PSRW is from May 2-8, 2021: An Opportunity to Thank Public Service Employees

Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) is coming up from May 2 to 8, 2021. The theme is #GovPossible to highlight the work of public servants across all levels of government.

The goals of PSRW this year include connecting  citizens nationwide to the work of their government officials, educating citizens about this work, improving the perception and morale of federal workers and other public servants, and inspiring a new generation of public servants.

PSRW was created in 1985 by the Public Employees Roundtable to push back against anti-government employee sentiment.

Public service leaders, mayors, and governors can use a number of tools to show appreciation for their government employees and get the community involved. A few examples of activities encouraged by the General Services Administration (GSA) include sharing stories of outstanding public service or holding virtual award ceremonies that recognize the hard work of government workers.

This year, GSA, in conjunction with the administration, launched a #GovPossible toolkit to help feds, states, and localities better understand the importance of PSRW and learn safe ways to celebrate during the week.  

Furthermore, the Partnership for Public Service has offered a Celebration toolkit and a number of audience guides tailored toward teachers, federal agencies, and Capitol Hill to provide specific recommendations for highlighting the value of federal workers during PSRW.

The Partnership also created a Social Media toolkit, which includes interactive filters like Facebook frames and #PSRW gifs. It also includes templates for first responder thank-yous. There are a number of resources available to celebrate PSRW week including email templates government leaders can use to thank their employees, ideas for highlighting employees through videos, and examples for posting #GovPossible thank you messages and photos on social media.

GSA and the Office of Management and Budget plan to create a compilation video of agency leaders that will be used to launch PSRW across social media. Send your videos to pgovsupport@gsa.gov via WeTransfer.com no later than Monday, April 26th COB. All submissions will be added to the compilation video. To ask any questions regarding PSRW, individuals and organizations can email pgovsupport@gsa.gov.

Stay tuned for messages to feds in the FEDforum. FEDagent will continue to highlight the activities of Public Service Recognition Week and federal employees going above and beyond in their work.