What does "civil servant" mean to you?

[MrsTingly]

If you hear someone is a civil servant, what image comes to mind? For me, Sir Humphrey etc- I imagine someone with an important and senior job (or on the track to one) working at the heart of government. DH says for him it conjures up someone working in the dole office.

Obviously it's a very broad category and encompasses both, but where does your mind go? (Context is we just that we were watching Mastermind and someone gave their occupation as civil servant.)

Yes, someone who works for govt agencies, as opposed to public servants working for local authorities. I imagine they just say "civil servant" because they don't particularly want to say DWP or HMRC and get a tirade about benefits or taxes.

Sounds like Mr Ben😂

I used to manage a team which had Civil Servants in, and worked alongside others who managed teams with military personnel in - there are quite a lot in interesting jobs across Defence outside of London. I don’t know anything about whether or not they were unsackable, but it certainly took an awful lot longer to recruit and select their replacements than the really short notice period they were required to give if they moved on!

Nailed it right there !!

Cushy job but boring.

"Civil servant" does state what you do, it states who your employer is, so I don't think it should qualify when asked what your occupation is. A relative worked for the tax office, not high ranking. She knew saying "tax collector" wouldn't make her popular so just said "civil servant" to avoid disclosure. But she doesn't do the same job as Border Force staff, or the Foreign Office, or the DVLA. I've a feeling the ONS (Office for National Statistics) are also civil servants. They all employ admin staff, lots of people to process whatever needs doing, policy experts, lawyers, HR, IT staff. So occupation should be "lawyer" "tax collector" "IT help desk" not Home Office, HMRC or DVLA. That's who you work for, not what you do! (Mastermind guy would argue he serves the people but I think that's too vague!)

I'm not sure if you mean Wedgwood Benn MP or Mr Bean?

I think I'll assume Mr Bean. 🙂

https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/february/mr-benn/

I assume they mean Mr Benn^. Man in a suit who visited a costume shop, got changed and had fabulous adventures.

Wrong

And

Wrong

@WelshNerd Osman was winding you up - I work for the DWP, I don’t have to keep that a secret and my job is not a secret either 😄

There is such a spectrum of civil service jobs - some will be boring, some incredibly pressured and exciting, some very intellectually stimulating but slower paced (and of course “boring” is very subjective). You could be advising Ministers on terrorism threats or processing applications for welfare payments…both would be Civil Servants!

Or you could be a department historian or a government lawyer or project manager for an infrastructure project etc etc

Yes Mr Benn, you have to be of a certain age to know 😂

Have you been on Pointless? I don't mean generally. It was specifically about people appearing on quiz shows who could only say "civil servant" as their job and not specify DWP or DEFRA etc.

Yes there is definitely guidance in some departments as to what you say on a TV show. You're not going to be working for MI6 and giving your job title on a quiz show!

A bunch of work-shy drones who are a burden on the hard-working British tax-payer.

And the fact that I am the ONLY non-Civil Servant in my family plays no part in this opinion.

I used to be a civil servant. I was a grad scheme policy advisor on a fairly niche bit of policy. My job was to help keep things ticking on day to day with the policy area (such as writing guidance for local authorities, as an example) and to advise ministers when the subject was raised in Parliament or on the news. It was niche but at the time really controversial in the media and so on, so it could be very interesting.

I tell people I’m a civil servant if I can’t be bothered to get into a conversation about what I do all day, and I’m sure people think my job is really boring.
it’s actually really interesting and I get a lot of job satisfaction from it. Pay is poor though and whilst there are some really excellent, driven people there are also some really poor performers who can be got rid of but only after a long and tedious process.
I wish the media would leave us alone.

Indeed.

Also, whereas workers in the corporate sector are required to add value there's no such imperative in the public sector.

I work in a technical role in the civil service, and what I say basically depends on the situation and how I want to come across - sometimes it’s my actual profession, sometimes it’s civil servant.

I do earn quite well, I enjoy my job and I feel I’m doing meaningful work.

The only civil servants I know work in a cyber organisation , helping protect critical national infrastructure like the NHS against cyber attacks - they’re really busy and definitely earn their money, as they could earn a LOT more in private industry with their skills and experience.

Exactly

Quite a few of my friends are civil servants (All in different areas) and they are all just normal people .. we enjoy going to see bands, drinks down the pub etc ... handy to know when you need your passport photo signed :)

I’ve worked in both the private and public sector and can’t say I’ve noticed a huge difference in work ethic. In fact, the people I have worked with in the public sector are often more motivated due to sense of purpose (beyond money, which many could get more of in industry) than their private sector counterparts. Though I’ve met work shy people equally in both!