I’m dealing with a colleague whose behaviour has become increasingly annoying and unprofessional. It’s not overt misconduct, but it’s a pattern of subtle remarks that attempts to establish a power dynamic and testing their ability to violate boundaries that’s hard to address directly.

The behaviour isn’t dramatic, and it hasn’t suddenly escalated. It’s more that, over time, it has become very clear the behaviour is intentional, it won’t stop, it has a self-serving purpose, and it’s a pattern. The behaviour clearly amounts to attempting to manage their own insecurities by keeping others slightly below them and manipulating information across people. They essentially attempt to destabilise other people in order to stabilise themselves.

It amounts to a mix of manipulation, boundary violations, and opportunistic behaviour that creates an uncomfortable working relationship. And I’m trying to figure out the best way to address this in a professional manner.

For those of you who have experienced these types of personalities. Those that operate in a gray zone where they could claim some form of plausible deniability or frame their comments as jokes, how did you handle the situation?

Also, curious about what managers think of these situations. As a manager, would you want your employee to inform you about this type of problematic behaviour?

As requested, here are some fabricated examples for reference

“I recommended to management you should get a new laptop. I mean, your job isn’t that complex, but it’s nice to have good tools.”

 “I told the others you’re good at this. It’s not a difficult skill, but still.”

“I get why you’d push for this, given your situation.”

“Your team isn’t really seen as a priority, so you’ll probably have a hard time getting approvals. but if it comes up, I will suggest that you and your team get what is needed.”

 “I’ve noticed you seem a bit more reactive lately, just an observation.”

“I can see how this might hit differently for you, considering everything.”

I‘m a woman. My boss keeps looking at my body. In meetings where we are face to face, I will often see my boss’ eyes wander to my chest or stomach area. My boss is a woman too. I am so uncomfortable by how she looks at me and I’m wondering if I should say something.

I am plus sized and she is not, so I’m pretty sure she is judging me, but that’s all on her. I’m not someone who dresses inappropriately at work and I’m also not ashamed of my body at all. I am usually in business attire (e.g shift dress and a blazer). There are just some things about my body that I cannot and do not want to hide, nor should I have to.

This isn‘t a cultural thing either where she can’t look me in the eyes. I do think it’s probably generational as I’ve worked with many older women who have so much shame around food and announce it in the workplace (ohh I can’t dare have this cupcake!) to know that’s a thing some women deal with at work. My boss is Gen X.

Should I say something? Should I leave it alone? It has happened enough times for me to notice this is a trend, and I think it’s totally inappropriate and would like it to stop.

The joys of being back in the office (not).

Hi everyone,

I am approaching the 2 year on disability, the employer has sent me the letter with the choices. I am hoping to return to work but I still have ongoing treatment and require additional time 5-6 months. How do I respond to the options? Union is of no help what so ever!

Do I chose the return to work and provide my treating physicians letter along with it of expected return to work date with accommodation to be assessed at a later date?

Hi all,

I have a new acting director and she’s driving me insane! I’m seeking advice on how to deal.

Some background: I’m a mid-level policy analyst and consider myself a high performer. I have consistently received Succeeded+ on my performance reviews, generally get things done efficiently, take initiative, and have been on the same team for many years with colleagues that I love and support. My current manager was is leaving. In total we have lost 6 people to WFA or ERI. We are, of course, expected to deliver at the same capacity.

Things I am contending with/experiencing:

- This acting director is not my direct manager, but she has been giving me a ton of taskings directly, and skips my manager.

- In addition to my manager, and my director, I'm also getting taskings from another manager from a different team we work closely with (we will call him Jeff). Last week, Jeff gave me an “urgent” tasking and I said I need a few days because my plate is full (it really is, we are all balancing heavy workloads and less resources). Jeff then told my director and she had a 'check in' with me about my taskings. She could be genuinely checking in, or she could be monitoring me. I’m not sure. “

- I was OOO for 3 hours for a dentist appt. and went through the normal channels to notify everyone — i.e. my manager/team. She told me she was “sick of moving things around in my absence” and asked me to send her my hours and leave. The things she was "sick of moving things around" were not my taskings. And it's never happened before? Not sure what she's sick of. Also wild to say, in my opinion.

