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telework and the federal attorney
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Anonymous
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"This is the kind of work-life perk that people are looking for in exchange for a massive pay cut. "
Let's get real for a second here. The perk is that they are employed after being laid off from their high paying associate gig, and employed with an incredible amount of job security. They don't "need" to be able to telework - what's their alternative? Going back to a firm after being cut? |
Anonymous
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I have tons of flexibility and could choose to telework, but I think it's unprofessional and detrimental to one's career. Then again, I haven't given up on ever getting another promotion and I'm not just marking time and collecting a paycheck.
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Anonymous
It really depends on your line of work. It is not accurate to say that teleworking once per week is detrimental to one's career; the evidence shows otherwise. Look into the management styles and employee stats on companies like google and apple and other leaders. |
Anonymous
I know several federal attorneys who voluntarily gave up a "high paying associate gig" specifically for the job security and work/life balance that federal employment offers. I am one of them. Do you really believe that all federal attorneys are there because they either couldn't get a private job or got fired from one? |
Anonymous
Are you a federal attorney? I ask because I can absolutely see your concern in some work environments. But as the other poster mentioned, it ceratainly is not always true. Several federal offices not just offer but REQUIRE attorneys to telework. My understanding is that ICE OPLA is one of them. |
Anonymous
I'm not sure how true this is if we're talking about staying within a specific agency, but I also have to say that I find it amusing that many people seem to look down on being a "worker bee", whereas I am pretty happy to be actually doing work, and doing it well, rather than being in endless meetings or worrying about other people who aren't doing their work. |
Anonymous
This is the attitude I just don't understand. You are clearly not a "worker bee." You have a specific desire to climb the ladder (or whatever it's called these days). I just don't. You seem to think that makes me less than you, less professional, less smart, whatever. It doesn't. The full performance level for my federal attorney position is a 14 (although some in our office are trying to get it bumped to 15). I started as a 13 2 years ago and was promoted to a 14 after a year. From now I will continue to get step increases, but that is it. I love my job. It's interesting, intellectually stimulating, and I feel like I am actually making a difference for the people who file appeals before the federal administrative body for which I work. If I work in this job making six figures and teleworking 3 days/week for the next 25 years, I will be perfectly happy. That doesn't mean I'm just "marking time and collecting a paycheck." It means I am a dedicated employee who happened to find a job that I love early on in my career that provides well for my family and that makes me feel like a productive member of society. On the other side, the type of position I am in clearly would not suit you. You are different from me, and clearly have different preferences and goals for your career. So you clearly went out and found a job that suits your preferences and career goals. Good for you, good for me. We're both happy, so why do people like you insist on crapping on workers who just have different interests and priorities? |
Anonymous
| Worker bee here who gave up management/supervising when I had children and went part-time with a DoD agency. Don't miss it in the least! I am happy being the worker bee and not dealing with everyone's whining/issues anymore. I can control my own actions and when my work gets down. My bosses are tickled pink with my work because I need very little supervision and get my work done in about half the time as a full-time person. It works for both of us and yes, I telework. Am I moving up the career ladder right now? No, but my bosses know what I am capable of from before and when I want to move back into a more aggressive career role, the opportunity will be there. In fact every once in a while, they will ask me if I am ready to move back into management. |
Anonymous
Private sector 80%-teleworker here, and I completely agree. I am a worker-bee by choice, because it suits me. In my old job, I supervised lawyers and paralegals, and UGH, I never want to do that again. When I changed jobs, I looked specifically for a position that did not involve managing people. |
Anonymous
| So OP, are you a rank and file worker bee type attorney or are you ambitious? Are you interested in the telework lifestyle, 3 to 5 days a week, or just occasionally or once a week? |
Anonymous
She mentions in a follow up post on page 2 that she is only interested in teleworking one day per week. |
Anonymous
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OP here. The PP is correct. I am interested in teleworking one day per week.
Do I cosider myself ambitious? Yes. I strive to become a true expert in my particular field and would very much like to be considered THE expert within my agency and beyond. In that way, I am ambitious. Am I ambitious in that I want to manage or supervise? I would like to, maybe. But I don't consider that as important as my reputation and career as far as actually practicing the law. |
Anonymous
Yes. It is easy and you don't exert that much energy. You just have to show up. By and large, I think 95% of government employees take these job for the security and they don't have to work too hard because "discrimination" whether gender or race is what they scream if they are expected to actually work. Don't have much respect, if any, for career government attorneys. I think you could indiscriminately choose one out of every three govt. employees, fire them, and no one know the difference and tons of taxpayer money saved. |
Anonymous
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Government agencies are very big, and the jobs diverse. Saying "I know someone at Treasury, therefore this must be true of Treasury" isn't accurate.
My hunch is that individuals who deal with classified materials, or require facetime daily with politicals are less likely to be allowed to telecommute. That is true of some attorneys at Treasury, but by no means all. |
Anonymous
| Somehow worker bee and attorney seems like a mismatch. Most lawyers I know were/are ambitious and didn't get to where they are by wanting to be a worker bee. Unless maybe you chose the law because of limited options elsewhere or your family wanted you to go to law school. |