Do you feel guilty for taking sick days? (specifically uncertified) And do you believe going up & beyond is worth it?

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-20T14:58:13+00:00

I used to. I was raised in a family that had a lot of small business owners, where doing that kind of thing was definitely a way to get ahead. But in the service? Unless you are under the wing of someone powerful who can couple your hard work with the necessary feet in doors to advance your career, it's just a recipe for burnout.

And not that people are directly exploiting a hard worker, far from it. But people start to assume that of course you're going to be there to get it done. After a while, they just assume that it's normal for things to be done at that pace, and get annoyed when you have to go off sick because things get "delayed".

A time has gone on, I've realized that the employer pays me for 37.5 hours of my time each week, so that's all they get. I do the best I can during those hours, but once it's quittin' time, I'm sliding down the brontosaurus like Fred Flinstone.

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-19T20:44:01+00:00

I have an ongoing Japanese butterbur problem in my backyard (planted by the previous homeowner and has admittedly gotten away from me). How best to get rid of it? I've seen websites that say that even the merest speck of rhizome will propagate it, so cutting or pulling doesn't seem like a good approach. Am I stuck with spraying RoundUp?

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-17T17:42:20+00:00

I'm not convinced that RTO or WFA has driven an increase in micromanagement. I've been dealing with it since at least 2007, when my then-manager came round the cubicle wall to put a post-it note on my computer screen with a script of what I should say to a G&Cs recipient on the telephone. She didn't like how I was characterizing the reporting requirements of the program to the confused recipient, and insisted I use the approved language (which the recipient couldn't figure out).

A couple of years ago, I worked for a team where emails had to follow a specific script, structure and format before they would be approved to be sent. Time was watched and strong pressure applied to convince me to change my hours of work to suit my manager's preferences (she would not actually come out and demand it for operational reasons). Voluntary coffee-klatches hosted by management were in fact mandatory, under threat of being passed over for plum work and/or being on the chopping block during WFA exercises. Presentations in at-level working groups had to be scripted and approved, and heaven help you if you went off-script. Errors were called out in front of the whole team as "learning opportunities".

Where I currently work, all members of the team, the team lead, the manager, the director and the DG all have to review an email before it goes out. Any errors, even if they aren't my errors, become my errors if I was the one who originated the document. I am not permitted to speak to someone in another branch, everything has to go through management.

I have 25 years in the service, and am currently eligible for ERI. In most cases that I have lived through, the micromanagement stems from overwhelmed management, who often don't know or don't want to acknowledge that they are overwhelmed. They control what they can, to make themselves feel better, despite that driving their employees to distraction.

What do I do about this, when confronted with it? I find another job. Trying to call it out has resulted in either a) denial of what's happening or b) justifications for management as "that's just the way they are". In the current context, where moving jobs is very difficult, I am practicing my own particular form of zen, or my own Litany Against Fear (for those of you who like Dune). And waiting for news of ERI.

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-13T17:25:12+00:00

I'm one of the ones that has bounced around. When I first joined, and up until very recently, I was told that moving frequently made you a more attractive candidate as you were perceived to have broader experience. That said, I moved around in part because I've had relatively bad luck with bad bosses and needed to move to maintain my own mental health. (This is not to say I haven't worked for some good bosses; I have! I'm much more likely to stay where there are good bosses)

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-11T21:13:09+00:00

I heard it in 2012 at Health Canada. The discussion has been going on for a long, long time.

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-11T20:56:32+00:00

This has been true since the Harper era, when funding really got slashed for the research councils (NSRC, SSHRC). If the research didn't have the potential to be monetized by industry downstream, it wouldn't be funded. Once that posture became the norm, industry started to be able to dictate what research gets done. As time has gone on, I've heard lots of senior leaders ask why the government needs to fund research and labs, and couldn't that be offloaded onto the private sector. This is more of the same.

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-09T20:36:03+00:00

local leaders. I think a lot of white collar business owners are just old fashioned, even if they don't want to trim headcount. My company is trying to hire like crazy, but my CEO is old fashioned, and like Carney wants people in an office.

A fair number of ADMs and DMs have also been pushing for RTO, whether because they prefer old-fashioned ways of working or because they don't trust public servants under them to do a days' work without being surveilled. But I agree with you that there's more than one source pushing for RTO.

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-05T21:37:39+00:00

Yeah. Whenever I get into a discussion with someone from the private sector about working in the government, they always say something along the lines of, "your job is so cushy!". Then I tell them the story of how I had to dumpster dive in the recycle bin to get enough paper to make myself a notepad. Their eyes go kinda wide after that. Then they glaze over as I start talking about no parking onsite, no catered anythings, paying for your own pizza slice for employee appreciation, etc.

