What to Do - Finally Got Federal Job But I HATE It

[Anonymous]

I was a Fed for a year and this sounds like my old office. Whatever you do, don't start trying to change everything. We had a new person come in and on their 3rd week was making all these ridiculous demands. The problem was they didn't have the institutional knowledge behind why certain decisions were made, so it just sort of made them look like a difficult person.

Personally I enjoyed the chill vibe but I had to resign when we moved. Keep your head down and apply elsewhere if it's not the job for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you please share what agency this is? I work in the USG and have never experienced anything like this.

You’ve never experienced loud coworkers who are friends talking in a hallway? I’ve worked with many of colleagues for over a decade. It’s probably a little intimidating/annoying for a new hire to walk right into our office who doesn’t understand the relationships we all have with each other. I try to not annoy the new people and be inclusive and respectful but the culture has been around longer than me, and so has the leadership. It’s easy to deal with. It’s called headphones and a door, and making some effort to be nice to people.

Ah, you sound like one of these problem employees OP mentioned. Let me guess, middled aged woman, no kids and always on a new diet or fitness routine, takes regular looooooong coffee breaks with Marge down the hall and spends half the day gossiping. Gotcha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you please share what agency this is? I work in the USG and have never experienced anything like this.

You’ve never experienced loud coworkers who are friends talking in a hallway? I’ve worked with many of colleagues for over a decade. It’s probably a little intimidating/annoying for a new hire to walk right into our office who doesn’t understand the relationships we all have with each other. I try to not annoy the new people and be inclusive and respectful but the culture has been around longer than me, and so has the leadership. It’s easy to deal with. It’s called headphones and a door, and making some effort to be nice to people.

Ah, you sound like one of these problem employees OP mentioned. Let me guess, middled aged woman, no kids and always on a new diet or fitness routine, takes regular looooooong coffee breaks with Marge down the hall and spends half the day gossiping. Gotcha.

Nope! High achieving mom, married to high achieving dad, no time for BS and prefer to work at home. I work with some Marge’s who happen to be incredibly knowledgeable and helpful if you give them a modicum of friendly chit chat. They’re also very kind.

OP may lack the social skills necessary to get along with this group. Headphones, close the door, schedule time to get to know colleagues, work at home when allowed. That’s my advice. Also, ask the manager how to do the things you don’t have training on. That’s their job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they hiring? I’m looking for a lazy girl (midlife menopause) job

Right? OP hit the jackpot and they're complaining about it?

Do the bare minimum to not get fired during your probationary period then join right in with the slacking, long weekends, and vacations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you might be our latest hire. Sorry OP. The management is useless and yes, long time staff is doing their jobs for them while they simultaneously make more busy work for us. Schedule a coffee or two with your colleagues and find someone that you get along with to help you out. If you see me in person you should stop by and talk to me about what you might not understand. I’m in on my scheduled days like clockwork. And yeah, we chat a lot in the office because the rest of the week we are redlining with work at home. Maybe work at home more than you have been to get some quiet.

Awkward......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you might be our latest hire. Sorry OP. The management is useless and yes, long time staff is doing their jobs for them while they simultaneously make more busy work for us. Schedule a coffee or two with your colleagues and find someone that you get along with to help you out. If you see me in person you should stop by and talk to me about what you might not understand. I’m in on my scheduled days like clockwork. And yeah, we chat a lot in the office because the rest of the week we are redlining with work at home. Maybe work at home more than you have been to get some quiet.

Awkward......

This is OP. No worries. This poster is not from my agency. There are a couple of hires behind me and a couple of other details from this post and a follow up post which indicate it’s a different agency. But I would love to get similar feedback from
my agency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you might be our latest hire. Sorry OP. The management is useless and yes, long time staff is doing their jobs for them while they simultaneously make more busy work for us. Schedule a coffee or two with your colleagues and find someone that you get along with to help you out. If you see me in person you should stop by and talk to me about what you might not understand. I’m in on my scheduled days like clockwork. And yeah, we chat a lot in the office because the rest of the week we are redlining with work at home. Maybe work at home more than you have been to get some quiet.

Awkward......

This is OP. No worries. This poster is not from my agency. There are a couple of hires behind me and a couple of other details from this post and a follow up post which indicate it’s a different agency. But I would love to get similar feedback from
my agency.

I’m sorry you don’t work with me OP—but this has been a good reminder to reach out to our new guy and make sure he’s doing ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you might be our latest hire. Sorry OP. The management is useless and yes, long time staff is doing their jobs for them while they simultaneously make more busy work for us. Schedule a coffee or two with your colleagues and find someone that you get along with to help you out. If you see me in person you should stop by and talk to me about what you might not understand. I’m in on my scheduled days like clockwork. And yeah, we chat a lot in the office because the rest of the week we are redlining with work at home. Maybe work at home more than you have been to get some quiet.

