Why are Government/Municipal employees miserable and lazy?

[Jack Handy jr]

Speak for yourself bish, civvies be loving us firefighters.

Hot damn knuckldraggin water gun squirting firefailers...I hate you muthaphuckas































.....only because I so badly wish I had a time machine and could be one of you lucky bastids today lol

 

[SouthoftheAndes]

DMV is the worst but I can't help but feel bad for the people there. They are always huge and look miserable like they want to shoot themselves in front of all of us.

 

[Pure Peace]

It's not fair that you toss out the government employee away cuz maybe they aren't that miserable in RL.

Usually its the public workers that are miserable cuz they have to deal with idiots all day. Ever worked at McDonalds or the box office where you have to deal with the same idiots day in and day out?

I worked at the theatre before and the same idiots who think they are so smart comes up with the same jokes. They think they are so smart for "coming up" with a joke about a certain movie title but in fact I've heard of it from 100 other idiots who came by to buy the tickets.

That's nothing compared to what the DMV have to deal with. If you hate going to the DMV, imagine working there. Nobody who works there wants to work there. Nobody said "when I grow up I want to be a DMV employee". They're usually there cuz they have nothing better to do.

I don't know what you mean by lifer, but I can understand someone working there for 10+ years while trying to get a degree cuz life is tough especially in NY. Now they finally got a degree they can work at a place they actually enjoy thus spending 10+ years achieving it.

So I wouldn't ban them right off the bat. I would at least interview them and maybe talk to them about other non work related things to see their personality outside of work.

They are miserable because it's a miserable job and nobody wants to be there.

i have interviewed a couple of local/state gov workers and they were all the same, confirming this stereotype....when they have been in the system for 10, 20, 30 years and are over the age of 40, they will NOT change their ways or their perspective of work

morally speaking, yes, it is not fair to simply dismiss resumes of lifer gov employees......but I am not in the business of charity or making sure everyone is given a fair shake

from my experience dealing with local gov employees, I've learned that they are generally a terrible pool of candidates to choose from, for my own company

i'd rather not waste time on granting interviews to this group of people and focus on other groups of people where i have more statistical success in finding good people


everyone here, including gov workers, are basically confirming the stereotype of gov workers......im not wasting my time with them just for the sake of finding that needle in the hay stack good candidate

 

[burningspear]

You miscomprehend greed for happiness. The private sector thrives on secrecy and fucking others over, if this genuinely makes you happy, bow your head in shame.

 

[astrozician]

Government jobs are miserable, menial jobs. I know, I worked at some level of gov't for 15 years. Labor union contracts are a doubled edged sword, and anyone on the positive side of work-ethic, talent, skill, wisdom, drive, and determination is going to lose out on that deal. The ones that can escape do so... leaving the rest.

 

[ralphc1]

Going to the DMV is seriously the worst fucking experience.

How do these people get the jobs?

Lot's of ex military and friends and relatives of elected officials. I was asking a woman who worked at the DMV why they were so crabby. She said it gets irritating answering the same questions all of the time. I asked her isn't that what the job is and she says that people should learn. I pointed out that I go to the DMV every 6 years to renew my license and they change the procedure every time. They have improved over the years. Now they have a person when you first come in that asks what you are there to do, gives you the forms you need to fill out and a ticket with a number. You fill out the forms, get your picture taken, sit down and wait to be called and keep track of the next up on TV screens.

I recall when you used to stand in line, get to the counter only to find out you're in the wrong line, wait in the other line, that person goes on break just as you get to the counter, wait for that person to come back from break, get the forms, go fill out forms, stand in line again, get the paperwork done, pay the money, wait to get your picture taken and wait for the license.

 

[BEER]

Lot's of ex military and friends and relatives of elected officials.

Around here, all the public government employees just seem like low class garbage. 20 somethings with attitude problems.

 

[Oblivian]

I work with county employees a lot at the courthouse. The environment there is completely toxic. The elected official model is so outdated and inefficient. You have the elected official, who gets paid the most, that is literally not required to be at work at all for most of the week. They get paid the most, and their deputies do the bulk of the work for much less pay. The drama due to the political atmosphere is absurd too.