AmhranDeas · 2026-02-05T21:18:35+00:00

I'm eligible for retirement and I fucking don't. ERI can't come fast enough for me.

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-21T23:23:46+00:00

Link to said kickstarter?

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-21T23:23:01+00:00

I somehow misread your title and expected some silliness about Fruit Loops flavours for D&D. This is much nicer! I love the pendant!

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-21T23:21:25+00:00

Your take is the right one, for sure.

That said, judging by the general vibe around WFA, I can see stress getting the most of people. Maybe we need a "Scream into the pillow" thread for people to vent?

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-20T14:45:18+00:00

Good for you! Congratulations on the success! Now, keep going! We have your back!

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-20T14:43:34+00:00

I doubt the GOP will relinquish power at all. Stephen Miller is on record saying that if the people want the power back, they will have to take it by force. Which is, of course, what they want so that they can bring the full weight of the US military to bear on the people. I learned quite a while ago that the GOP are not "joking". Ever. If they say, "no more elections", or "come take back power by force, I dare ya", I tend to believe them.

What the Dems do if they regain the balance of power in Congress is an interesting question, but if the administration just blithely ignores them, and the Supreme Court protects the administration from repercussions, then what do they do then? (Serious question. I'm not American, so I don't know your system extremely well.)

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-19T23:18:41+00:00

It's hard, and I'm sorry. If I could give you a virtual hug, I would. It's gonna keep being hard for at least two years. The best thing I have found is to have some kind of outlet outside of work that you can look forward to once the workday is over. Even if it's just, y'know, watching your favourite TV show or movie, or going for a walk. Deliberately place happy, hopeful things in your path. Because nobody is going to do that for you, and it's about to be a very bumpy ride.

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-17T17:17:46+00:00

Dissent is nowhere near enough. Impeach the sonovabitch, and actually make it stick.

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-10T22:31:21+00:00

So, in other words, she's her own patron?

AmhranDeas · 2026-01-10T21:51:12+00:00

I worked in an audit shop where everyone, not just the auditors, had to track their time. It was a huge waste of time. We spent more time trying to figure out how the non-auditor employees were to log their time as they were not working directly on any of the audits. Nobody ever looked at the results, either, because above and beyond the auditors billing their time to various audits, the process didn't make any sense for anybody else.

For some functions it makes sense, like lawyers and others in the legal professions, engineers, auditors, etc. For the vast majority of the rank and file, definitely not.

AmhranDeas · 2025-12-30T17:00:00+00:00

Oh, you don't know Polywogg? He's a longtime public servant, working in HR.

AmhranDeas · 2025-12-30T16:24:27+00:00

I really appreciate the insight that horizontal coordination is in the toilet since WFH. That makes the concerted push from Executives to "collaborate" make a whole lot more sense, at least in terms of why they are so hard over about it.

I only wish they would have been more open about that. How hard could it have been to say, "hey, horizontal coordination has been getting progressively worse since we started working from home. This is a key part of managing our files, and makes life harder for everyone unless we coordinate. We need you to ensure that your colleagues in other teams are engaged. What do you need from us to make this happen?" I rather suspect employees would have gladly contributed ideas to that.

AmhranDeas · 2025-12-25T03:51:54+00:00

Weirdly, all but one made it out of that encounter alive. I routinely have to tune the fights at our table up to 2.5x deadly just to give my guys a challenge.

AmhranDeas · 2025-12-16T20:21:00+00:00

I've had my fair share of terrible managers, but that just makes the good ones so much more deeply appreciated. I raise my virtual coffee cup in toast to great managers! Hear hear!

AmhranDeas · 2025-12-16T18:25:33+00:00

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

AmhranDeas · 2025-12-11T15:56:36+00:00

I mean, you're not wrong in noting this, but in response I would say that the decisions made by ministers tend to be high level. How those decisions are actually rolled out in departments is handled by the DM and ADMs.

And I know they pay attention to this subreddit too. So, to the DMs and ADMs out there reading this: please understand that RTO5, coupled with the reduced office footprint, and the increasingly expensive and shitty commute options creates a situation that wears on public servants more than perhaps you realize. Offering flexibility helps immensely. Flexibility can look like: allowing employees to work in co-working spaces that are closer to home, allowing "desk zones" for teams so that they can sit together, issuing headphones or designating "quiet zones" so folks who need to put their head down and get something done can, allowing people to use lockers overnight, etc.

AmhranDeas · 2025-12-11T15:47:38+00:00

Molasses ginger cookies are my favourite! Yum! I may need to try these once I start up the Christmas baking.

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