Week 3: Day 1

My third week working at the Bureau of Economic Analysis was both my most isolated and productive period within the organization. I was isolated for the majority of the time because most of the staff members in the Administrative Services Divisions were required to attend mandatory training. This significantly altered the priority list that I was given the week before because there were few people available to be interviewed. Apparently, the entire senior staff, including my supervisor & SPAG, was required to attend economics and statistics training. Their training, which was reminiscent of my own, lasted from 10 am to 3 pm. The majority of the staff was displeased about being separated from their work for such a large period of time. I did not understand the root of their displeasure. Who would not want to be paid to not have to do work for a week? From my vantage point, I saw that the majority of the staff members had assistants that they could have completed delegated tasks. I was surprised that no one ultimately made this decision.