To wonder why people dislike Civil Servants?

[tequilasunrises]

Disclaimer: I am one.

I’ve only worked in one Government department but it’s mostly filled with people who work incredibly hard and are passionate about what they do. In spite of the fact that they aren’t paid as well as they could be in other industries, have shoddy infrastructure and IT, are understaffed and overworked etc.

Yet many people seem to think we are on some sort of gravy train and just sit around smoking cigars and ripping up taxpayers fivers.

I just wonder why really.

I work in financial services and we would never hire someone with a public sector background. They aren't deemed dynamic or corporate enough to cope in the private sector world.

DH is a civil servant in a specialised team. There is an assumption by many, even within the civil service that private sector consultants somehow know better. They literally spend millions on consultants doing projects badly and slowly rather than get the internal staff who are just as, if not more, qualified to do the work faster.

@TeachesOfPeaches as much as I should be offended by this...it's true. One of the reasons the public sector is on its knees is because of its inability to diversify and commercialise what it has. Too much deadwood senior management from another era who haven't evolved with the changing environment. (Obviously Tory cuts have had a huge impact, but it is amplified by their lack of commercialism).

@mousemousss that’s been my experience a lot too.

I went out with one and he was an idiot haha. I don't think badly of the job in itself though.

Yes, I don't think civil servants are particularly commercial or bonus driven and are more interested in flexitime and enhanced maternity pay etc.

@TeachesOfPeaches I think previous generations of civil servants are this way. I think times are changing though, millennials like myself who have been in the work place since the credit crunch have only ever known cuts, the need for income generation, and have moved around jobs a lot more than generations before us thus have more experience so are more dynamic. It's changing, slowly with the influx of a new generation.

Sorry by more experience I mean varied, not actually more experience in quantity. This has been my biggest frustration, working with people who have been in the same place 10-20 years and seeing the limitations this can cause (not always, some are very welcoming of outside opinions and ideas, but many are dubious of change after so many cycles of change management so are understandably jaded, but it's frustrating nonetheless!)

I might be wrong but most people on here who have worked with civil servants have nothing good to say about them. It seems to be only those within the civil service (or the friends and loved ones of civil servants) that have anything positive to say about the civil service.

I work in the public sector now & the pace is much, much slower. There's a lot of work we do which is inefficient eg duplication, recording data on paper as opposed to excel but a huge reluctance to change.

Well as an IT professional I have doubled my salary quickly since leaving the public sector. I think it is underpaid for professional roles, though the pension and leave are better.

Imo the pensions, pay scales with relatively easy targets, flexibility & ability to work p/t, change your hours without it affecting progression is amazing.

I do not get a bonus but I get more annual leave, have a shorter day/week & paid overtime. In the private sector additional hours unpaid was the norm.

"Computer says no"

Is my experience of civil servants and those who have said to me: I can't be fired so I can do what I like.

That's why. A lot of what would be unacceptable in the private sector is allowed in the public and it's appalling that it does.

i've also noticed that I'm one of the younger members of the team (mid 30s). Many of my colleagues are in their 50s/60s & have been there for 20/30 yrs whereas private sector the staff turnover tends to be higher.

TeachesOfPeaches - oh come on, loads of people switch between public and private sector. I certainly have. I switched from CS to banking easily.

Plombear Do you work for a global or UK bank?

TeachesOfPeaches - I have worked for both.

I posted today about poor customer service primarily in retail - considering that’s the private sector it’s funny how many customer service staff are miserable and not particularly helpful.

I don't often see the 'hate' of civil servants, but if you interact with HMRC or DWP and they're not good, then you don't get a good impression.

I'm a civil servant but I work in policy, legislation and finance. I don't often deal with the public now, although I used to work in immigration.

I agree that as a service we're often not commercial enough and that frustrates me. And it takes us ages to get rid of awful lazy people.

But most of us give 110% as I know I'm paid for by taxpayers.

@TeachesOfPeaches the maternity pay/flexible working is good admittedly but as we all know it’s difficult for women to have a career and children so this is a positive thing surely? Not something to begrudge people.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3772115-To-wonder-why-customer-service-is-so-awful

Here we go - lots of people sticking up for retail staff - they are badly paid and deal with awful people so that justifies rudeness.

Yet civil servants aren’t allowed to be rude or grumpy.

🤷🏻‍♀️

I could see a civil servant potentially move to a UK bank like Lloyd's, but from my experience it is rare for someone to go from civil service straight to a global US investment bank. Certainly wouldn't happen where I work.

I can think of quite a few public sector workers who have made the move. I’ve worked at a UK bank then global. My former civil service career has never been mentioned.

@tequilasunrises I have friends in the civil service and they encouraged me to apply when I had my son but the pay was almost half what I get now so wasn't worth it.

My job is flexible and I can work from home and i get good benefits. However, if I do a bad job then I will get sacked which seems to be a key difference.

Plenty of people get dismissed from the civil service...