not answered (or the voicemail box was full) They were very displeased by their employee's performance and expected them to do better in the future! "After all, you are MY employee!"
MadLinguist
(863 posts)I hope leadership at your facility gave guidance and support. The director at my facility advised constructing very generic bullet points, and then went the extra mile of advising that everyone save PDFs their SF-50s, and latest performance evaluations. I thought it was great advice.
bdamomma
(67,563 posts)to go here: https://www.afge.org/
bdamomma
(67,563 posts)first lesson
yardwork
(65,592 posts)Gore1FL
(22,251 posts)
Diraven
(1,281 posts)Which justifies his $100 billion raise. I doubt he's even set foot there in the last 3 months at least.
mdbl
(5,792 posts)He uses demeaning language and condescending tactics to do what he calls managing unrealistic expectations for anyone. I worked for a few just like him. Just a jackass.
E. Normus
(94 posts)copy the official job description of their position and say I do this every week including last week, and if you need more details you should talk to my boss.
Daleuhlmann
(343 posts)This requirement is outrageous! Musk is not a. elected official, and therefore should have no say-so in firing anybody! The bews is reporting that a government decision siding with those who who has contradicted Musk and told federal employees that the following the order was voluntary, not mandatory. Then, when Trump had heard of the dispute, the senile, old fool jumped in and announced that mandatory compliance was a "great idea," and sided with his favorite"MuskRAT. "
elocs
(23,405 posts)in 5 bullet points.
nilram
(3,086 posts)You've got a boss who keeps track of what you're doing and you don't need any more BS than that.
That's my rant. This annoys me so much. Thanks for doing what you're doing, and doing what you need to do to keep doing it. I get it.
waterwatcher123
(322 posts)My five work highlights light for the week were derived from reading the 2025 Tesla 10K Report and 2024 Tesla Proxy Statement. I noticed the following key points in these reports:
1) Tesla supports Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) (Page 12)
"Tesla is committed to providing a workplace where employees feel respected, satisfied and appreciated. Our policies are designed to promote fairness and respect for everyone. We actively support the hiring, retention and advancement of exceptional talent, including but not limited to veterans, disabled veterans and individuals with disabilities. As of December 31, 2024, in the US, 2.3% of our employees are veterans or active-duty military personnel, 3.3% of our employees are identify as individuals with disabilities and 1.2% of our employees identify as veterans or active-duty military personnel with disabilities. Our military partnerships and development programs noted above help to directly and indirectly support these employees."
2) Tesla Considers Bitcoin an Asset Versus a Risk (Digital Assets, Net, Page 63)
“It is odd that Tesla references Bitcoin as an asset rather than a risk factor when a number of government agencies have referred to it as a giant ponzi scheme. It seems part of a stockholder's investment in Tesla is unknowingly an investment in crypto currency (see below).
"Goodwill and Other - Crypto Assets. We have ownership of and control over our digital assets and we may use third-party custodial services to secure it. The digital assets are initially recorded at cost and are subsequently remeasured on the consolidated balance sheet at fair value. Periods prior to January 1, 2024 include digital assets at cost, net of impairment losses incurred since their acquisition.
We determine and record the fair value of our digital assets in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”), based on quoted prices on the active exchange(s) that we have determined is the principal market for such assets (Level I inputs). We determine the cost basis of our digital assets using the specific identification of each unit received. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are now recorded to Other income(expense), net in our consolidated statement of operations."
3) Unions are Threat and Risk to Tesla's Business (Page 24)
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
"Our business may be adversely affected by any disruptions caused by union activities. It is not uncommon for employees of certain trades at companies such as ours to belong to a union, which can result in higher employee costs and increased risk of work stoppages. Moreover, regulations in some jurisdictions outside of the U.S. mandate employee participation in industrial collective bargaining agreements and work councils with certain consultation rights with respect to the relevant companies’ operations. Although we work diligently to provide the best possible work environment for our employees, they may still decide to join or seek recognition to form a labor union, or we may be required to become a union signatory. From time to time, labor unions have engaged in campaigns to organize certain of our operations, as part of which such unions have filed unfair labor practice charges against us with the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”), and they may do so in the future. Any unfavorable ultimate outcome for Tesla may have a negative impact on the perception of Tesla’s treatment of our employees. Furthermore, we are directly or indirectly dependent upon companies with unionized work forces, such as suppliers and trucking and freight companies. Any work stoppages or strikes organized by such unions could delay the manufacture and sale of our products and may harm our business and operating results."
4) Tesla considers Elon Musk, CEO, to be Vitally Important Even Though He Only Devotes a Fraction of His Time to the Business (Page 20).
"We are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla and our Chief Executive Officer. Although Mr. Musk spends significant time with Tesla and is highly active in our management, he does not devote his full time and attention to Tesla. For example: Mr. Musk also currently holds management positions at Space Exploration Technologies Corp., X Corp., X.AI Corp., Neuralink Corp. and The Boring Company, and is involved in other ventures and with the Department of Government Efficiency."
https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000162828025003063/tsla-20241231-gen.pdf
5) Tesla 2024 Proxy Statement. Tesla's Board Recommended Against Every Shareholder Resolution That Focused on Social and Environmental Goals. This action is completely at odds with the statements of Tesla's propaganda and advice to shareholders.
Agenda Item Tesla Proposals Board Vote Recommendation
Stockholder Proposals:
9. A stockholder proposal regarding adoption of a
freedom of association and collective bargaining
policy, if properly presented (“Proposal Nine”).
“AGAINST”
10. A stockholder proposal regarding reporting on
effects and risks associated with electromagnetic
radiation and wireless technologies, if properly
presented (“Proposal Ten”).
“AGAINST”
11. A stockholder proposal regarding adopting targets
and reporting on metrics to assess the feasibility of
integrating sustainability metrics into senior
executive compensation plans, if properly
presented (“Proposal Eleven”).
“AGAINST”
12. A stockholder proposal regarding committing to a
moratorium on sourcing minerals from deep sea
mining, if properly presented (“Proposal Twelve”). “AGAINST
blue_jay
(20 posts)I have never understood the mentality, even among people serving this country, that maligns and blames the "government" as some insane monster when it is mostly just another place where your neighbors work. In reality it is a tiny amount of most likely patriotic souls, (always some bad or slow eggs wherever you work) trying to do good for their fellow Americans. I know it was a political strategy started long ago but seriously targeting a small group that cannot easily defend itself is disgraceful.
Government employees represent less than 2% of the U.S. workforce.
https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-people-work-for-the-federal-government/
mimitabby
(1,893 posts)I hope that helps
Klarkashton
(3,059 posts)To review my work.
He eventually had a heart attack and had to quit.
After that no more meetings.