To take a job with the DWP even though I will lose friends

[Sunsnet]

I currently work a minimum wage job in retail. It's long hours, exhausting and for really shitty money. Sometimes I earn less than minimum wage as I'm salaried and not entitled to overtime.

I've just been offered a job with the DWP. I'll earn 50% more, have a WAY better pension plus more benefits. I'll even be able to work fewer hours so I can spend more time with my family and STILL be better off than now. BUT, I have friends who think the DWP is immoral and by working for them I will be implicit in that immorality.

I agree that the way the DWP works at the moment is immoral, but surely we need good people to work there to ensure that people who need the help and are entitled to it actually get it. Or am I just clutching at straws to justify my position?

I have one friend in particular who says they will never speak to me again if I take the job. This friend is independently wealthy and never needs to work again, I am not. I do not own property, have a family to support, I'm a single parent and I have no qualifications so have no hope of a better job.

Would I really be that awful a person to sell out and take this job?

How is the DWP immoral? The staff working there don't make the rules - they just carry them out.They are made by politicians. It's very easy for someone of independent means to tell you what to do. I would say consider your own position and what you need carefully. It seems a strange thing for "friends" to say. You can, if necessary find new friends.

Don't be ridiculous!! It's just a job, like any other job.

That's ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with working for the DWP.

WTF! I've been fighting with the DWP to get my disabled son the benefits he needs. They are pain in the arse! However I don't blame any individual person for that and if any of my friends were offered a job with them then I wouldn't even give it a second thought, let alone think of never talking to them again!

Is your "friend" going to help you out with bills etc as the cost of living rises? No, I didn't think so. They are no friend.

You take the job and find some real friends.

What idiots they are.

I think the job will be pretty soul destroying after a while but might be a good step into other roles away from min wage retail.

maybe do it for a year or so and see how you get on?

Oh well. Bye bye bitch.

Send huge congrats to you! Well done!

Take the job.
Your "friends" aren't worth having. A wage is.

A job is a job. Get off your high horse

Don't be silly.

Your friends aren't going to pay your bills or help you financially.

DWP also manage people's pensions, sickness benefits, carers benefits, and child benefit.

Without the staff at DWP these things wouldn't be paid.

Yes, there are huge problems with the way DWP implement things, but that's not in the gift of most staff to change.

I'm a believer in working in a system like this allows you to help people rather than screw them. If you're a competent person who does their job properly, you'll make a huge difference to people's lives whether you're on the phones, a case manager, or not public facing at all.

You need better friends.
We all need a roof over our heads, to be able to heat it and to eat.

How very dare you, I do have some morals you know!

Nah, I am not clever enough to work for HMRC. My job is more about keeping naughty people locked up and off the streets.

I spoke to someone at the DWP today, very nice man he was, just doing his job like us all.

I do wonder how people can be PIP assessors and square that with their professional standards but that isn't relevant here.

Take the job.

No worker can fix the policies that make the system imperfect. All you can do is treat people with respect and kindness while they interact with that system that isn’t designed to recognize the individual.

You have some very strange friends OP.

It makes me wonder why you told them in the first place?

How very silly. Give your head a wobble.

As long as you can stick to your morals and keep the job then it's fine.

I mean unless they are going to top up your wages who gives a shit.

Fuck your friends.

Take the job, please. You and your kids come before any “friends” who say they’ll stop speaking to you.

And anyone who stops speaking to you because you’ve taken the job isn’t your friend, so no massive loss.

Rubbish.

Might as well refuse to work for supermarkets because of racketeering, any civil service or public sector role because of the Tories or any energy / oil company because of climate change.

People need jobs. People need to do their jobs properly. Properly done jobs means people don't get screwed over.

Take the job, lose the "friends"

Good luck x

Of course you have to take the job. You clearly need the money and if the person was really your friend, they’d want what is best for you.

Unfortunately having a disabled son means I’ve had to deal with the DWP for 20 years so know how awful they can be. However, someone needs to work for them and the more kind/caring empathetic people who do, the kinder the authority may become.

Congratulations OP.
Any friends who don't understand that this job is better for you and your family isn't a true friend, let them go.