Management seems to get pulled into the latest management fads that new department directors bring with them, eg HR or finance. So while I believe their heart is in the right place, it can be a bit confusing for employees to keep up with the latest requirements and terminology for, say, performance reviews or strategic planning. Seems to be stabilizing now though.
Often decisions made by management about people and programs (which have significant impact on both) are made without planning or due considerations of consequences, and often without the input of those affected. Then they wonder why there’s pushback when they try to roll something out.
Federal bureaucracy can make it difficult to do what’s right when it’s needed, so instead of spending the money now to prevent operational problems, it can often feel like the lab only makes the necessary changes when something happens to force the change/improvement (eg providing systems and tools for people to do their jobs more efficiently/safely/compliantly). The money will first go to the science. But... such is its mission.
