Employees of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have been informed of a new requirement to respond to an email detailing their accomplishments from the previous week in five bullet points. This directive comes after a previous email last week had indicated that responses were not mandatory. The deadline for submitting the responses is set for 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday.
The email, titled 'What did you do last week? Part II,' was sent by the Office of Personnel Management on Friday. A subsequent email on Monday morning clarified that employees are expected to provide responses, emphasizing the need to craft their answers with the awareness that they could be read by foreign entities with malicious intent.
While the initial instruction urged employees to consider potential foreign scrutiny in their responses, a later email on Monday omitted this specific guidance. Instead, employees were reminded to adhere to any additional instructions provided by their supervisors regarding the content of their responses.
Employees have been advised to maintain a high level of generality in their responses and avoid mentioning specific names or projects in the bullet points. Those who are on approved leave, out of the office, or have taken deferred resignation are exempt from the requirement to respond.
It appears that this new protocol may become a recurring practice, as the email suggests that similar requests for weekly updates could be forthcoming. The communication underscores the importance of vigilance in safeguarding sensitive information and aligning responses with the best interests of the United States.
