2017 Diary – Dannielle Blumenthal

I write about the things that matter to me. All opinions are my own. All individuals are considered legally innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Public domain.

Engage Civil Servants, Don’t Attack Them

I read with dismay this morning about a no-bid contract let by the government to conduct opposition research on civil servants themselves.

Aside from the legal question, and despite the unprecedented “resistance” movement launched from within the civil service in the aftermath of the election, the appearance is disastrous and it is a disastrous employee engagement move.

For most Feds see themselves as “the good guys.” This is true whether you look at survey results, anecdotal reports, or just talk to Feds themselves. So instead of reflexively attacking civil servants who express principled dissent, it makes more sense to reach out and engage them.

The problem is corruption and it happens everywhere, because criminal deviance is a fact of social life. Scapegoating civil servants just perpetuates the problem.

https://lnkd.in/eZpkBpH

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/us/politics/epa-scott-pruitt-foia.html