r/VHA_Human_Resources

At 12:19 my computer started slowing down for whatever reason didn’t know so I was checking my EMR. I’m both chrome and Microsoft iMessage course who I was supposed to message. I messaged my supervisor and leads I said may I please shut down my computer. As I’m waiting for the answer yes thumbs up something. I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on. Why is it slow? I can’t answer my phone on Genesis. I hate that by the way, it’s new Phone system and I’m like OK well I gave up waiting because I just don’t shut down my computer without permission . Well I gave up not sure what time it was when I decided to shut down, but it was probably a little after 1220 something I ended up taking my phone and texting my next-door neighbor saying what is going on is Google fiber in our neighborhood? Well, at that moment, I didn’t think picking up my phone and stupid me not texting my supervisor. I did say it on Teams saying OK it’s Google fiber in our neighborhood which I should’ve done. I got up why my computer was booting back up because I thought really something was wrong. I was waiting for my next-door neighbor to tell me if it was Google fiber or not and then when they responded saying yes, Google fiber is here. My computer was booting back up and I got back on teams and said it’s Google fiber or next thing I know. But however in my defense she never asked me nor did the leads asked me Hey what’s going on with your computer? All she did was give me a thumbs up and a thumbs up was 30 minutes later so remember I asked at 12:19 can I shut down my computer at 12:50 she’s the one who gave me a thumbs up next thing I know I’m back online answering calls and she’s like can you put 30 minutes in you were gone from 12:19 to 12::49 granted my last break it is from 1245 to 1 o’clock but that’s either here or there. Then she says you need to put in 30 minutes of your time. I didn’t really leave my desk actually I did not leave the room. I just got up from the desk to see if there was a Google contractor truck or car or something. That never left the office sat back down and started loading back up and never left the room and she counted me as an AWOL. I mean this lady I’m telling you this is retaliation from a previous March 11 incident that I’m going through starting Thursday and this this has destroyed my mental health everything and yes, I see a psychiatrist but they ended up going on vacation and canceling this month appointment. I mean she used to talk to me kind of she is evil seems she’s out to get at least eight of us. She has had two EEO’s and it’s like this is such a hostile environment. It’s just and they will not move me to another team it’s sad. What do I do? I mean I have the Union beside me and we’re gonna fight this but it’s sad. This was Google fiber not me. I paid my bill.

Overall, I think leadership needs to see the employee feedback but they need to also take responsibility for things going wrong and in a good faith effort make attempts to make things better.

There is no all employee survey again this year (which I’ve found is used to gaslight people anyway) but facilities can do a different type of survey.

Originally, I thought it would be good to do a survey but does it do more good or more harm if you run a survey and leadership brushes it off? Or just decides that people are just negative?

I see a lot of “well you have to give me suggestions on how to fix it not just complain.” And I get that just ranting is not helpful. However, pointing out poo leadership and how it is affecting everyone IS feedback the problem is that they aren’t able to see that THEY are the problem and they need to work on their leadership. If you are a good leader you’re able to ask more questions to get the feedback to find the real issues or help people get to solutions. You can’t just say “ok but you have no suggestions so you’re just negative.” Ok well take some time, ask some open ended questions, and be curious about their concerns and you may find that conversation leads to a solution.

The only people is leaders in the VHA don’t want feedback, ideas, or solutions. They want compliance, loyalty, and obedience. If you’re not willing be to sugar coat things or blow smoke it their ass you are a problem to them.

Anyway, what is worse, not asking for the feedback at all? Or asking but then dismissing it?

So tell me a RIF is coming without telling me a RIF is coming? Introduce Phased Retirements and try to make them sound enticing.

Every employee has a flaw because no human is perfect. Even your strongest employee has a weakness. My weakness is being on time. What makes it worst it's usually just a few minutes. I know I probably sound like a trash employee, but I'm taking accountability. That is my flaw.

Long story short, I thought I was doing better of being on time, and I was proud of myself but come to find out. My supervisor still considers me late at 7:37. I thought once you're in your place of duty, you aren't considered late.

According to my supervisor, you are late if you are not logged into the computer and at your place of duty no later than 7:37

So....??? Does that sound correct.

I work for VA and have been experimenting with our MS Copilot AI to basically develop a large document (it’s not due for awhile so I have time to experiment). I fed it the data it needed to analyze, spreadsheets, ppt docs, word docs. Told it to synthesize the data and write a report for me based on the criteria that needed to be in the report, word length etc. I’ve been working with AI on this now for 3 days and still have yet to get any report. Restrictions of how many files I can upload at a time, restrictions of how many times I can communicate with it, restrictions on what it can produce and terrible latency. I thought AI was supposed to be instantaneous? It told me it would take 60mins to create the document and after two hours it still wasn’t done. I ran out of responses and had to start all over again multiple times and reload the files. Now sitting by here waiting for it while I do other work. I can’t imagine asking this to get us to Mars or solve global warming! lol. I just asked it to develop a document.

Point being that maybe AI will replace us in years to come and that we will have AI overlords. But not today my fellow Feds, esp using VA Copilot. I could have/probably will just write the document myself. I could have had most of it done by now.

1. Should you leave your mic open? No.

2. Is remote work coming back during this administration? No.

3. Is the SSR coming back during this administration? No.

4. Have Veteran patient wait times increased since 2025? Yes.

5. What is the status of the consistency review for HR? Inconclusive. Consistency review is ongoing.

Please post more in the comments.

