With the change in administration, government employees and contractors are being hit hard with workplace changes and new expectations once again. The truth is, the past 5 years have been riddled with insecurities in the work place. From financial worries to insecurities about workplace policies, it’s more common than ever to hear clients share that they are confused, stressed and uncertain about how to navigate and manage their lives.
As a therapist, understanding what your clients are feeling is key. Offering them hope and even the opportunity for resilience will go a long way to calming their nervous systems.
From anxiety about job security to frustration with policy changes, you know better than anyone how these issues deeply affect your clients’ well-being. Understanding what’s going on in their world behind all the headlines will help you meet them where they are, so you can guide them through these tough transitions with confidence and ideally, some optimism.
Early 2025 is no exception to this new rule. Given the landscape, therapists need to not just be aware of the almost predictable challenges that clients will bring into session, but also name such challenges on your website and in your marketing to help clients see how well you understand their circumstances.
As we all experience the political shifts coming, here are a few challenges you will likely see in your office.
The Return-to-Office Mandate
Under President Trump’s administration, federal employees are being called back to in-office work five days a week, ending remote work arrangements that thousands of white collar workers got used to during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means saying goodbye to the flexibility, autonomy, and sense of control they felt over the past five years.
Whatever your personal feeling about this change, clients who work either in the DMV or who are federal employees worldwide will experience a quantum shift in lifestyle. This change impacts schedules, upends routines, challenges work-life balance, and forces a major readjustment.
Navigating this shift can feel overwhelming for even the most resilient employees.
In Therapy, You Might Hear Thoughts Like:
- “How am I supposed to rearrange my schedule, get all my work done, and take care of my kids?”
- “I’m anxious/nervous about being around coworkers again.”
- “I’m not sure I can handle going back to working in person with all the office politics.”
- “I was so much more productive at home – this feels punitive after all I have done.”
- “I’m not sure I can stay at this job, perhaps this isn’t the right place for me after all.”
Sit around any coffee shop and you’ll hear people wrestling with questions around managing the demands of long commutes while also juggling child care or elder care responsibilities. These worries can feel overwhelming after so many years calling their own shots. As clients try to reestablish a routine that works in this new phase of their professional lives, the anxiety and grief are palpable.
Workplace culture is another significant concern. After so much time working remotely, the office environment might now feel unfamiliar and constricting, especially for clients who are naturally introverted or socially anxious. Your clients may complain about feeling micro-managed. They may feel impatient with colleagues’ work habits, and toy with the idea of quitting just so they don’t have to feel the pressure of being under someone else’s nose.
Anxiety as a whole is likely to be on the rise. Clients may worry about how their work will be evaluated in person after years of remote productivity. They might also feel worried about workload requirements, deadlines, and how coworkers or supervisors could shift attitudes with the return to office life. Not knowing what to expect is its own additional tension.
How You Can Help
Part of the new initiative is to challenge the government workforce and to test just how many people any one agency needs. While the president has broad authority over the federal workforce, the ability to prohibit remote work is not absolute.
Around 26% of federal employees are unionized, many with agreements that protect remote or hybrid work arrangements. These agreements would need to expire or be renegotiated for significant changes to occur. This means there’s still room for flexibility and alternative arrangements.
The second challenge affecting this decision is the significant cost of underutilized real estate, which burdens taxpayers. In 2023, not one U.S. federal agency exceeded 50% office space utilization from January to December. This under use represents a substantial expense on taxpayers’ balance sheets and is a driving factor behind efforts to reduce remote work and maximize the value of these assets.
Facts like these are hard for anyone to dismiss outright and sometimes hearing sparks of hope or logical rationale can help clients to explore their options. Therapists can encourage their clients to focus on adaptability and flexibility; to explore opportunities within their specific circumstances to help embrace a feeling of personal agency. And making personal decisions about how to navigate the changes in front of them is always an option. Adjustment both to remote work and away from it will take time.
Finding Some Hope…
There are also a few potential silver linings with the return to the office mandate that could be easily overlooked but are worth noting. Rebuilding connections with colleagues, gaining mentorship opportunities, and developing a stronger sense of community and collaboration helps people feel less isolated and alone.
On the bright side, because many organizations are finding that mandating that workers return to onsite work is not boosting morale, creative responses to recognition, team building, and commitments to building a more cohesive culture at work is on the rise. Changes in culture bode well for everyone regardless of what led to the change.
As a therapist, helping clients think outside the box and to approach these changes with curiosity and a proactive mindset models stress management for any situation. With support and perspective, these challenges can become opportunities for growth and possibility.
Job Security In An Unstable Landscape
Uncertainty about job security is nothing new even in government positions, but current policies have raised the stakes. With hiring freezes in place and talk of policy shifts like “Schedule F” (which could mean replacing certain employees), knowing you have a job today doesn’t feel like certainty tomorrow. Watching a department get downsized creates a real emotional toll, especially for those who are already stretched thin.
Clients May Voice Concerns Like:
- “What’s going to happen to my family if my department gets downsized?”
- “Should I start looking now to make sure I am not the one who is let go?”
- “What is my career path if the plans I have been working towards fall apart now?”
- “How do I keep up with this workload when there’s no one to share it with me?”
- “Am I too old to start over? Will anyone hire me at my age at my rate?”
Worries about losing a job can loom large. Even if your client’s position is technically secure, the rumor mill can stir up anxiety, leaving everyone feeling on edge and uncertain about the future. This type of stress is very destabilizing, causing a ripple effect that can create a pervasive sense of dread throughout a community. The news and social media are not helping, instead amplifying the felt experience.
