Work/Life Balance

The Space Development Agency believes in balancing work with personal obligations. To help achieve this, we offer a range of federal personnel flexibilities and programs that support employees’ physical and emotional well-being. Some examples of these work/life balance programs include:

Telework: The flexibility to balance onsite work with an off-site schedule in various locations on a regular/reoccurring or situational basis, upon approval from your supervisor. SDA does not have any remote positions.

Flexible Hours: Your schedule can include hours outside of the normal 8am – 5 pm workday. Your schedule may also vary from the standard M-F, as either a flexible or maxi-flex schedule, upon approval from your supervisor.

Leave: Each employee receives 10 paid holidays each year and earns 4 hours of sick leave every 2 weeks and, depending on length of service, between 13-26 days of annual leave. Employees may also receive compensatory time when traveling for official business. Employees have the opportunity to donate a portion of their annual leave to another employee during personal emergencies or to take care of family responsibilities.

Annual Leave: Annual leave is an authorized absence with pay from a regularly scheduled workday and may be used for vacations, personal or emergency purposes.
Sick Leave: Sick leave can be used for a variety of purposes including personal illness, medical/dental appointments, care of sick family members including their medical appointments, family bereavement, and child adoption. Unlimited hours of sick leave can be accumulated and carried over to succeeding years.
Family Medical Leave: The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), allows eligible employees to take up to 12 administrative workweeks of leave without pay during any 12-month period. FMLA leave is only charged on scheduled workdays. FMLA may be used during birth or adoption of a child, care for a seriously ill family member or during a serious health condition where the employee is unable to perform assigned duties.
Voluntary Leave Programs: Under the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, a covered employee may donate annual leave directly to another employee who has a personal or family medical emergency and who has exhausted his or her available paid leave. This program allows employees who experience a medical emergency or a medical emergency of a family member to receive annual leave donations from fellow coworkers.

Employee Wellness Program: Today’s employees face a growing array of personal issues or problems that can interfere, not only with their quality of life but also with job performance. The SDA Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential individual counseling, financial counseling, workshops, support groups, crisis intervention, and referral services to employees and family members at no cost.