Elon Musk's management style has once again sparked intense debate, this time for asking federal employees to respond to an email with what they accomplished in the past week — or risk losing their jobs.
Musk, a special government employee who is the face of the DOGE White House office, is known for his disruptive leadership style at Tesla, SpaceX, and X.
He is now applying those same tactics to federal operations — with mixed reactions from business leaders and government officials.
"This method is not just ineffective, it's harmful," George Carrillo, a former Oregon government executive, told Business Insider.
Carrillo, the CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council, previously worked as a program executive at the Oregon Department of Human Services.
"Overloading employees with unrealistic demands creates instability and causes talented workers to leave, which risks disrupting the continuity and expertise the government depends on to function," he said. "I've seen firsthand how these kinds of actions can harm team dynamics and reduce public confidence."
On Saturday, federal employees received an email asking them to respond with a five-bullet-point summary of their work in the last week and to copy their manager.
"Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation," Musk said in a post on X before the emails went out.
The emails appeared to be in response to President Donald Trump, who earlier said on TruthSocial that Musk should be "more aggressive."
The email resembled one Musk sent when he took over Twitter — now rebranded as X — in 2022. Following the acquisition, Musk instructed engineers to print out their latest software code for review as a way to evaluate their skills.
Some business leaders said DOGE's approach could yield results, despite the negative reaction.
Neal K. Shah, CareYaya Health Technologies CEO, told BI that the approach shows a "commitment to rapid organizational improvement" and has "unique advantages over traditional downsizing."
Shah said DOGE's method "slices through typical government delays caused by bureaucracy" and "directly empowers employees to control the documentation of their worth."
He also said it gives leadership real-time productivity data, which could lead to long-term benefits like better documentation of work-related tasks, efficiency, and boosting public trust through "demonstrated effectiveness."
Other management experts, however, said the email demonstrated a lack of empathy and could hurt morale, ultimately reducing efficiency. Federal employees told BI that DOGE's email left them frustrated and fearful of losing their jobs. One told BI the action felt like "harassment."
Lisa Rigoli, a human resources strategist and leadership coach who founded Elements of Change, a group focused on HR consultation and leadership coaching, said the email lacked emotional intelligence and prioritized "efficiency over human-centered leadership."
"This is a clear example of how leaders are becoming increasingly disconnected from the emotional impact of their decisions," Rigoli said. "Business schools and leadership programs do a great job preparing executives intellectually, but very few equip them for the emotional demands of leadership."
Tamanna Ramesh, founder of professional training service Spark Careers, said such tactics could damage staff morale.
"Requiring employees to justify their jobs through a weekly report — under the threat of termination — is fear-based management. It doesn't drive innovation or efficiency. It fuels resentment, disengagement, and quiet quitting," Ramesh told BI. "Accountability matters, but when employees feel like they're on trial rather than trusted contributors, performance suffers."
Ramesh said performance tracking is common, but the "level of public scrutiny and punitive framing is rare."
"This approach ignores psychological safety, a key driver of high-performing teams," Ramesh said.
Rigoli told BI that DOGE's email is part of a "growing trend where leaders handle layoffs with cold efficiency rather than intentional leadership.
"We ask employees to be loyal, transparent, and committed, yet when organizations make cuts, they often default to impersonal mass communication," Rigoli said.
"Efficiency isn't about arbitrary cuts or applying pressure for the sake of it," Carrillo told BI. "Successful organizations build trust, foster collaboration, and create thoughtful strategies to meet their goals while maintaining staff morale."
He suggested making "informed' and "data-driven decisions."
"Before considering layoffs, DOGE must conduct a comprehensive workforce analysis to pinpoint priorities and address staffing gaps," Carrillo said.
