During Vince Micone’s 25-year federal career, he liked to run to help relieve stress and get away from the challenges of being an executive.
When he was in the middle of a partial government shutdown, Micone, who served in senior executive roles at the departments of Labor, Homeland Security and Commerce during his career, said his daily exercise became even more important.
“I’ve been through five shutdowns that has taken up 83 days during my career. During those lapses, I tried to get more runs in. It helped me stay balanced and stay focused. It also helped me burn through some of nervous energy,” said Micone, who retired in April and now is a professor of practice at Arizona State University’s school of public affairs and a fellow with the National Academy of Public Administration. “For those people who are not working, they really need to focus on personal resilience. The shutdown is above their pay grade, so to speak, and out of their control so while they are waiting, I’d recommend they do things that focus on themselves. Get outside and exercise or just figure out how not to focus on it. That doesn’t help when there isn’t much you can do to get things resolved.”
As agencies enter into the third week of the partial government shutdown with no end in sight, federal employees who are working and those who have been furloughed should take Micone’s experience to heart.
He and other experts say surviving the shutdown, no matter how long it lasts, takes planning, both personally and financially, and it takes a certain ability to adapt to current and future situations.
Patrick Malone, the director of the Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University in Washington, D.C., offered four ways federal employees and contractors can take control of their situations.
Take care of yourself
“There is a wonderful book by Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak, where he talks about self-care. He says it’s never a selfish act. It’s the only thing we own, which is ourselves. When we don’t take care of ourselves, we don’t do good by others,” Malone said. This means doing things that make you feel better like exercise, yoga, eating more healthily or just getting more sleep.
Try something new
Malone said breaking out and not doing things the way you always have is helpful to see your current or future situations in a new light. “Now is a good time to do that. It could be as simple as taking a pottery class or learning something new that you’ve always wanted to. You should try multiple things as there are local community colleges and community centers that have free or cheap classes. Maybe you will spark an interest that will make you happy for the rest of your life. It’s real could be a blessing in disguise.”
Develop new job skills
Malone said for those employees who are furloughed, they can look for career advancement or career change opportunities. “So many schools are offering free courses in things like artificial intelligence, why not go try them? You can get a legitimate university certificate and that looks great on the resume. You should take advantage of those and add a new credential.”
Unplug from the news
Watching television or scrolling on social media isn’t going to make the shutdown end any sooner, so Malone said break your media habits. “You will find out when the shutdown is over. I’m not lessening severe impact on folks, but this is not a bad time to get away from the news. Maybe only check the news twice a day?”
Other experts say federal employees should take extra steps to stay in good mental health, especially during this stressful time.
Robyn Kehoe, the executive director of the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund, said finding people to talk to whether professionals or just other federal employees in the same situation is a good way to relieve some of the stress.
“Wellfed is a group of former employees who just started this support organization that does weekly meditations, webinars and other ways for feds to engage with each other and take care of their mental health,” she said. “It’s really about just making sure you are not walling yourself off and you are finding an outlet to talk about what is stressing you out and how you are feeling.”
Experts said keeping a routine is important, getting up at close to normal times and always finding something to do, whether it’s yard work or taking a free course online, whatever can give furloughed federal employees some semblance of a normal routine.
“I’m a big advocate of keeping the same schedule to some degree. Sleep a little later, that’s fine, because you probably always need more sleep anyways. There is something to be said for getting up in the morning and doing something,” Malone said. “That will keep you on a somewhat modified schedule so when you do go back to work, it’s not a shock to the system. If you have a free day, why not take a walk or a hike? It’s part of creating a habit and it’s good for your body.”
Of course, those federal employees and contractors who are exempted from furloughs face just as tough times because they are working with fewer people in the office and not getting paid.
Micone, who was an exempted employee later in his career, said they should create a plan for how to get their organization’s employees reengaged when the shutdown does end.
“People may be coming back who are not in a great mindset, so supervisors need to plan intentionally for how to balance out workloads. The longer things go, the harder it will get,” he said. “When I was at DHS, my work at headquarters slowed down, but the work in the field kept going. So as we were getting things in, I viewed my job as a bit of traffic cop while in lapse status. I created different tiers of things we needed to respond to based on their importance or when we received it. For two weeks after the shutdown ended, we would work on this tranche of work that needed immediate attention, and then we worked on other things that had more lead time.”
Now that federal employees are likely to miss their first paycheck on or about Oct. 24, financial planning becomes even more critical.
Kehoe said it’s no surprise concerns about money and paying bills are among the biggest creators of stress among people.
“There is a lot of uncertainty for people and that can be hard, especially heading into the holiday season that will be here before too long,” she said. “I know it’s a hard thing for feds, who often have personality types that are mission driven and their career is about helping other people so it may be hard to accept help or accept that you need help. But I’d encourage people to look out for what resources are available in your in local communities. If you are struggling to feed your family, find out where your local food pantry is and not feel bad about doing it. That’s why those resources are there to help people in crisis moment.”
Micone added that federal employees and contractors should have a plan with concrete tactics for how to manage their finances, which may include deferred payments where the company will not add fees to your payments.
“I always made sure I took a good look at my family’s finances. What did I not need to spend money on? What additional resources are available?” he said. “There are credit unions and banks who are willing to give federal employees flexibility, particularly since we don’t know how long this shutdown will last.”
Federal News Network has collected several key resources for federal employees and contractors who are furloughed. This is, by no means, a complete list of all the services available.
Our partner WTOP also put together a list of resources for federal employees in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
We will continually update this list, so please feel free to send more options to [email protected].
Partnership for Public Service
PPS is holding a webinar on Oct. 14 at 3:30 pm for federal employees who are furloughed or recently ended their federal service. The focus is how best to build their coping and resilience during this transitional time.
Navy Federal Credit Union
Eligible Navy Federal members impacted by paycheck disruptions can now enroll in the credit union’s Paycheck Assistance Program. Federal employees, servicemembers and contractors who are paid directly by the government can obtain loans at 0.00%. The loans are based on the employees’ most recent direct deposit of pay that was processed into (a) Navy Federal account(s) immediately prior to your pay being suspended due to the government shutdown.
Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA)
FEEA is offering emergency shutdown grants for federal employees who have missed all or part of paycheck. Shutdown grants are generally available to full-time federal employees who are either furloughed or working in an excepted status. Exact amounts and income limits will be announced if the program is activated. During past shutdowns, grants have been $100.
USAA
Federal employees are eligible to receive a 0% interest loan equal to the amount of their net pay, from $500 to $6,000. It’s designed to help if your pay is disrupted.
PenFed
Members can take advantage of a paycheck protection program no-interest loan equal to the amount of your paycheck if your payroll is directly deposited into your PenFed checking account. It’s also offering loan assistance programs for federal employees who are furloughed.
Marine Federal Credit Union
Members are eligible to receive an advance of their first paycheck during the shutdown.
Army Emergency Relief Programs
Soldiers on active duty and their eligible dependents, soldiers retired for longevity, medical or upon reaching age 60 and their eligible dependents and others can obtain financial assistance of loans and grants. Through the Quick Assist Program, company commanders or first sergeants can approve financial assistance up to $2,000. Last year, 8,000 soldiers received over $10 million in financial assistance from their chains of command.
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
The organization suggests first for Marines and seamen to contact their financial institutions for assistance, but says it’s there to assist with immediate needs such as basic living expenses like food, gas, utilities if a paycheck protection option is not available.
Coast Guard Mutual Assistance
Active duty members, civilian employees and others in the Coast Guard community are eligible to receive interest-free loans and grants as well as financial counseling, referrals and other help.
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