Welcome to the Generation 2004 Newsletter of 7 October 2020.
In this issue we are first and foremost covering the current DG HR reinvention exercise: the ‘New’ HR Strategy. We look at it with a critical eye and frame it in the context of the other large and ongoing internal project of our institution: the Greening of the Commission, and how the latter has the potential to affect the earlier, and, we believe, unfortunately not for the better.
On Covid-19 related news, we report on the freezing of the return to office, which Generation 2004 had advocated for and was being disregarded about. The unfortunately infamous expression we told you so springs to mind. In other health related matters we raise awareness for potential surprises you should avoid when choosing a psychotherapist, and we will soon launch a training on burnout prevention, which will be delivered to you via WebEx by a colleague working in the Commission. The training will be free of charge but donations to a NGO are encouraged.
In two articles related to the education of your children, we remind you of the deadline to apply for repayment of exceptional education costs and we also cover what effectively can be accounted for, towards a full-time attendance at an educational establishment.
Finally we would like to correct a mistake in the previous newsletter where the article on the European Mobility Week 2020 was wrongly listed.
That’s all for now, we hope you will enjoy the reading and, as usual, we invite you to let us know what you think or if we can help you in any way.
Contrary to what we might expect during the COVID-19 health crisis, DG HR is moving forward with its “new HR strategy” regardless. Although for Generation 2004 it is unclear what the concrete improvements of the previous HR reform launched by Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva were: the most visible outcome was the creation of centralised AMCs. According to DG HR, the past staff surveys should provide quite a good understanding of that HR reform: now that is an innovative way to do an assessment of a policy, one could say. 
While we hope that our readers will never need a psychotherapist, the sad reality is that a certain number of colleagues need to consult them. However, there are some points to consider when choosing a therapist as regards subsequent reimbursement by JSIS.
Generation 2004 is organising a coaching laboratory on burnout prevention and well-being, in collaboration with a colleague with experience in this field.
Closing date for applications (and reapplications!) is 15 November 2020.
Attention all parents! For the education allowance we now have specific minimum measurements for what qualifies as full-time attendance at an educational establishment: check out whether and how this affects you!
