I have mentioned here before that I am a Federal employee in DC. I won’t go into any more discussion than that. Not that I am saying anything that would harm my position but because I believe that what I do doesn’t matter for the purposes of this blog.
But I do have to say something about the treatment of Federal employees in the media. We are not lazy bums sitting around all day doing nothing and getting rich off of taxpayer money. We pay taxes. We pay for our health insurance (in fact, I had a much better and cheaper plan when I worked in the private sector). We can get downsized and all the talk of reducing the size of government scares us.
When we downsize in government, it is a RIF – a reduction in force. If my position went, they would have to find me another job, but it doesn’t have to be something I like. So yes, my paycheck is safe, and I am not downplaying that. But going into a job you loathe isn’t exactly a good thing.
Right now, there is a reduction in hiring. That means that as people leave – which they do – no one else comes in to take their jobs and the rest of us take on more. Just like in private industry.
I won’t lie – I know we’re in a good spot. But I loathe the implication that we are a waste. The general public would be surprised if all of a sudden, everything shut down, including all the emergency services. We would be missed.
I’m right there with you…everyone says that it’s all of us HORRIBLE teachers that are causing the downfall of our schools, which will of course lead to the downfall of the nation. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of bad teachers, but there are so many other factors involved in the dysfunction that is our public education system.
Hi: I am also a Federal employee and I just celebrated my 20th anniversary with the same agency. I hate the way we are depicted by the media but I know that the work is not evenly distributed. In my agency, my unit is the busiest in the office. (My office has about a total of 80 people) We are a small unit-3 staff members and 1 manager and we have a ton of work. We could use at least 2 or 3 extra staff in my unit. The work is constant and I am always multitasking – I’m currently working on 5 major assignments and several smaller projects. I love being busy but when you see folks in other units with little or no work it is discouraging and it is not fair. One of my co-workers in another unit has no work at all each year from Oct-Dec. He is frustrated but there is nothing he could do because there is no work available so he just waits until January when his work will start up again. But, I consider myself very fortunate as my pay is very good and I have great co-workers as well as a wonderful manager. I would hate to be at work without actually having work to do.