GovExec Daily

The generation born after 1996, commonly called Gen Z or Zoomers, are entering the workforce now, causing managers to adapt to Gen Z's unique needs, complications and strengths. Management can be complicated. As technology and the world changes, the workforce and management will change, as well.

Kat Clowes is the founder and CEO of March Consulting, an educational consultant and the author of Put College to Work: How to Use College to the Fullest to Discover Your Strengths and Find a Job You Love Before You Graduate. Robin Paggi is a veteran HR manager and the training and development specialist at Worklogic HR. They cowrote the new book, Managing Generation Z: How to Recruit, Onboard, Develop, and Retain the Newest Generation in the Workplace. They joined the podcast to discuss how to manage a workplace across generations as Gen Z becomes more a part of the workforce.

The world reached a dire milestone over the weekend, with the global death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic surpassing three million. As parts of the world continue to struggle with the pandemic, the United States reached a more positive milestone: More than 50% of American adults have had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the CDC announced. 

Courtney Bublé writes the Coronavirus Roundup at GovExec. She joined the show to talk about the state of vaccinations and other COVID-19-related stories.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration released its budget proposal for fiscal 2022. While some of the administration’s political opponents assailed the over $700 billion in money budgeted for the Pentagon, the Biden proposal allocates $753 billion for national defense programs, a 1.7% increase over fiscal 2021 defense spending. While an annual increase in Defense spending is seemingly a given in the 21st century, it’s worthwhile to dig deep into the ways we fund defense and how we prioritize and define national security. 

Mandy Smithberger is the director of the Center for Defense Information at the Project on Government Oversight. She previously was a national security policy adviser to Rep. Jackie Speier and has served as an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency and U.S. Central Command. She joined the podcast to discuss the Defense budget.

Starting in February, the Defense Department’s  Countering Extremism Working Group began work on reflecting and responding to the news that at least two dozen of those charged in connection to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol were either active duty military or veterans. Last week, the Pentagon announced the launch of a Post-Insurrection Extremism Review. West Point and an Iraq war veteran Bishop Garrison will lead the effort.

Ben Watson is News Editor at GovExec sibling site Defense One and the host of the Defense One Radio podcast. He previously worked at NPR and served for five years in the U.S. Army, where he was an award-winning combat cameraman and media advisor. He joined the show to discuss the review and extremism in the military.

The history of the term “nervous breakdown” is a complicated one, but if we take it at is most generous, it could be a useful thing for many of us to utilize during excessively stressful times like, for example, during a pandemic that has carried on for 14 months. 

In a post on our site now headlined “Having an Old-fashioned Nervous Breakdown Might Be a Good Thing,” our guests today explain how having a break can help your workflow and work-life. Michael Lee Stallard and Katharine P. Stallard are the authors of Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy, and Understanding at Work, now in its second edition. They joined the show to discuss the post and how a break can help connect employees.