‘insulting’: Amid Workforce Reductions, Dot Offers Employees Tips On Personal Branding, Managing Emotions

With layoffs looming at the Transportation Department — possibly as soon as next month — the agency has begun offering workshops for employees on topics such as ways to improve their personal brands and how to manage strong emotions around losing their jobs, according to a memo reviewed by POLITICO.

This "Career Transition Learning Series," communicated to DOT employees by the Office of Human Resource Management last week, includes sessions on things like elevating your personal brand, where employees will “learn practical tools to effectively leverage your personal brand and navigate career transitions with confidence.”

And there are scheduled sessions on helping workers translate their federal experience to the private sector, mastering interviewing skills and even ones that focus on “coping with downsizing and job loss” and “managing strong emotions.” The managing strong emotions session makes the point that “preventing emotional outbursts is key to a productive workplace.” The overview is billed as an opportunity to “recognize emotional cues” and to incorporate strategies to “manage and prevent strong reactions.”

DOT did not respond to a request for comment.

One DOT employee called the session on strong emotions “insulting.”

“It feels like it's intended to tell us we're being dramatic or that we're not professional enough to go through turmoil and remain detached and completely calm. It feels out of touch," said the employee, who was granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly.

The person gave an example of when Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy arrived in office and announced a "dress code as soon as he got here, when everyone knows how to dress for the office and there's no need to tell a professional workforce how to dress."

"Just feels like another slight against federal workers, honestly," the worker said.

Another employee said it's "definitely ham-handed if it's not deliberately to scare people." The employee was granted anonymity to discuss the sessions without fear of reprisal.

Agencies have been given directives to severely cut their workforce through layoffs, or "reductions in force." So far, DOT has not begun widespread layoffs, but Duffy has warned that the agency won't be spared.

Nearly 800 DOT probationary employees were fired in February — only to be brought back later when it was reversed by a federal judge — and over 1,000 took the first deferred resignation offer.

DOT recently sent a second deferred resignation offer, and many are expected to have elected to leave, according to two people familiar with the approximate numbers. Official figures have not yet been released.