Think Outside The Bag

At the Los Angeles Passport Agency, Director Thomas Reid offers flexible hours to his workers to help them avoid the infamous L.A. rush hours. Some workers come in from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or work extra hours on some days so they have shorter hours on other days.

Employees also can work at home one day a week to avoid commuting altogether.

Passport workers can also take advantage of an executive leadership program run by the Los Angeles Federal Executive Board, an interagency council that helps coordinate the dozens of federal agencies with a presence in Southern California.

The program pairs young rising stars with executives in other federal agencies around Los Angeles, giving the employees a wider view of government work and a peek into how different agencies manage their programs. Reid says the program helps keep young workers interested in government by showing them that managers care about their growth. "In the past, there was a corps of people who looked at government service as an entire career," Reid says. "With today's younger people, they don't look at their career that way. They're interested in how fast they can advance and are much more apt to go out and look for other jobs."