ATLANTA — A week after returning to the office following the federal government shutdown, some employees at the Atlanta-based CDC say the work environment remains far from normal.

Workers have received their back pay, but many describe ongoing stress, uncertainty, and low morale. Yolanda Jacobs, a more than 20 year employee at the agency, says the shutdown’s impact is continuing to ripple through the workplace.

“We know all too well that this at most is a two-month reprise, and we may very well be thrown back on to this rollercoaster of chaos and uncertainty come January 31st,” Jacobs said.

She says that looming uncertainty is pushing some staff to retire early or quit altogether, a trend she worries could undermine the CDC’s ability to effectively address public health. Jacobs believes the federal government needs to better recognize the needs of workers.

“These are human beings with needs who have basically given their lives over to a cause, and as a reward for it, they’re being targeted and they’re being brutalized at every turn,” she said.

Employees have also raised concerns about changes at the agency, including ongoing staffing questions, job security, and programmatic shifts under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Jacobs says many workers feel disconnected from the mission.

“They feel like they are no longer even attached to the work. They have been ripped away from the work that they were hired to do,” she said.

Jacobs warns that losing experienced professionals could have long-term consequences. “We’re going to feel the repercussions for that for years to come because a lot of the people that are fed up are people that have so much experience, so much institutional knowledge, and that is now just being walked right out the door.”

The concerns come as the CDC updated wording on its website this week to indicate hesitancy about there being no link between vaccines and autism.

Despite being back on the job, Jacobs says many longtime employees are still “riddled with uncertainty, with stress about staffing and programmatic changes to the agency, as well as our job security.”

She fears that if knowledgeable workers continue to leave, the American public could ultimately feel the effects.

WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.