Even a brief government shutdown might hamper morale, raise costs and reduce long-term efficiency in the federal workforce

A sign indicates the closing of federal services during the government shutdown in 2013. AP Photo/Susan Walsh

As the federal fiscal year draws to a close, an increasingly familiar prospect is drawing near in Washington, D.C.: a possible government shutdown. And for federal workers, it couldn’t come at a worse time.

In the fractious and polarized political landscape of the United States, Democrats and Republicans have come to rely on short-term, stopgap funding bills to keep the government operating in the absence of elusive longer-term budget deals.