By Joey Trebif
Founder of CareerAlley
Flexible working environment, fixed incentives and several perks; who doesn’t want a job with all these benefits? This is what a government job could offer you. If you are one of those who would like to have a relaxing work environment with a steady moving career, a job in the government sector may be the best option for you. Read further to know what the advantages and disadvantages of being a government employee.
Let’s start with the advantages of making a career in this sector. Though jobs in this sector are comparatively lesser in number as compared to private jobs, the competition for job seekers in the government sector is intense.
Job Stability
Being a federal or a local government employee has generous benefits; job security being one of the most important among all. With the world witnessing frequent economic turmoil, the scenario in the private job market is threatening. Layoffs are very common in the private sector while this is very unlikely in the government sector, even if the economy slows.
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Health Care Benefits
The Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) in the US offers employees a range of plans related to health care. Such plans and benefits include Life Insurance policies, medical plans and dental plans for every government employee.
Fair Remuneration
Private Jobs certainly pay huge compared to the government jobs, but the approach they follow in fixing salaries or incentives for their employees is very fair and open as compared to the former. Government workers have a fixed pay scale at every level based on their education and past job experiences. This also avoids any kind of discrimination among the workers. Moreover, the hike in salary is also steady and fixed in advance. Private companies often take steps like cost cutting and economic slowdown to even decrease the salaries of their employees – this is highly unlikely in government jobs.
Work Stress Level
Jobs in the government have a relaxing work environment. The workload is minimal which allows employees a stress free working environment. The best part is that even if the work load is too much, the time-frame to complete the work is reasonable. Contrary to this, the private company employees can have a stressful work life in many industries. The main reason is the cut-throat competition among private companies where each firm wants to be ahead of another. As this can only be done by delivering more with less than their competitors, it directly impacts workers who are then stressed with tight deadlines and regular work pressure.
Truly said that every good thing comes with a price; it’s time we flip and see the other side of the coin. Let’s have a look at few of the disadvantages due to which youngsters prefer to opt for a private job in most of the cases.
Widespread Bureaucracy
Across countries, jobs in the government sector are considered to be highly bureaucratic. Due to conventional methods of working and a lot of dependency on non-technological methods, employees tend to get into monotonous work schedules. The change is quite slow and out dated, and all this makes employees frustrated. Even a minor change can take quite long compared to that of a private sector.
Passive Working Environment
If an individual wants to work in a dynamic work environment and provide ideas for a better work environment, there are chances that it might not even get heard by top management. Even if it gets heard, the time taken to implement it will be extremely long. This creates frustration among employees in the government sector and ultimately they start losing interest in their jobs. This not only results in not initiating new ideas, but in worse cases, this starts reflecting in their attitude while interacting with their clients or consumers.
Other Resources
- USAJOBS.gov
- Gogovernment.org
- Government Jobs
- The Book of U.S. Government Jobs: Where They Are, What’s Available, & How to Complete a Federal Resume
Whatever the disadvantages, with all the benefits, a government job is always a safer option in today’s time.
This article was originally published at CareerAlley.
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