From the President's Desk - Joel Smith A74
WORK CREEP
“Work Creep” Isn’t Just the Nickname of that RO Guy Who Visits the Office Once a Year
Why is SSA ranked as the worst federal agency in “Work Life Balance,” “Supervisors,” and “Leadership” in the 2021 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) and why is it rated as a one-star employer on TeamBlind.com? One of the most significant factors is “work creep.”
Here’s an example of “work creep” in management expectations and how it effects employee stress:
Taking 3 claims a day is easy--you can take 4 no problem!
You have been taking 4 claims and keeping up well, let’s do 5.
5 claims seem very doable in most circumstances, let’s do 6.
Hour- long appointments? Pshhhh Some of these appointments only take 15 minutes, plus we have no shows all the time, let’s make them 30-minute time slots.
6 appointments, 30 minutes apart? Jeez, that leaves a lot of open time in the day, let’s do 7 claims……
Next meeting………
Team, we are obviously facing a lot of challenges right now, but our Area Director has asked us to look at our calendar and try to get our SSI claims scheduled as soon as possible. We were doing 7 claims a day, but we are going to bump it to 9 until we get caught up. I know we can do this if we pull together as a team.
This type of “creep” causes burnout. Anyone can do “1 more” anything, but just because you can do a little more, doesn’t mean it is SUSTAINABLE.
SSA leadership has sacrificed “sustainability” for constantly punctuated changes. Leadership is reactionary and makes knee-jerk decisions for obtaining the desired numeric flavor of the week over a long-term plan at the cost of its employees. They never engage in long-term planning, therefore, employees in Operations are always in a state of tragedy and morale is completely lost.
I have been a staff member or management official in seven field offices and Regional Offices. I’ve visited or been detailed to approximately 60 more offices. They all have one thing in common: morale is always gone, people are always burned out, and everyone is overworked. BUT each office was different. One office had 3 claims reps who did 3 claims a day. They were just as burned out as an office where CSs were taking 6 claims a day plus RZs.
I sympathize with both offices as the reason they are burned out doesn’t have as much to do with the work as it does with management’s inability to set realistic goals, show how those goals can be met, and then lower the targets after a “busy” month, etc. The work is all relative. It is just like money. Someone with a million dollars can feel as broke as someone with $50k. It is how the money is managed that makes the difference.
SSA’s biggest weakness is its management. I will say there are some very good managers and I am friends with many of them to this day. However, even the good eggs cannot be successful in a structure as poor as the one we operate in. Management and employees are “pitted” against each other in field offices. The PACS process is beyond a joke. And management is not held accountable for results. The employees are?! In no other organization is that the case.
SSA Executives published 3 goals that they aim to complete in the next 4 years:
1. Optimize the Experience of SSA Customers
2. Build an Inclusive, Engaged, and Empowered Workforce
3. Ensure Stewardship of SSA Programs.
It probably took 30 Executives making over $175k a year each to create these goals – that were the same mission goals when I hired on 18 years ago.
It doesn’t take much examination to see that there is NOTHING of substance here; vague targets with no real way to definitively define success or failure (so you are guaranteed success). None of these “goals” speak to any real results or positive change.
OIG, Congress, and our Union are the closest things employees have for oversight of SSA leadership, but in 4 years, how will we determine that the agency has or has not “Optimized the Experience of SSA Customers”?
All of it is just a word game to appease whatever administration is in control of the White House, Senate, and House during any 4-year stretch. There are no real leaders, and thus no reasonable expectation that any of us should expect change that we don’t initiate, likely and unfortunately, through litigation. In the meantime, those work creeps will just continue the “work creep”.
In solidarity,
Joel D. Smith
Membership Pays… by Courtney Bolton DO A72
Did you know that AFGE members qualify for free education benefits through the Union?
As a government employee, the thought of retirement can be both exciting and daunting all at once: With so many different retirement and benefit options available to us, it’s natural to be concerned about picking the correct benefits.
Not to worry; AFGE even protects its members in retirement!
Did you know that the union conducts workshops to help its members understand the retirement benefits that are available to us?
The workshops last about 90 minutes and cover information about eligibility for both Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirees, net retirement income after deductions, health benefits, as well as Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) distribution options.
In order to register for these workshops, union members can visit www.afgeretire.org.
One-on-one virtual retirement seminars are also available to AFGE members. If you would like to schedule a one-on-one session to make sure you are informed and ready for retirement, you can register at www.afgeretire.org or by calling (855) 252-9772.
For more information on setting up a virtual retirement seminar, or for questions about other union benefits, please contact Donny Elder at 832-472-2400.
DID YOU KNOW ?!?! "OFFICE and SHIFTS" - Oscar Gonzalez Jr DO 855
Did you know that if your office operates under shifts that the number of people on shift 2 should be at a minimum?
Article 10 Section 5.C states:
- Management will assign the minimum number of employees to shift 2 to accommodate employee preference and operational needs.
Also, you have a say-so as it relates to the shift rotation. Just because management does the calendar doesn’t mean that you have to blindly accept the dates.
Article 10 Section 5.E states:
- Shift rotations, where necessary, will be worked out at the local level taking into consideration the preferences of employees and the operational needs of the office.
If you’re having trouble with either of these, don’t hesitate to reach out to a rep!
-OGJ
Local 3184 Education - Ana Rivers
Local 3184 Education
As work at home by quarantine ends and employees return to the office. Local 3184 will continue to inform and educate its members via modern technology. If anything, the pandemic has made Local 3184 a stronger Union than ever before.
As we struggled to maintain communication with our members at the beginning of the pandemic, Local 3184 realized it was vital to adapt and move forward with the virtual technological world. How did we accomplish this you ask?
Well, Local 3184 FB page started off with a mere 200+ members and within days from being quarantined our FB page grew with new members joining and becoming the haven for information, education, training, and a place for bargaining unit employees (BUEs) to have a voice.
Your Union will continue to conduct zoom trainings and live meetings for the foreseeable future. Members who are not able to attend may also access prior trainings via our website 3184.org.
We appreciate and value everyone’s input let us know what trainings you would like your Local to conduct.
UNION VICTORY - Tasha White
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to AGFE 3184 Union leadership, and the help they provided to me in winning my arbitration case against the agency. Joel Smith, D’ Artanian (Duck) Miller, Ryan Gurganious, and Pete Harris were very professional and guided me throughout the entire process that lead to this victory. My experience with this arbitration case and other cases filed have taught me one distinct characteristic about SSA A70 management team and that is….A Liar, is a Liar, is a Liar, is a Liar!!! I was informed that they were going to say a lot of untruths about me but to remain poised and calm regardless of what I may hear. Truthfully, A70 management team has the proclivity of lying and harshly punishing their employees whenever the opportunity presents itself. Thankfully, the Arbitrator was able to see right through the lies and listen to the facts presented in this case. Since August 2019, my family had endured many stressful moments including being hit financially because of the actions of this management team. Nonetheless, I am very excited that my three days suspension was vacated and that my time and leave will be restored. I encourage any union member to contact AFGE 3184 to receive quality representation on any level.