- I worked a pretty intense week completing multiple urgent taskings for her and worked overtime for 3 days. She was actually on a call with me and our DG during some of this, and the DG said I should take whatever overtime I needed. I submitted the overtime afterward, and my director started questioning me about it.

- On the same week that I was working a ton of hours, she messaged me saying, “I needed things from you this afternoon.” This confused me because I was available and didn't have any outstanding calls/emails from her. I had taken my lunch break and was gone for an hour.

- She schedules meetings for 6am my time, but then makes me reschedule meetings that are during lunch at the NCR. I know this is annoying for my NCR colleagues, but sometimes it's the only time that works with our clients.

- She sometimes skips my manager and assigns things directly to me, but other times tells other managers to assign me work. The chain of command feels inconsistent and confusing, and I’m not sure who is actually setting my priorities. Plus no one has visibility into my workload.

- As noted, my manager is WFA'd soon and is pretty checked out at this point (which I completely understand), so I don't feel like I have much support from her in navigating this. She also told me to "watch my back" with this director, half as a joke but also?? Should I be?

The confusing part is that my director seems genuinely happy with my work. At the same time, she keeps questioning me on everything, which is making me wonder whether I'm being monitored for some reason. I feel like I'm going crazy.

Is this actually normal and I'm just being paranoid/overthinking? I'm sure a lot of people are feeling this way in the public service right now, but I am feeling undervalued and overworked. Any advice welcome on how to navigate this :)

TLDR: New acting director isn’t my direct manager, but she frequently assigns me work directly, sometimes skips my manager, and seems to be paying close attention to my hours, leave, workload and availability. Seeking advice. No

Question for the group. Both my partner and I work for the government and are looking to move out of the NCR. My partner has a work accommodation to be permanently remote. If we decide to move, what would that look like for them? Would they need to disclose that with there team? Also, if they change teams, would the accommodation still be in place with the new team?

Wondering if there’s a community of people in Alberta who are part of the infinity network? I’d love to have coffees or just a space at work with some neurodivergent folk where masking isn’t necessary or just a space to meet more people like me to help work feel a little less isolating lol.

I’d love to start a “safe place” for people like me at work but I don’t know how to do that and avoid the stigma that follows invisible disabilities….. not even sure people would want to disclose it. But it seems like the infinity network in the NCR is very active and sometimes I think it’d be nice to make connections with people locally yknow have some allies I suppose lol

Looking for any insights into financial planners in Ottawa who are super familiar with the federal government pension plan, and can run some numbers and provide advice to help me make an informed decision related to whether I take the early retirement incentive (ERI) or not.

The pre-retirement courses I attended many years ago brought in people super well versed in this area and they would look at your pension numbers and tell you the exact difference in your net pay once retired vs. to continue working. Anyone able to recommend a company or individual for this?

I’m currently seriously considering leaving the public service, and I’d really like to hear from people who have actually made the move.

I currently have two job offers: one with a private firm and one in-house/corporate. Both seem like interesting opportunities, but I’m having a hard time deciding whether leaving is the right move.

I’m currently doing a Master’s in Taxation, and lately I’ve been feeling increasingly unsatisfied with my current environment. What bothers me the most is the lack of professional development, training, career advancement opportunities, and overall growth. I feel like I’m not being challenged or developing as much as I’d like to.

Unfortunately, I can’t take an unpaid leave to try the private sector first because of conflict-of-interest considerations, so if I leave, it would be a fairly definitive decision.

At the same time, the public service offers stability and good working conditions, so I’m worried about leaving and eventually realizing that I had a pretty good thing going.
For those of you who left the public service for the private sector:

Did you ever regret your decision?
And for those who never looked back, what made you realize you had made the right choice?

I’d especially love to hear from people who have been out for 1–2+ years. Did you actually find better opportunities for growth, training, advancement, and professional development, or was it mostly just… different?

