--- description: Business professors explain what President Donald Trump and Elon Musk miss about what truly motivates federal workers. title: Should Federal Workers Accept Trump’s Buyout? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ec8ec3e6b02f432/6998b3207323af7e502ba559/Donald-Trump-National-Prayer-Breakfast.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Work](/tag/work/) ## Work Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Should Federal Workers Accept Trump’s Buyout Offer? ## Video: Can He Do That? What Legal Experts Say About Trump’s Most Radical Moves [Watch (HLS stream): Can He Do That? What Legal Experts Say About Trump’s Most Radical Moves](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SMkQhNDD.m3u8) (3:33)  _Published 2025-02-05. The second Trump Administration has wasted little time in testing the boundaries of executive authority. While many of the President’s supporters are cheering him on, some legal experts see a constitutional crisis unfolding, as many of Trump’s moves raise urgent legal and constitutional questions that could take years to fully unravel._ by [Christopher Wong Michaelson](/author/christopher-wong-michaelson/) and [Jennifer Tosti-Kharas](/author/jennifer-tosti-kharas/) Feb 6, 2025 3:24 PM CUT  President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 6, 2025\. Trump's “deferred resignation offer” is available to all federal employees until February 6. President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 6, 2025\. Trump's “deferred resignation offer” is available to all federal employees until February 6.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images by [Christopher Wong Michaelson](/author/christopher-wong-michaelson/) and [Jennifer Tosti-Kharas](/author/jennifer-tosti-kharas/) Feb 6, 2025 3:24 PM CUT Historically, the rewards of being a federal employee, including the mission of public service and the value of employment stability, have come at the cost of modest monetary compensation. However, the Trump Administration’s new “[deferred resignation offer](https://www.opm.gov/fork "undefined")” promises money to those who leave their jobs without any promises to those who stay. Federal workers to which it applies have until today to decide: [Is the package worth it](https://time.com/7213232/federal-workers-musk-doge-trump-buyout-uncertainty-trick/ "undefined")? President Donald Trump’s political opponents warn that the president [will not pay up](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/28/trump-offers-buyouts-for-federal-workers-00201106 "undefined"), a reasonable concern considering that he [does not pay many of his bills](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trump-unpaid-bills-republican-president-laswuits/85297274/ "undefined") in his business and personal life. Unions decry the plan as a [scare tactic](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/30/federal-workers-buyout-offer-00201349 "undefined"), and some employee representatives [question its legality](https://time.com/7212753/trump-elon-musk-federal-laws-legal-analysis/ "undefined"). The scale and suddenness of this offer is unprecedented in the federal government but typical of slash-and-burn management practices espoused by [Trump](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4557459 "undefined") and his efficiency czar, Elon [Musk](https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-downsized-big-tech-090501844.html?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAAA36DspE6NsFcSXQeXZDHYLPDmExqIfmAInc%5FRAzQo%5FtBZ5E7sczECWmW9JMogx4iTWyDqJ-7hO5POveYcsWwOHgD%5FQgCr%5FqSTKXWgxjsmHGN39w53UZfl%5FSfp8kmXVvMbCUWapO3JN6uksJq8air9rJXJQBi80UEvmGTV9Mxu-m "undefined"). The offer is presented in their preferred language, as a monetary transaction: eight months of paid leave and benefits in exchange for resignation. Because they are personally motivated by material considerations, they presume that everyone must be “rational economic actors,” as [rational choice theory](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rational-choice-theory.asp "undefined") refers to people who only care about their own self-interest. If a federal worker did indeed trust the integrity of the offer, rational economic actors who are not already on the verge of full retirement will weigh only material considerations in their decision. They will consider the value of their remaining take-home wages through September that pays them for looking for their next job. They will consider the probability of finding private sector employment at similar or better pay before their free ride runs out. They will compare the relative job security of their public and private sector prospects in the foreseeable future. Finally, they will consider the retirement timelines and packages in each scenario. People with this worldview see only one dimension of worth: the net worth conferred by money. But if there are enough rational economic actors in the federal workforce who accept the offer to resign, it could have sweeping unintended consequences for all of us. One is the possibility that necessary services could be disrupted, from air traffic control to tax refunds. A potentially ironic consequence of this “government efficiency” operation could be inefficiency brought on by the chaos a large exodus could cause. The plan could reduce job prospects for unemployed private sector workers who are struggling to stay afloat in an expanded employment pool. In the longer term, Trump’s ploy to improve the federal workforce could adversely affect productivity if workers who are least qualified to find alternative employment are most likely to stay behind in search of employment stability. However, [early resistance](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/03/trump-buyout-federal-workers-offer-contract "undefined") to the offer suggests an even more important factor that may foil the attempt of corporate raiders to remake the government in their image. Many of the most talented and devoted federal employees went into public service for the mission, not the money. They care about other forms of worth beyond their net worth: the intangible value of love of country that cannot be counted in dollars and the sense of self-worth conferred by a job well done. For this reason, many federal workers may choose to stay in their positions not because they have no choice but because they choose to continue serving their country under any administration, even one that disrespects and tries to dismantle them. Dedicated federal workers may even double down in their roles to defend their work for their country and provide necessary continuity between the previous and the present to the next presidential administration. Unlike their new bosses, they believed in the oath they took, that [public service is a public trust](https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/0/D3F2D9414D2C02F5852585B6005A1CFB/$FILE/Public%20Service.pdf "undefined"). They did not go into public service with the logic that Trump and Musk are banking on: to get paid the most to do the least. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7213378/should-federal-workers-accept-trumps-buyout/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7213378/should-federal-workers-accept-trumps-buyout/"},"headline":"Should Federal Workers Accept Trump’s Buyout Offer?","datePublished":"2025-02-06T15:24:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-30T11:03:20.413Z","description":"Business professors explain what President Donald Trump and Elon Musk miss about what truly motivates federal workers.","url":"https://time.com/7213378/should-federal-workers-accept-trumps-buyout/","keywords":["Work"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ec8ec3e6b02f432/6998b3207323af7e502ba559/Donald-Trump-National-Prayer-Breakfast.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Christopher Wong Michaelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/christopher-wong-michaelson/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Tosti-Kharas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-tosti-kharas/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ec8ec3e6b02f432/6998b3207323af7e502ba559/Donald-Trump-National-Prayer-Breakfast.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Trump National Prayer Breakfast","caption":"Trump National Prayer Breakfast","creditText":"Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/work/","name":"Work"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7213378/should-federal-workers-accept-trumps-buyout/","name":"Should Federal Workers Accept Trump’s Buyout Offer?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Can He Do That? What Legal Experts Say About Trump’s Most Radical Moves","description":"The second Trump Administration has wasted little time in testing the boundaries of executive authority. While many of the President’s supporters are cheering him on, some legal experts see a constitutional crisis unfolding, as many of Trump’s moves raise urgent legal and constitutional questions that could take years to fully unravel.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SMkQhNDD/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-02-05T21:43:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SMkQhNDD.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7213378/should-federal-workers-accept-trumps-buyout/","duration":"PT3M33S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7213378/should-federal-workers-accept-trumps-buyout/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```