The future of public service work is unclear. Just in the last few years, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended in-office work, the way people meet and communicate. But, the merit system and its reinforcement of expertise in government work is – and will remain – key.

Daniel Chenok is the executive director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government and Donald F. Kettl is professor emeritus and former dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Both are fellows of the National Academy of Public Administration. They're also authors of "The Federal Workplace Is Changing Rapidly, But Merit Principles Must Remain Untouched," the latest in a series looking at the challenges and urgency of modernizing the civil service.

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