Would love to hear both the good and the bad.

Hi everyone,

*Let me preface this by saying i am aware that i am extremely lucky to not have been part of WFA, and that my manager is so supportive and entertaining this idea.*

I live in the NCR, but all of my family is in my home province. Living here without any support network has been very difficult recently, and it has been having a significant impact on my mental health.

I spoke with my manager about relocating back to my home province. There is a government office there that I could report to in order to satisfy the RTO requirements, so I wouldn’t be asking to work remotely full-time from home.

My manager has been supportive and has agreed to a temporary relocation for one year so that I can move home and hopefully find a position based in my province during that time. However, there is one condition: I would need to provide a written resignation now, effective for the end of that one-year period. Essentially, if I am unable to secure a position in my home province within that year, my resignation would take effect and I would leave the public service.

On one hand, I appreciate that my manager is trying to help me. On the other hand, signing a resignation a year in advance feels like a major commitment and removes a lot of security. I’m wondering:

- Is this a common arrangement?

- Has anyone heard of managers requiring a future-dated resignation in exchange for a temporary relocation?

- Would it be reasonable to try negotiating something like LWOP at the end of the year instead of a resignation if I haven’t found a position?

- Are there other options I should be considering before agreeing to this?

I know ultimately I’ll need to make my own decision, but I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with similar situations or has knowledge of staffing/HR policies.

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone!

I will be transferring to another core department in two weeks. This is my first time doing a transfer within the government so I am not really sure what the process is.

Do I need to send any official email or request to HR before I leave? Also, is there anything I should make sure gets transferred properly (HR/pay, leave, pension, etc.) so I don’t run into any issues later?

Would really appreciate any tips or advice from anyone who has gone through this before.
Thanks!

Under new leadership due to WFAs and alternation, our new PMA objectives and indicators in a heavily reduced team took me by surprise.

Simply put, it basically says that everyone is to stringently continue to meet the exact same if not more deliverables and timelines as previously, when we had a team twice the size.

I find this deeply concerning. Previously have been told “just use AI” as the solution to these concerns. Which is imho just poor planning, poor advice, poor stewardship, poor leadership to list a few things. But I guess I gave them the benefit of the doubt that it would come out in the wash that the same output for our team is simply unattainable.

But to now see it in our PMA and know that we will be ranked on such a completely impossible objective is making me feel a bit sick to my stomach.

Any thoughts or advice welcome. I’ve never had such a situation before with the objectives themselves

Looking for advice. I left the public service over 10 years ago with a small overpayment. They couldn't figure out the repayment amounts and kept changing the info and amounts. In 2022, they agreed in writing not to pursue further after I said this was beyond the statute of limitations.

I have since received a T4 from the GOC for 2025 saying I was paid $50,000 by them last year. I was not paid a dime of this. When I called the GOC pay centre, they said this was from unpaid acting pay during my former employment that was uncovered and issued in 2025. The pay centre said I didn't receive any of this money, as it went directly to paying back the "several large sums" owed in overpayment. I have never received notice of these several large overpayment debts. The person explicitly stated that some of these wouldn't have the statute of limitations apply. They would say nothing else other than the overpayment(s) being so large that the $50k clawed back didn't max it out.

How do I find out what is going on when the pay centre won't tell me. I'm nervous to do a PAR in case this risks falling under an acknowledgment of the debt. Should I ATIP my info? Any suggestions on what wording to use to atip a pay file? Am I in lawyer territory? I seriously doubt I was underpaid $50k when I was a junior making very little money. And I seriously doubt I was simultaneously overpaid by more than $50k.

My head is spinning and I don't know what to do.

I have submitted a claim for diagnostic fees and fitting of a catact lens of $775 to Canada Life. They have asked for a breakdown of the diagnostic fee but the clinic said that they cannot provide it as these tests are billed as a group of tests.

I provided as much information as I could from the selection pamphlet and a summary of treatment, as well as the clinic email response to my request but Canada Life has declined payment.

Does anyone have relevant experience and advice as to how to proceed?

