A tumbleweed might roll through the corridors of power next, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it had a congressional pin on. Because here we are, more than a week into another federal government shutdown, and the only thing working full-time is political theatrics.
It began innocuously enough: a failure to agree on a budget, disputes over health care subsidies, rescissions, and who should pay for what. But when House and Senate leaders walked off stage without a bow, you almost had to check your calendar: had we shifted into farce?
So far:
- Around 900,000 federal employees are furloughed, and another 700,000 employees work without pay.
- Essential agencies limp along.
If this were a sitcom, it’d be called “Capitol Clash: No Budget, No Problem?” Unfortunately, real people pay the price. Kids miss WIC benefits. Air traffic controllers double their stress levels. National parks close their gates—except the gates of embarrassment at Congress itself, which remain wide open.
And yet, halfway around the globe, another kind of negotiation just worked. Israel and Hamas have agreed to a first-phase ceasefire and hostage exchange. For a moment, there’s a fragile quiet in a region where quiet rarely lasts.
What’s the workplace lesson? Most workplaces have their own version of D.C. gridlock. Different budget, same dysfunction.
Think about it. Your company’s shutdown happens every time departments dig trenches instead of solving problems. Your ceasefire? That all-hands meeting where everyone pretends to “collaborate” while plotting revenge in Slack.
Every team has its Capitol Hill moment:
- Marketing refuses to fund Product’s “innovation.”
- Finance vetoes travel right before the big client pitch.
- HR drafts a policy nobody reads.
And everyone blames everyone else while pretending the mission statement still means something.
The workplace truth—most shutdowns, D.C. or your office—don’t start with ideology. They start with ego. People stop listening, start scoring points, and forget the goal: keeping the lights on.
Here’s what we could learn from both the shutdown and the ceasefire—besides how not to run a meeting.
1. Agree on what matters most.
In Washington, everyone insists their line item is non-negotiable. At work, we do the same. The team that decides what must stay funded—time, priorities, focus—survives. The rest collapse under their own PowerPoint slides.
2. Negotiate like adults.
The Gaza ceasefire happened not because anyone suddenly liked each other, but because they liked the alternative even less. In offices, that’s called “compromise.” You don’t need affection to reach agreement—just clarity and consequence.
3. End the blame game.
When every meeting starts with “who dropped the ball,” you’ve already lost the game. If your energy goes to assigning fault instead of fixing systems, you’re not a leader—you’re a legislator.
4. Remember the audience.
Congress forgets who they work for; so do many managers. The public’s watching in one case, employees in the other. If you lead, your people notice when you grandstand instead of guide.
The problem isn’t a lack of intelligence. It’s a shortage of humility. Teams that get things done spend less time performing agreement and more time practicing it.
Real collaboration isn’t a ceasefire; it’s showing up even when you’d rather hide, and meeting halfway even when it bruises your pride.
So, as Congress stumbles through another act of “Capitol Clash,” and world leaders test a fragile truce overseas, maybe the lesson is smaller than we think.
Start your own ceasefire. Drop the grudge. Walk down the hall. Reopen the conversation.
If the Middle East can pause the fighting—however briefly—surely your office can make it through Q4 without a shutdown.
© 2025 Lynne Curry, PhD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amen!!!!!!!!
I concur!