Why HR experts say Musk's '5 things' emails won't work
Federal workers are bracing for more emails from the Trump administration asking them to provide bullet-point descriptions of what they accomplished during the week to prove they are worthy of keeping their jobs.
The Trump administration, with help from Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, has been working to slash the federal workforce to cut costs, including by offering mass buyouts and trying to fire thousands of workers. Last month, an email asked employees to sum up their accomplishments in five bullet points, and Musk threatened on social media that they could lose their jobs if they didn’t comply. Workers were hit with a second round of emails last weekend, with more to come every week, The Washington Post has reported.
While the emails may provide some insights on what workers are getting done, several management and human resource experts said they may not accomplish the overall goal of addressing efficiency. Instead, the method may create confusion for managers who aren’t close enough to understand the work, encourage micromanagement, lead to dismissal of key workers or misrepresent how much effort goes into tasks. It could also slow down processes and stir fear that could incentivize people to lie, experts in management and human resources said.
If leaders choose to cut staff via this method, they might end up cutting key people and skills they need for the future of the organization, said Amy Dufrane, CEO of Alexandria, Virginia- based HR Certification Institute, which provides certification for HR professionals. Cutting staff becomes especially problematic if the employer is using tech tools like artificial intelligence to help analyze the bullet points, as AI can’t replace human assessments, she added. It’s unclear how much the U.S. DOGE Service is using AI in the process, but it has used it in some other projects.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-hr-experts-musk-5-201059369.html
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