GovExec Daily

American office workers are slowly returning to the workplace as more and more people are being vaccinated. The pandemic accelerated telework adoption and lots of organizations are embracing a hybrid environment. But, what makes people want or dread making their way back to the office? What makes an office where people feel comfortable working?

Joining our program today is Michael Lee Stallard co-authored the book "Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy, and Understanding at Work," now in its second edition. He has a post on our site right now headlined "Should You Bring Employees Back to the Office?" He joined the podcast to discuss the post and a return to workplaces.

A recently-released DHS Inspector General report notes the poor handling by CBP officials upon learning that CBP employees had violated agency social media policy on Facebook and elsewhere in bigoted posts and comments. Ten senators and the Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security had asked for an investigation after a private CBP-centered Facebook group became the heart of a series of news stories.

GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz is covering DHS hiring and workforce culture. He joined the show to discuss the inspector general report and the DHS workforce.

It has been a little under a year since Brian Miller was confirmed as the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. Miller told our guest today that he's found a lot of success in uncovering fraud associated with the CARES Act in his time on the job, but there is more work to be done.

Courtney Bublé is a reporter covering oversight. She spoke to Miller last week and she joined the show to talk about her conversation with him and oversight in the Biden administration.

Since 2013, the United States has seen multiple shutdowns, even more continuing resolutions and generalized budget confusion. Article One of the Constitution gives Congress budget responsibility, but it's not that simple in practice or theory.

Liz Hempowicz is the Director of Public Policy for the Project on Government Oversight. She joined the show to discuss budget authority and Congress' role in the budgeting process.

The COVID-19 crisis has pushed telework efforts in to overdrive. But with vaccines and infection numbers starting to go down, agency leaders are faced with an even bigger challenge: How to best engage employees digitally and how to slowly start to integrate staff back into the office when the time comes.

Dr. John Kotter is the Executive Chairman of Kotter, Inc. and the author of the upcoming book Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile Times. He joined the show to talk about telework and agency productivity.

As calls for racial justice have grown louder over the last few years, governments need to find ways to build racial equity into policy. Technology now gives governments more real-time information than ever to make policy decisions in the pursuit of equity, if they choose to use that information.

Martin O'Malley was governor of the state of Maryland for two terms and the two-term mayor of Baltimore. He currently is a Senior Advisor for Smart Governance with Grant Thornton, a Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and the author of "Smarter Government: How to Govern for Results in the Information Age." He has a post on GovExec sibling site Route 50 now headlined "States and Localities Should Implement Equity Compliance Measures." He joined the show to talk about how governments can leverage data, tech and expertise in the service of equity.

Eleven months ago, Brian Miller was confirmed as the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. Since his June confirmation, his office has staffed up his office, the COVID-19 crisis has continued and a presidential transition happened after November's election.

Recently, GovExec correspondent and frequent GovExec Daily guest Courtney Bublé interviewed Miller about his time in his office and what he has learned during the 11 months he has been at the job.

During the maximum telework period of the COVID-19 crisis, criticism of federal telework has largely been blunted by Pentagon and OPM evidence that productivity has been maintained during remote work. The pandemic experience now offers a unique opportunity for change because old assumptions about the effectiveness of telework were blown up by the data. This could be done through labor-management relations.

Robert M. Tobias is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Key Executive Leadership Program at American University, the former president of the National Treasury Employees Union and a GovExec contributor. His latest post on our site is headlined "The Pandemic Has Created an Opening to Improve Federal Labor-Management Relations." He joined the podcast to discuss how the COVID-19 crisis can be used to facilitate better conversations between labor and management.

President Joe Biden has promised to put diversity, equity and inclusion at the forefront of his agenda. In order to do that, good, usable data will need to be used to identify and analyze racial inequities, develop solutions, and track progress.

Temilola Afolabi is a Research Associate who co-leads the Open Data for Racial Equity program at the Center for Open Data Enterprise (CODE). She joined the show to discuss how the Biden administration can use data in the pursuit of equity.

Public service is both a career and calling for many. While the 15 months have really tested federal employees' resolve, the two million civilian feds have responded with aplomb to the challenges of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Active and retired federal employees have likely looked at the response with some level of pride in civil servants' professionalism.

Jessica Klement is the Staff Vice President, police and program at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. Prior to joining NARFE, Klement served as the Government and Public Affairs Director at the Federal Managers Association, She joined the show to talk about her organization and Public Service Recognition Week.