Understanding the Impact of Toxicity in Federal Jobs

Imagine waking up each day, dreading the thought of going to work because you work in a toxic work environment. Well, for the country’s largest employer, the federal government, that is how it feels for hundreds of thousands of federal employees.

Season 1 Episode 6

Working in a Toxic Work Environment

That is good coffee, a nice sip this morning. So, different robe this time around as things are warming up, but that doesn’t mean things change, right? That’s right, the chaos hasn’t changed at all; it continues.

It’s funny, yesterday I disconnected by playing a round of golf. It’s what I like to do to get away from everyone and everything. Everything shut off. I’m not looking at my phone, etcetera. It wasn’t until the end, when I got to my car and started putting away my stuff, that I thought of a toxic work environment. Unfortunately, we’ve all worked in a toxic work environment at some point.

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Maybe it was a long time ago, but we have all been in a toxic work environment at one time or another. Having gone through that, I remember not wanting to be there, how uncomfortable the situation was, and how I could literally feel the tension. The tension was in the air, in everybody’s vibes and energy. Everybody was just on edge—it was a bad environment to work in. And, unfortunately, that’s common.

I started thinking about corporations like Walmart. Can Walmart be toxic? Maybe, but not every location. It would be next to impossible. There are just too many. Maybe one person is running one location that’s nowhere near toxic and doesn’t allow it. So it would be hard for all of Walmart or all of Amazon to be infected by toxicity. But what about the federal government? Think about that. The federal government is the largest employer in the United States, and as we speak, it is also the largest employer with a toxic environment. One person—one person did it all.

All it Takes is One to create a Toxic Work Environment

Now, let me go back to my experience. It was a small law office with a couple of hundred cases going on. But I realized early on in my practice that no matter how many cases I had pending, one client was all that was needed to turn an office upside down. It was just amazing, the negative energy that one person could have and how they bring that energy into my office and create nothing but chaos. I’m still shocked by that.

As I got older and my financial situation became more stable, I just didn’t take certain clients because I said, No, I’m not going to go through all this again. It’s just not worth it. All your energy that they’re sapping away from you is basically focused on one person, and you have two or three hundred other clients who are like, “Hey, what about me? I’m also paying you.” It was just an amazing experience, and it showed how one toxic person can change the work environment.

So, is it possible for one person to do this? I didn’t think it could be done to the whole country. And the way some people are already reacting, the aggression and feeling emboldened towards minorities, is something I cannot stand. These people have no right to do that, but it’s now in the federal workplace. Think about that. In every interview I’ve seen with the media, people are saying they don’t know if they’re going to have work tomorrow. Some of these people are single parents trying to support a household.

I thought the federal government was not only a source of pride for its employees, giving something back to the country, but also a source of financial stability. And all that is gone. Now you see employees in other parts of the world with U.S. Aid being told they have to go. They have kids in school, and they have pets. How are they going to pick up and go in a couple of days?

Then I started thinking about the financial angle. There’s chaos, and some people may rationalize by responding that they don’t work for the government or receive Social Security. So, how could it affect them? As I keep arguing, it’s a snowball effect.

It could affect those with federal contracts. Are you going to pursue a federal contract or bid if you don’t know if you’re going to get paid, get paid on time, or get paid at all with all this chaos?

Elon Musk and the Fork in the Road

Employees in the federal government are receiving emails like spam, and hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands, of employees open their inboxes to see an email titled “a fork in the road.” That doesn’t motivate anyone to work. People are just showing up and pretending to be busy because why would they work hard if they probably won’t have a job tomorrow?

You think this will end in four years, right? That in four years, all will be good and we can put this behind us. But think about the 2008 mortgage foreclosure crisis. Kids who were in their early teens were traumatized by that, worrying about losing their homes. I remember thinking in high school that it might happen to us. That trauma stayed with me.

• The Federal Government Shutdowns Don’t Help Anybody!

What about when kids see tens of thousands of foreclosures in their neighborhoods? You don’t think that affects them? It does. It’s a form of PTSD. They’re traumatized by what they saw and witnessed: families losing their homes, getting displaced, having to stay wherever they had to stay, maybe with relatives. The inconvenience of all that you carry with you for a long time, just like being in a toxic work environment. Do you think that’s not going to affect you? It absolutely will.

Now, the question is: let’s say President Trump is gone, and today is his last day. Are these people who witnessed or experienced this, would they be jumping at the bit to get into work as a federal contractor? What about as a federal employee? Probably not. Why, because they already have a bad taste in their mouths.

Consider the toxicity of Meta and Mark Zuckerberg. It’s like these guys are on steroids. It’s back to the 80s with roid rages. It’s ridiculous. It’s not conducive to a good work environment. But again, what’s going to happen long term?

Would you want to work for the government when you’ve seen all that has been going on? You think, well, I wanted to work for the government because I thought I was doing something good for my country. I’m getting a nice steady paycheck, and I have the opportunity to advance. But if you don’t see those benefits, you go out the door. Who steps in? Someone less qualified, which is what we’re seeing now.

It’s not the best of the best, and this toxic environment now exists not only in the federal government but has expanded throughout our country, unfortunately. We’re not going to get rid of this anytime soon. The long-term effects are going to linger, and again, who are we bringing in to work for us in the government?

When I say the future, I mean right now, three months from now. Who’s going to be running certain departments? A bunch of kids who work for those companies and for Elon Musk. I don’t know where this is going, but all signs point to not good. All I can say is buckle up. Like I keep saying, chaos creates political instability, which creates financial instability.

Be Prepared Mentally, But Also Financially

The part that worries me is getting into more debt because of something we cannot control. Analyze your situation. Be prepared for what may come. What’s the worst thing that happens? You save money and don’t get into debt.

If you’re prepared, you can ride out this wave, and I’ll tell you how. Having worked for an immigration lawyer decades ago, I realized that clients in Latin American countries were used to the ups and downs of politics. When a good president comes in, everyone’s riding high, spending money, having fun. When a bad president comes in, they hold back and save their money to ride out the wave.

We’re all facing difficult times and challenges. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, and everyone’s panicking, looking at their phones 24/7. I made myself one promise: I will not read the news as the last thing I do before I go to bed. It’s also not going to be the first thing I do when I wake up. There’s nothing I can do about the news, but I can be prepared, and that’s what I want everyone to be.

Going back to the immigration clients, they were used to these waves. It’s not that it’s good, but they were used to it. The way I look at it, and the way I’ve always looked at it, is if they got through it, then I can get through it as well. And so can all of us. That’s how I got through law school. I was terrified, but I said there had to be one person, just one, who was not as ambitious, not willing to work as hard, and not as smart as I, yet they passed law school. If they did, then I could pass, too.

Every law student has probably suffered from insecurity and moments when they thought of quitting. But it was that approach of realizing that I’m not alone and that people have gone through this before and survived that got me through it. So I hope that helps.

I wish you all the best. Have a good rest of your week and enjoy that coffee. Take care.

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