People already feel overburdened with responsibilities at work. Hiring freezes can lead to increased work, feeling overburdened and overworked with a never-ending list of open-loops and to-dos. This can lead to burnout, frustration, grief and a feeling of being underappreciated for their efforts.
Feeling stuck professionally also weighs heavily. True or not, the mandate of a hiring freeze can make clients feel that there are limited opportunities for growth or new roles, leaving them with a sense of being stuck or as if their career is at a standstill. This sense of immobility often leads to depression, anger, or a lack of motivation.
How You Can Help:
When the future feels out of control, therapists can help clients find their footing.
It is somewhat difficult to imagine how any government agency would have the manpower to run smoothly without maintaining good employees and keeping their workforce. As a self-employed therapist, you may not be in a management position, but you know of people who are, and you also know the burdens they carry.
For managers and senior leadership, terminating an employee, never mind an entire division, isn’t a decision taken lightly. Losing even one employee disrupts team dynamics and can slow down workflow—a challenge that impacts deadlines, diminishes morale, and makes more work for everyone else.
As therapists, help your clients remain calm, committed, and focused on the work they are good at. The idea that they are part of something bigger goes a long way toward helping them not feel isolated, fearful, and on edge.
In addition, the US has an aging workforce with over 4.1 million Americans expected to retire in 2025. Companies and government agencies need employees. That is over 11,000 people retiring each day. Helping clients stay grounded in facts rather than getting swept up in the noise and drama of the latest headlines is a goal for just about everyone.
Remind them that opportunities will still exist and that maintaining perspective is crucial. Encourage them to focus on what they can control: gaining knowledge, building skills, and improving their ability to present themselves confidently in interviews. Employers will always need capable, dedicated people. Help your clients see their value and inspire them to take proactive steps toward their goals.
Changes To DEI Policies
For employees who have benefited from, or strongly support, these programs, the changes can feel deeply personal and downright scary.
You might hear clients say:
- “I don’t feel like I belong here anymore.”
- “Things will go back to what they used to be and that is intolerable to me.”
- “I just want to hide.”
- “What’s the point of trying if no one cares about fairness?”
- “How can I manage my job with the added pressure of begging for equality at work?”
As these initiatives are rolled back, clients may feel left out, overlooked and unwanted. For many, DEI programs were a symbol of progress, and their absence may feel like a step backward in workplace fairness and representation.
Clients may express disappointment or betrayal as leaders they once admired shift loyalty. Without guidance, cynical feelings and fear can result in disengagement at work, fears about leaving home, and thoughts of moving out of the country.
How You Can Help Clients Navigate Anxiety & Other Big Emotions
As a therapist, you have the opportunity to guide your clients through these intense emotions. Validate your clients feelings and help them find positivity in the midst of this enormous shift. But also, put our current politics and cultural shifts into perspective.
Not every company is doing away with their DEI policies despite the buzz in the media. While Amazon, Ford, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, Meta, Molson Coors, and Walmart are following the most recent changes in agenda, believing that social equity has already been achieved, other companies are repackaging their social responsibility and goals in more inclusive ways.
There are organizations actively building and sustaining diversity, equity, and inclusive policies for all. American Express, P & G, TD Bank, Bank of America, PayPal, Microsoft, Mastercard, Marriott, and Salesforce are just some of the Fortune 500 companies deliberately working to create inclusive and equitable corporate cultures. And, this list is far from comprehensive.
For example, Bank of America has stated that they are committed to forging equitable conditions at every level. This includes initiatives like peer-to-peer diversity leadership councils, 11 distinct employee resource groups (ERGs), and global partnerships that engage teams worldwide. Their efforts have yielded remarkable results: 49% of their U.S.-based workforce comes from underrepresented or ethnically diverse backgrounds, while over 51% of their global workforce comprises female employees.
Don’t Count DEI Completely Out Quite Yet
To not create inclusive and diverse leadership opportunities, is in many ways, organizational suicide. To think that DEI policies will magically disappear in a country with approximately 40% of the population identifying as non-whites does not make sense. In addition, about 34% of the federal workforce in the United States identifies as non-white and 7% identify as LGTBQ+.
By helping your clients keep their fears and anxieties in perspective, you can stay ahead of their concerns about shifting social policies. Remind your clients that they possess agency and control in their lives, even if it appears murky at the moment. Help them build resilience and empowerment. It’s equally important to reinforce the enduring hope for a better, more just world. They need you to offer them a sense of optimism amidst all this uncertainty.
Workplace changes are inevitable, but they don’t have to overwhelm your clients. By addressing their specific concerns and giving them perspective to navigate uncertainty, you can help them move forward with more confidence and calm. And that’s a win for everyone.
How To Vocalize Your Commitment To Helping Clients About These Challenges
As a therapist, your point of view on these changes is wise to represent on your website and social media. It doesn’t need to be a billboard of political statements or comments about the current administration. On the contrary, it’s more prudent to share your experience and abilities to help with such emotional challenges so you’re in a professional therapeutic role from the start.
Addressing on your website that you support clients with grief, career insecurity, anxiety about returning to the workplace, shifts in DEI policies and other related issues will help future clients see that you can help them with their own internal struggles. This is a prime time to dust off your homepage, write some new articles or take on a new social media strategy that connects you with potential clients who are feeling the stressors discussed above.
If you need help marketing your business to government employees or contractors, Crownsville Media is here to support you. Reach out to us to learn how we can help you connect with your ideal audience and grow your practice.