I received a HR system email that I am not eligible and I was not referred to the manager as per above. Because it’s the weekend, I cant bother my boss but is there anything I can do to fix this or is it a lost cause? I really enjoy the work and I’ve been building the program from the ground. I am frankly devastated

Hello! I am around 12 weeks pregnant and am a VA employee. I was hearing all sorts of mixed things especially when the union was dissipated, but now that it's coming back, I'm wondering what my options are for getting the most time off as possible. Does it vary from one VA to another? I have a ton of sick leave piled up. I do not have much annual leave, and recently an audit was done and it was discovered I have been getting too much annual leave (through no fault of my own - HR issue) and they want me to start paying it back (aka accumulate less for the next year or so). So I'll have to fight that once I get a debt letter as well. Is pay without leave an option for a few weeks beyond the normal 12 week paid leave? I plan to ask someone at my site about all of this, but I want to be prepared before that discussion. Thanks in advance!

So when I was active duty, I filed a sharp case against someone and he came back with allegations against me as well. He ended up getting kicked out and I ended up “titled” and with a letter of reprimand. This was about 4 years ago. I remember getting a letter saying my fingerprints were expunged I think…anyways I got a job offer as a health tech at the VA. Will I be disqualified for the background check?

I saw some labor market data a few days ago and honestly it's been stuck in my head. Nearly 46% of new college graduates are working in jobs that don't need a degree at all. The average student loan balance is around $34k, and total student debt is close to $1.8 trillion. And yet somehow the traditional advice is still: go to college, sign the loan papers, and deal with the consequences later, because that's what people do.

I'm not against education at all. I'm just questioning the system itself. Years of lectures, theoretical courses, maybe an internship if you're lucky, and then you graduate and wait for the job market to figure out what to do with you.

Lately I've been looking at other models where people learn by doing things, work across different countries, get exposed to real companies and measurable outcomes. Things like Minerva, Mesa, newer venture-builder programs, etc. I'm not saying they're perfect, but I feel like they're much less disconnected from reality than the regular path.

Has anyone else started to feel how strange it is that the traditional path is still accepted like this???

If my Detail has an end date, can they extend me against my wishes?

Or would ai have to file a grievance if they extended me against my wishes?

Since DOGE arrived, OPM data show that a staggering 403,000 civil servants have left the federal government. Among them: 95,000 science workers — including 10,000 PhD-level science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) experts — and 56,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, most from the Veterans Health Administration. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the departments of Agriculture and Interior and the Forest Service have each lost between 20% and 33% of their staff — a troubling fact as the country heads into wildfire and hurricane season. The U.S. Agency for International Development, credited with saving tens of millions of lives worldwide, has been effectively shuttered.

The Silicon Valley ethos of “move fast and break things,” may be defensible in a startup environment, where the costs of failure are largely borne by founders and investors. But government is not a startup.

All of the things designed to protect employees do nothing. EEO, OIG, OWP, or OSC all act like they care about fraud waste and abuse but nothing actually gets done.

It doesn’t matter if it is patient safety, harassment, bullying, even financial fraud it gets ignored or sits in “investigation” status forever meanwhile retaliation occurs and there are no real protections.

Meanwhile the ELT ignores the issue or pretends to be surprised by unethical or unprofessional behaviors. There is not real accountability and ELT cannot even talk to each other and cannot make a decision to save their life. If you bring up a concern or a problem you are now the problem and they won’t fire you but they will do everything and anything to make your work life miserable until you quit.

Thankfully the Veterans love our facility because we have so many good people who work so hard and really care about their job. So they don’t see the corruption and bad leadership. Unfortunately that is leading to the very best people leaving but it doesn’t matter because leadership thinks (and they have said this out loud so it’s not hyperbole) that “everyone is replaceable if they don’t like it they can leave.” They can feel that way if they want but when you keep losing providers and nurses and it takes about a year plus to get a new one in it’s not that replaceable is it. Then the Veterans get passed around provider to provider with no continuity.

Many people are rude and nasty when you try to work with them or ask basic questions. Education is non existent and process improvement is treated like a dirty tissue.

There are wonderful people too I want to make that clear but none of them are in charge.

Anyway this is half a rant and half what else can employees do when the systems and offices there to protect them against harassment and corruption when the offices and policies there to protect constantly fail them?

I can’t do it anymore. How much of a notice should I give to make sure I am prioritizing the well-being of the Veterans I am treating and am burning as few bridges as possible?

I am a physician (1 full time equivalent) with the VA.
After turning in my resignation, how long should I expect to have to work in my position before I can leave?

Hi all,

I am pretty sure I am going to decide to resign after having my baby. I am using 12 weeks PPL and 4 weeks FMLA (per the union we have an additional four weeks of unpaid leave after birth of a child).

My question is, while taking that additional four weeks of FMLA, do I need to give a two week notice? What happens if I do so? My supervisor has already told me to just let them know if I plan not to come back once I’m on leave. My plan was to use FMLA until August 25th and let my supervisor know by the weekend (22-23) if I decide to resign, or let them know on August 10 if I need to give two weeks. Will I still get the additional 31 days of health insurance at no cost after I leave since I will be coming of an FMLA status?

This is not a sure thing yet, will depend on if I have an additional job offer by then, but just wondering what the protocol is for this.

PS: I am aware that I owe back whatever the VA has paid for me in FEHB for those 12 weeks if I don’t return and give my 12 week work obligation.

Thank you in advance!

What are your thoughts on today’s meeting? The beginning was CRINGE 😂