Thanks all.

I will be taking on a higher role on the same team and there is no one to back fill me for the several months I will be in this position. I was told by my manager (the manager of the team) that there are no additional resources, people will be expected to work over time and that everyone needs to do more work. I have vocally pushed back because both jobs are quite demanding and different roles where I can easily fill 37.5h a week with each position. I think the manager is just expecting me to do both jobs by submitting over time and getting all the work done. I will not be able to do both - I can only do one or the either.

Once this begins I will bring it to the attention of the union, but is there anything else I can do in the mean time? I have about a month before my acting opportunity starts and I move into a new role. Can I limit the amount of over time I need to do? If both jobs are a full time work load and they are expecting both to be done with over time being paid out do I have to work a full 75.5h every week? I do not see this as a viable solution to anything but the manager does not want to hear about the fact we need to hire more people on our team or push back on the amount of work we get from upper management.

I have been approved for ERI. I am on assignment for the next 7 months. There is no chance of returning to my substantive position as it is out of the town and I moved for this assignment I have been on for 3 years. My assignment will not be renewed. I think there is a possibility that when it ends, if I do not find another assignment, I will be WFA by my substantive employer, which is 1000km away.

What are the rules to being WFA? I will have had 25 years of work then, and if I am work force adjusted, and there is a 120-day decision period, my 55th birthday will fall in there.

Would I be entitled to the same benefits of ERI, plus severance?

I understand that due to many people taking ERI, there will probably be openings and a job somewhere that they can offer to me. I think my first choice though would be to be WFA.

Is it too early now to sign up for alternate with someone else, because I want to wait until I am 55.

Is it worth the gamble to wait, or just take ERI now? If I reject the ERI, and WFA does not work out after my 55th birthday, then I need to work another 3 years to get the same pension salary with the early penalties at that time, as the pension amount I can get now with ERI without penalty.

I am looking for advice and for things that I may be missing. Take the guaranteed ERI, or try and wait for the same benefits of ERI plus severance? Thank you.

Answer: no.

Indeterminate AS-5 - substantive position is in the NCR.

My husband is moving to BC for a new job and I was recently denied the opportunity to work from an office in my new city (despite confirmation that there IS space at said office), as well as a remote work agreement. However, I will be going on secondment until the end of this FY (Mar 31, 2027) with a dept that WILL allow me to work remotely.

1. If my secondment ends on March 31, 2027 and I go on temporary LWOP for spousal relocation leave from April 1 - July 1, then switch that leave to maternity leave on July 2 (dates are arbitrary; just an example and yes I would have qualified for EI with 500 hours within 52 weeks of work within these dates), what would the implications be for top up repayment be if I am returning to LWOP spousal relocation after my mat leave and would possibly not have a job to return to?

2. If my secondment ends on March 31, 2027, would I get the 1 week family leave, 2 weeks vacation, and 2 personal days to use before I go on LWOP for spousal to maximize my time on LWOP?

This is a procedure to prevent the progression of a degenerative eye disease which, if left untreated, can result in loss of vision/blindness and cornea transplant as the only means of restoring vision. It's performed by a specialist doctor and was directly prescribed for me by one through the Eye Institute of the Ottawa Hospital.

This is NOT a procedure which improves or corrects vision (ie not PRK/LASEK/LASIK), I would still need to wear glasses afterwards at the same prescription I have now. All it does is stop my vision from continuing to get worse.

Ontario is one of only provinces which do not cover this procedure as part of the public healthcare system, it only covers the cornea transplant surgery as a treatment for the resulting blindness. If I moved 20 minutes across the river to Gatineau it would be covered, which makes this so frustrating.

This procedure typically costs between 2-3k per eye, so about 5k total and that must be paid out-of-pocket or by private insurance.

My spouse's healthcare plan does not cover any vision care outside of routine exams and glasses prescriptions, so PSHCP is my only hope for being able to afford to save my vision and prevent potential blindness. I've been reviewing the PSHCP coverage in detail and I'm very concerned it may not qualify based on the language I'm seeing.