I've had better luck with city employees, but here, they get paid quite a bit more. The main issue there is that they are overworked, basically the complete opposite of county employees who sit on their ass a lot of the day.

Ironically, the blue collar city and county workers that I know are pretty happy with their job.

 

[BassAckwards]

Have you read How to Win Friends and Influence People? There are some good strategies in there.

yes, good book but putting it into practice on people who have no desire or motivation is really difficult. these people have been doing the same thing for +20 years and the only way they would bust their tails if there is a RIF (reduction in force) or some type of family emergency. most of these people are content with just coasting bye and look towards finishing up the rest of their years with little stress, and hope to retire

in civil service, theres very little we can do to reward employees. there are some monetary and time off awards, and step increases but i reserve those for people that go above and beyond what is expected of them.

 

[JadeOwl]

specifically, employees of local municipalities and state government offices (not so much the higher levels of federal gov, although many will debate that)

the Dept of Motor Vehicles, County records clerk, your local town's building department, etc....the government employees that the average person deals with

more often than not, in my experience here in the NYC area, it's a negative experience having to deal with these people

what are some reasons, obvious and not, that these government jobs have such miserable employees?

As a government employee, even though it is the Peruvian government, it has been my experience that what a lot of people perceive as shitty disposition from certain civil servants is the result of a need to follow the rules to a degree that simply isn't found in the private sector.

In the private sector, if you show initiative and take a risk to change something t improve efficiency and it doesn't work, the worst that will happen is that you'll be fired.

In the public sector, a lot of the procedures are codified by law. Change anything, or skip any steps, and you might actually be liable for criminal charges.

Having to live with that kind of straight jacket can lead to one getting pretty bored with one's work.

- many are in it for the pension and go through the motions for years just so they could lock themselves in for a payout...going through the motions prevents them from actually giving a crap about the quality of their work

Not so long ago the same could be said for many in the private sector. Hell, a lot of people in your Rust Belt live in permanent nostalgia about the days when you could get a job for life, not put any effort and eventually you'd get a pension and benefits.

It's not strictly a public sector thing.

- they know that citizens have no choice but to deal with them, there are no competitors to the DMV and such places

May have a point with that one.

- they are under staffed

Like you wouldn't believe.

 

[phipps66]

Fed Gov worker who enjoys his job and cares about it checking in.

 

[Brodels]

I work for the city and I can tell you first hand how lazy 99% of the people I work with are. Which makes me miserable. The people I work with are the most sorry ass lowlife do nothing pieces of shit I've ever seen. And no one cares. It's fucking sad.

 

[steve38]

Just ridiculous when civilians accuse gov't employees of being overpaid and under-worked....you really have no idea. They are quite angry of the accusation, also. One of them will respond within a few hours, when they get back from break.

 

[steve38]

I work for the city and I can tell you first hand how lazy 99% of the people I work with are. Which makes me miserable. The people I work with are the most sorry ass lowlife do nothing pieces of shit I've ever seen. And no one cares. It's fucking sad.

You should have plenty of time to pursue other ambitions? My in-laws are gov't employees and they just spend their free time gossiping....mob mentality prevents anything else.

 

[MedicineDog]

I have a theory about this question. In local government, there are "frequent flyers." people that make it their hobby/passion to bother, harass, question the govt for anything, and I mean anything. YOu wouldn't believe the stories. When a govt employee deals with this all of the time they start to get desensitized to their customer base. By the time someone actually needs help for a real reason, they govt worker is already at point of frustration and resentment. Also, for the most part, it is pretty difficult to get fired as govt employee. Some of these folks get real lazy and don't want citizens to interrupt their facebooking or whatever.

 

[Brodels]

You should have plenty of time to pursue other ambitions? My in-laws are gov't employees and they just spend their free time gossiping....mob mentality prevents anything else.

Nope I'm one of the only ones that actually has to produce work. It's basically me managing a warehouse by myself with everyone else going out of their way to make it as difficult as possible.

