BI readers told us how they'd answer the DOGE email asking for a list of work accomplishments.Nearly half of you said you'd be happy to send a list of five things you got done last week."I submitted and for 30+ years had my staff submit a weekly activity report every Friday," one person said.On Monday, Business Insider asked readers to weigh in on what they'd do if they were suddenly asked to make a list of five things they'd accomplished at work last week like DOGE asked federal workers to do.Nearly 120 readers responded, with a wide range of opinions. Only about 18% of the respondents said they wouldn't do the list at all. They'd accept that they might lose their job over their refusal. Some said they'd do it but begrudgingly.And nearly half of the people who replied said that not only would they willingly fill out the list of five accomplishments, but they'd also do it with a smile and relish the chance to brag about their work.Clearly, the political tenor of the DOGE office and feelings about Elon Musk factored in. Quite a lot of the people who weren't his biggest fans had some colorful insults and invectives about the moonlighting Tesla CEO. "Stupidly childish and toxic" was one of the more safe-for-work critiques of DOGE's actions.There were also some people who seemed excited by the idea that the "list-five-things" email could lead to cutting government waste.A reoccurring theme was that while they didn't like the way DOGE was going about its work which many said seemed insulting and threatening to workers the idea of being expected to list out your weekly accomplishments is, indeed, a good idea."I really don't hate it in theory as much as I distrust the people enacting this strategy," wrote one reader.Anthea Rowe, a communication coach who works with mid-career professionals, thought there was something good in the exercise."We should all be prepared, at any time, to answer the question, 'What did you do last week?' And our answer shouldn't simply include a list of activities: 'I worked on search engine optimization for our website.'" Rowe wrote. "Instead, we should ideally report the outcomes we created last week: 'I increased visitors to the web pages of our priority products.'"(Rowe told me over email that she doesn't endorse what DOGE is doing, and is Canadian, so this isn't really her purview anyway.)Other people pointed out that a regular listing of duties and accomplishments is common for some in the private sector. For professionals like lawyers or consultants who track billable hours for their clients, they're probably already doing this. As are some workers in industries like tech, where "stack ranking" for sorting people for layoffs is common."I don't see what is wrong about your boss asking what did you do last week," one person said. "Federal employees are cuddled all their working career. They don't live in a real world where people get fired or laid off all the time. Why isn't the media acting the same way when Amazon or Microsoft laid off people this year? Wake up people, you need to work," the person said.Another also supported the request for an email list: "I submitted, and for 30+ years had my staff submit, a weekly activity report every Friday. It created high-performing organizations. Staff actually embraced it," the person said. "It was broadly viewed as management support and engagement. You never heard anyone say, 'My boss doesn't know what I do or doesn't help.' I cannot understand the resistance unless someone is trying to hide out somewhere."Chatting about this with my coworkers, my boss's boss said she always encourages people to keep a running "Hype List" of their accomplishments so they can whip it out at review time.But, of course, that's under very different circumstances than what's happening right now with federal workers. As long-term career advice, keeping track of your accomplishments in writing and making sure your boss knows about them is probably a great thing. That's not what's happening right now at DOGE, where many workers find the gesture undermining and insulting instead of empowering."Unfortunately, this isn't too different from what a lot of teachers are currently having to deal with," said Rachel Shearer, a middle school teacher. "We're constantly asked to show proof of what we are doing (both regarding our lessons and what we do outside our lessons, like contacting parents, documenting student behaviors). I think that this kind of micromanaging is extremely demoralizing and counterproductive; I do my best work when I know that I'm not constantly being watched and scrutinized," she said.Ellen Predham, a former HR professional with more than 40 years of experience, said the issue was in the messaging."I think the intent is fine, but the communication of this request was all wrong," she said. "Email should have come from cabinet heads, not Musk, and definitely should not have said if you don't, you're resigning a terrible way to communicate with folks."Still, if federal workers don't respond and some departments have exempted their employees, even as Musk has extended the deadline they could lose their jobs. Or at least that's the threat that's on the table.But that's partly the point, one reader said."How can a manager provide a meaningful performance review if they don't know what an employee is doing and their productivity?" asked the reader, a management consultant. "How would an organization determine sufficient staffing?"We might soon find out.