The Canada Life members booklet has allotted $2000 per lifetime for eligible eye surgeries. As per the National Joint Council directive on the PSHCP for what procedures qualify:

6.3.1 Eligible expenses are the reasonable and customary charges for the following items:
[....]

(C) Elective laser eye surgery to correct vision, limited to the maximum eligible expense specified in the Summary of Maximum Eligible Expenses per covered person under the Plan, and not per eye or per procedure. The surgery must be performed by an ophthalmologist.

[....]

Exclusions:

6.3.2 No benefit is payable for:

1. Eye-related procedures which use lasers but where the laser does not reshape the cornea with the goal of correcting common vision problems;

I'm worried that because CXL isn't a corrective surgery (ie my vision will not improve and I still will need glasses) and there is no reshaping of the cornea involved (all it does is strengthen weakened tissue which would otherwise continue to worsen) that it does not meet these criteria for eligibility.

So I wanted to know whether other members of the Canada Life plan in Ontario have had this procedure covered. I really hope so because despite not even covering half of the total costs, it would be the only way I could afford the procedure.

I’m a mid-career/mid-level analyst working in a fast-paced and “dynamic” workplace. My team is usually slammed as is, but about a few months ago my manager and senior analyst both quit at around the same time. Since then, we have a new manager and a new senior analyst. However, the new manager is slow to pick up the substantive material and doesn’t really manage. When they do get involved, they’re more of a hindrance than a help. The new senior analyst is competent but not quite ready to handle the files yet.

In effect (and in the interim), I have sort of taken over the roles for both my former senior analyst and in a way, also for my manager. This is, in my opinion, very unfair to me and noting that I also do not have acting pay.

What are your thoughts/advice for me in this specific situation? Anyone been in a similar position before? Thanks for the help!

My mother may need to get a bone marrow transplant and if she does I’m going to be taking time off. If this needs to get done, would I take sick leave until that’s exhausted and then apply for EI after?

edit: I would be donating my marrow.

Retiring soon with ERI, but will need another part time job to supplement my pension. Does anybody know are we able to purchase our work laptop, once it’s wiped clean of course.

Looking for some advice from anyone in the federal public service who has dealt with something similar.

My dad has metastatic cancer, and we only found out this past week that it is terminal. He is no longer continuing treatment and we’ve been told it’s unlikely he’ll make it to the new year, possibly much sooner.

I’ve been allowed to WFH up until now so I could more easily take him to appointments/emergency clinic visits and occasionally help my mum during breaks or lunch. I was supposed to return to the office this Wednesday.

I’m very grateful for the flexibility I’ve already been given and definitely don’t take it for granted. I’m just wondering if there is any possibility of extending WFH temporarily given the change in circumstances.

My dad lives with me and my mum. My mum is with him and handles his day-to-day care, but he is very heavy and physically difficult to move. She needs my help to move him and get him back up when he uses the bathroom. She has hurt her back doing this in the past, so we’re worried about her injuring herself again.

If I’m WFH, I can still work my normal hours and simply run upstairs when she needs help, then come straight back to work. He generally only needs help with this once or twice a day.

I realize the timing could make this look like I’m just trying to avoid going back to the office, so I’m completely willing to provide medical documentation confirming his prognosis if needed. This would only be for this final period and not an indefinite arrangement.

Has anyone in the federal public service, particularly CRA, been able to get temporary WFH or some other flexibility in a situation like this? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.

My 24 yr old finished a 1 yr masters program this month and he thinks his last official day in the program is sept 1. He doesn’t start work until sept 8. We are not sure if he would be covered by my govt Canada travel insurance from sept 1-8. Thoughts?-update- Thanks for input. It was considered over
By sept 1 and he obtained new insurance.

“Working weekends, working holidays, working through your vacations is not really an acceptable answer to how we’re going to have long term well-being,” he said.

Courts Administration Service employees: is this the norm? Sometime ago someone posted asking which Departments work nights and weekends. Is this a 24/7 operation or is it all overtime? Is the Department expanding? Asking for career advice.