To wonder why the Civil Service is so worshipped?

[Babysonfire12345]

I definitely understand that the pension is one of the best out there.
However, flexi is offered elsewhere, WFH is offered elsewhere. I can't think of a single other benefit.
It's not even necessarily a 'job for life', there are redundancies. Pay is really low for AO-HEO grades for what is expected.
I don't see the appeal of it except for the pension, what am I missing?

I used to work in an office -based role in the CS then left for a private sector job with slightly more money. I ended up leaving that job cos I felt undervalued, was bullied by my manager and the stress was making me ill. I now work in education. Both now and in the civil service I feel like my time and effort is actually contributing to a worthwhile outcome other than profit for someone else. There are drawbacks definitely, but I'm much happier than I was in the private sector and have never dreaded going in to work the way I did then because most days I feel my effort actually means something and has benefits to others besides making money, which is important to me. Just different priorities rather than right or wrong ones, and being fortunate that my DP also earns enough (in a private sector job he enjoys) that I don't have to take a job I hate just to pay the bills.

Oh yes and this too! Whilst every single job in the world is useful, no matter how frivolous, in the public sector, you know you are doing your bit for society.

As a corner senior civil servant the advantages are:

• great pension
• you can get away with doing fuck all
• if you do slightly more than fuck all you get quick promotion
• if you are a lazy fucker the sick leave policy is great and you can swing the lead for literally years

I've never come across anyone with the attitude you're describing.

I have had several jobs and civil service has been best by far.

I get better wages, better pension, more annual leave, and more sick pay than anywhere I've ever worked. It's not something I'll take advantage of, but the maternity leave seems to good compared to other organisations.

I get Flexi time, which isn't just being able to start or finish early. I can take whole days/weeks off using Flexi leave.

They offer more flexible working patterns than anywhere I've worked before too. I have colleagues who work compressed weeks, term time only etc.

I'm not saying it's perfect by any means or the best place to work, but I definitely wouldn't say it's somewhere to work if you can't get a job anywhere else.

Pay is really low at all grades, even more so at Grade 7 and 6, forgetting SCS pay being market too. I’d argue outside of London, AO-HEO/SEO is market rate.

Redundancies are very rare and ,if they happen, are usually financially generous.
You actually make a difference to people lives. Very often ministerial policies are actually created by civil servants
A civilised society needs a reliable neutral ecosystem . Im not saying CS is perfect by any means but by and large it ensures the country is running.
As a long serving civil servant I can honestly say you’d be amazed at what happens behind the scenes to keep us a safe society.

I love my CS job, and no it wasn’t because I had no where else to go as @AquaPeer said. I wanted a job that had some purpose but worked around family life. I tried for a long time to get into the cs and was v happy when I finally did.
The flexibility is amazing. 33 days holiday plus bank holidays (for full time I’m part time). V flexible with my part time hours. Flexi hours - literally choose when I work on my working days, any time between 7-7. Can build up and ‘owe’ flexi time too if I need to take a morning off etc. I wfh mostly, take AL when I want (2 weeks over Xmas no issues), good sick leave, maternity, medical leave etc. and of course the pension. They actually seem to care about our wellbeing unlike other places I’ve worked. And so many training and development opportunities. I can even do a degree, fully funded.

Probably because of the low productivity and everyone knowing that you can rob a wage if you work in the civil service. There isn’t a single civil service function that is working well or delivering. Not one.

So if you want a job for life without ever having to lift a finger when you get there, civil service seems to be the place to go.

And here is proof

@Anniedash Wel its nor proof is it? Its someone saying something on an anonymous internet forum

I think for me it's the breadth of opportunities when you get in, you could work in policy, but then move into strategy or ops when you get to a certain level showing certain behaviours. They've paid thousands of pounds for my qualifications over the years, (over £10,000, more than I paid for uni!) I'm actually a specialist so haven't moved around professions, but have moved around a hugely interesting breadth of context. I actually earn very well, it would be difficult to get what i get in the private sector. I have a huge amount of flexibility, more than anyone else I know, and a job that has genuine impact, the work I'm involved with is often in the headlines, and I get a lot of satisfaction from that.

Compulsory redundancies are very rare. But don't get me wrong there are issues too, lots that frustrates me, but I have a very cushty role atm I can't complain.

This is me.

And the pension.
And we had flexi time decades ago, when it was virtually unheard of elsewhere.

It’s true, everyone knows it. The civil service is an absolute joke in this country.

The productivity shows it, comment after comment on this and many threads shows it.

The fish is rotting from the head.

@Anniedash crikey, did a civil servant piss on your corn flakes? Calm down or we will start thinking you're a Russian bot...or Elon Musk.

However I was a senior civil servant. Went through the bonkers selection process and everything.

One thing I missed from my list. If you get fed up with your managers trying to get you to actually do some real work you can raise endless grievances. Pisses off the seniors no end.

@Anniedash You are showing yourself up there. The entire civil service is rotten? Because of comments on threads like this?

ok apologies, I don’t mean literally nowhere else to go. But “worshipped“ gives vibes of highly desirable workers rejecting roles at google, McKinsey, top pharmaceuticals, the UN, the world bank etc in their desperation to secure a role at DEFRA and the like 😂

I've never heard of a single person who worships the civil service.

Well look, I was a civil servant and I wasn’t like that…doesn’t mean everyone was the same as me either. It’s an infantile way of defending your point.

So have any of the decriers applied for jobs to try and change it or is that someone else's responsibility.

As is normal on mumsnet people are fast to complain but slow to be part of the solution.

Wow, this just about sums it up.

I'm a CS and have been for nearly 3 years. I don't think I'd be able to go back into private sector. When I was pregnant in private sector the first comment was "was this a planned pregnancy" whilst when I told my line manager in CS back in Nov he just said "anything you need, I'll support you"

I wish I could work more at home than 40% of the month but the flexibility of being able to work around the school run is something I find amazing. So when I'm in the office I start at 930 and finish 530 as I've got the after school childcare sorted but if I ever need to go and collect my son I can make the time up at a later date

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article/uk-civil-service-ranks-sixth-best-in-new-global-index

The UK Civil service consistently ranked one of the best in the world even with years of lack of investment in pay. Can see the Daily Fail readers have joined this thread. Yes some people slack off but shock horror that happened when I worked in the much worshipped private sector too. Now I work with people passionate to make a difference.

Pension, holidays and sick leave are way better than private sector. Not sure it's worshipped though. I know some people who work really hard in various departments and others who absolutely doss and take the pi$$ knowing it's almost impossible to be sacked

Article by civil service world. Oh dear.