I work with a bunch of yolo thugs who you can't understand that get to play Domino's all day and slam them down while I'm trying to enter data in our system. If I put headphones I'm they will find some way to make me take them out and axe me a stupid question.

It's also very hard for me to work/concentrate while basically watching people have conversations about nonsense all day right by my desk. I get paid to listen to people have conversations and cackle like obnoxious thugs.

 

[ajwbjj87]

DMV employees are probably sick of dealing with stupid/miserable people all day. I've never had issues with the DMV because I always book appointments online or renew online. Painless process.

This, oddly enough I was there yesterday in line for a half hour behind 1 person, it was this 83 year old who had no business driving and asked every dumbass question in the book while also sprouting off his life story, I couldn't really blame the lady for being bitchy by the end of the day if that's by the crap they deal with on the norm.

 

[steve38]

Nope I'm one of the only ones that actually has to produce work. It's basically me managing a warehouse by myself with everyone else going out of their way to make it as difficult as possible.

I work with a bunch of yolo thugs who you can't understand that get to play Domino's all day and slam them down while I'm trying to enter data in our system. If I put headphones I'm they will find some way to make me take them out and axe me a stupid question.

It's also very hard for me to work/concentrate while basically watching people have conversations about nonsense all day right by my desk. I get paid to listen to people have conversations and cackle like obnoxious thugs.

Thug up that joint....be their pimp, because you are ....

 

[JadeOwl]

I work with county employees a lot at the courthouse. The environment there is completely toxic. The elected official model is so outdated and inefficient. You have the elected official, who gets paid the most, that is literally not required to be at work at all for most of the week. They get paid the most, and their deputies do the bulk of the work for much less pay. The drama due to the political atmosphere is absurd too.

I've had better luck with city employees, but here, they get paid quite a bit more. The main issue there is that they are overworked, basically the complete opposite of county employees who sit on their ass a lot of the day.

Ironically, the blue collar city and county workers that I know are pretty happy with their job.

The fixation folks in the US have with making civil service jobs into elected positions is completely absurd.

 

[sub_thug]

Can't speak for the DMV (ours are privatized) but I did spend a decade working in the public service.

From my perspective: Salaries are fixed so it doesn't matter if you meet the minimum performance standards or bust your ass, you're getting paid the same. There are no bonuses, incentives, or even things like Christmas parties in civil service so the only reward for hard work is intrinsic.

Where I worked, management was always looking for a reason to come down on employees. By doing less, you lessened the likelihood of getting in trouble. I knew guys who busted their ass, picked up extra duties, and they were constantly being questioned or reprimanded by the bosses.

The government doesn't care about its employees. You're just a number. Easily replaceable. Two of my colleagues died while active on the job (not at work). Both had many years of service. Not a single member of management attended those funerals. Same for staff organized retirement parties. It's really hard on morale to witness that stuff.

This gets at a lot of it. I think there are probably a few things to add though.

1. Promotions- They seem to work based on seniority, not performance. Those that bust their asses are rarely rewarded, as occupying the seat and doing the minimum will yield you the same result. If you are a GS employee, you are stuck waiting around for that higher billet to open up. And then, you may be waiting behind the guy who has been working here 8 years longer than you.

2. Firing- It is notoriously difficult to fire someone in the government. The amount of paperwork that it takes to get it going is virtually a novel, and who has time for that when you are busy doing that person's job for them because it's your ass on the line when the big boss comes asking for results?

3. Complacency- Some of those GS employees occupy the same desk for decades at a time. After the 15th year of doing the same thing over and over again, the life is all but gone from that person's eyes. The desire to deliver quality work has evaporated, so they go through the motions, counting down the days until retirement.

4. Making waves can get you in trouble. Change scares people, especially the old people at the top who have been doing things a certain way since they started there. Aside from scary ideas ("The stakes are too high for us to take such a gamble!"), the only thing that gets you in trouble is mistakes. Messing something up bad enough will get you in trouble, so play it safe and just do enough. Acceptable but crappy is better than something gone wrong. People just don't want to take the chance.