Civil Service - Research and Evaluation (moving from an agency)

[Whatanamechange]

There seem to be quite a few people working for the CS on Mumsnet so I was wondering if anyone in my area (Social Research/Policy Evaluation) has switched from private sector (working for a research agency) to an GSR role?

I have a 21 month old and, while I find my work interesting, I am really fed up with the stress and unpredictable workload that comes with being in a client facing role. The civil service is often presented on here as the holy grail for work-life balance. Is this really the case?

Salaries at my level (mid career) seem quite low compared to the equivalent level in an agency, but I would be willing to take the salary hit if the CS has a genuinely better work life balance (i.e. you only need to work your contracted hours to get the job done).

Hey hey! CS SRO here. Ermmm I think it definitely depends what dept you end up working in. Some will be more laid back where you typically work your expected hours (plus perhaps a fair amount of long days if you apply for a Snr role). But in the main I don't expect you'd be doing crazy hours unless you work for a dept that's super aligned with key ministers & frequently changing policies, or commissions that are based on the public interest (eg if it's crime or immigration related dept, perhaps there may be more tight deadlines & more short term projects than in other depts). But generally people enjoy it - the culture is definitely about flexible working & trying to appreciate staff which I must say does really shine through (even if we're busy sometimes). I'm not sure what non govnt research roles are like, but I've enjoyed my 2 fairly long term ones. 
Hope helps!

Hiya - for my 36 year experience from EO-G6 I can confirm that it has been the ideal organisation for child care /work life balance.

I have worked mostly full time. But was able to take advantage of term time only when kids were little - with salary averaged across the year and annual leave used for half terms . Made raising a family an awful lot less stressful.

About 5 years ago I moved to compressed hours. 5 days over 4.

Last year I took partial retirement. Which means I now work Wednesday Thursday & Friday but my pension makes up the loss of two days so no loss of income and now my weekends are longer than my weeks. What's not to love. ?

My experience is across the Home Office. DWP and Cabinet office.

I've also worked from home /detached duty since 2016.

Thanks @awfullytricky and@Shazz20 . Very useful info.