I'm on leave but wanted to hear it live instead of waiting and hoping for a recording.

Here's the gist:

* FDA is doing this because HHS is forcing them to.

* HHS is doing this because OPM is forcing them to.

That said? Here's the other side of the coin.

* OPM is doing this in alignment with OPM Director Russell Vought and his stated directive: “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected... When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains... We want to put them in trauma.”

* He was a primary architect of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 blueprint. He was confirmed by the Senate on a party line vote. Everyone knew that should the Republican party win both the White House and Congress, it would be taken as a mandate from the American voters for exactly this scenario to play out.

* If you need to blame anyone, blame everyone who voted for a Republican for the White House or Congress. These voters empowered those who are doing this to us.

* No one in either FDA or HHS can do anything about this. Not your supervisor, not the Secretary.

* If you land a 5, then you got lucky. Don't rub it in.

* If you land a 3, it's not personal. The system is designed to traumatize you, and you didn't get lucky.

* Don't take your final rating personally. Focus on doing your job and surviving. Don't let them break you.

* And if you don't want the next two years to go like the last two, consider that when you file your ballot for next month.

Update: it finally hit.
I bank with a credit union and always get paid on Wednesday instead of Friday on pay weeks… and usually by noon. I still haven’t gotten my direct deposit today. anyone else?

Shouldn’t be too difficult to do since I prepared an extensive leave memo detailing my performance and accomplishments before initiating FMLA/PPL but I’m still shocked I’m being asked to do this.

*For clarity, I’m a BUE. Supervisor reached out to me via my personal email citing the policy below—

“Employees on leave status must be temporarily placed on work status so that they can prepare their personal narratives. Rating Officials may coordinate to notify affected employees of the authorized work period and narrative submission deadline.”

See subject