Awkward......

This is OP. No worries. This poster is not from my agency. There are a couple of hires behind me and a couple of other details from this post and a follow up post which indicate it’s a different agency. But I would love to get similar feedback from
my agency.

I might have missed this, but are you in the DMV? I’ve worked here for over twenty years and have been in many (large) agency offices and never noticed anything like yours. So no, it’s not like that everywhere and there a tons of choices for you to switch to. If you are in a competitive service role I’d say move agencies ASAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been in this position, but it sometimes takes me years to find another lateral fed job…how do you all manage to keep plodding along? I honestly already had depression now I am totally dead inside.

decent paying jobs in my series are rare, and they write the qualifications so specifically for the 13 and 14 that you need to have had the exact job before to even get an interview.

“Dead inside”. FFS, you would literally kill your self if you had to do a real job like working a paving crew in August, sanitation, or as a social worker dealing with unhinged unhorsed.

If you are really so capable, use the time to do the best work you can, take a cr@p ton of training and self teach on skills (become a PMP or learn to program Excel — these are all things that can make any job more productive, so you aren’t defrauding the gov), and make what improvements you can. Exercise during lunch.


I can’t even, did you have ever to work a mildly unpleasant job like dining hall in college or cleaning up on aisle 13 in high school, or did mom and dad grease the skids you only had to work in an air conditioned office on your tush?

My first job was the overnight crew at Walmart, but thanks for your concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been in this position, but it sometimes takes me years to find another lateral fed job…how do you all manage to keep plodding along? I honestly already had depression now I am totally dead inside.

decent paying jobs in my series are rare, and they write the qualifications so specifically for the 13 and 14 that you need to have had the exact job before to even get an interview.

“Dead inside”. FFS, you would literally kill your self if you had to do a real job like working a paving crew in August, sanitation, or as a social worker dealing with unhinged unhorsed.

If you are really so capable, use the time to do the best work you can, take a cr@p ton of training and self teach on skills (become a PMP or learn to program Excel — these are all things that can make any job more productive, so you aren’t defrauding the gov), and make what improvements you can. Exercise during lunch.


I can’t even, did you have ever to work a mildly unpleasant job like dining hall in college or cleaning up on aisle 13 in high school, or did mom and dad grease the skids you only had to work in an air conditioned office on your tush?

My first job was the overnight crew at Walmart, but thanks for your concern.

And to add to my reply, you seem to have some sort of class hang up. I’m from a working class family…why would you think a mid level government worker would have parents “greasing the skid”? You also seemed to have missed the part where I said I have been suffering from depression which is apart from my job.

People on this site are the biggest jerks. Why do they come here just to berate people? Get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been in this position, but it sometimes takes me years to find another lateral fed job…how do you all manage to keep plodding along? I honestly already had depression now I am totally dead inside.

decent paying jobs in my series are rare, and they write the qualifications so specifically for the 13 and 14 that you need to have had the exact job before to even get an interview.

Honestly, I manage by having a really satisfying life outside of work and making very strategic use of my time at the office. I work exactly my hours, no more. I schedule myself for external stakeholder meetings and events on my in-office days and meet friends who work elsewhere for coffee or lunch. I go for walks. And then I shut my door and get work done. I also make time for small talk with my colleagues, knowing the days I’m in are just not going to be easy for things I need quiet for. My colleagues are not horrible people. The job is difficult and unsatisfying, and leadership is absent. So, you just do your best doing what you can to contribute to the mission. I’m not sure what kind of work you do, but I’m sure there’s some connection to the mission of your agency that you believe in. If not, you’re going to be miserable and you should leave when you can. You might also want to invest in some therapy for the time being because a lot of being happy despite a boring job, has to do with you.

Thanks for the advice.

[Anonymous]

I think it's weird when people generalize fed jobs. The federal govt is enormous. Some agencies are amazing, some awful. Within those agencies, there are great offices and bad offices. OP, if you're worried about having a repeat experience in another agency just because it's a fed job, suggest you research the hell out of that agency's culture, meaning talking to actual employees there, and not just rely on a virtual interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like the federal agency I worked for a blue moon ago. I realized I’m just not cut out for government work.

I had a similar experience several years ago. I came from a corporate environment where it was extremely fast paced and the work never ended. My experience with the federal govt was the complete opposite. I returned to the private sector.

Surely you realize that jobs in the government vary just like they do in the private sector. There are many fast-paced and grueling jobs in government.

[Anonymous]

I've worked at five federal agencies, and I have never seen anything close to what the OP describes. If it's true, it does sound terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are they hiring? I’m looking for a lazy girl (midlife menopause) job

Right? OP hit the jackpot and they're complaining about it?

Do the bare minimum to not get fired during your probationary period then join right in with the slacking, long weekends, and vacations.

sign me up