Why do some private sector workers hate Fed workers so much?

[Anonymous]

I worked at an excellent engineering firm prior to being a fed. My fed employers are a higher tier. They’re more professional and responsible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When private sector people get let go, downsized or fired, there is no sympathy, and it is just another day. When federal employees, who get paid back, or for a load there is a lot of woah is me and hand wringing. They will be OK. It’s more of a well now it’s your turn to feel what we’ve all felt before.

Feds in lower-education sectors (think drivers, janitors, some trades) are paid on average more than their private sector counterparts. Feds in higher-education sectors (think lawyers, medicine, financial services) are paid on average less than their private sector counterparts. For the latter, hand wringing can be because there was an expectation of higher job stability as a tradeoff for taking the lower salary.

I don’t know where you are, but many of those “low-education” jobs have been contracted out for a long time.

[Anonymous]

I’m a retired Fed. People are jealous of our pension and other benefits. We have family that has looked down on us for years for serving in the Federal government. As they say, slow and steady, wins the race. We won.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I see the feds have rushed in to defend themselves - all the best performers I'm sure. I ask you though, if you're doing such a great job it must really piss you off seeing all those co-workers coasting along right? I was a DOD contractor for 5 years in the DC area and it was egregious how little some people did. They also didn't have to answer to anyone and had so many early releases/"trainings" etc they barely even had to show up.

Totally pisses me off to see low performing Fed colleagues or employees. I became a manager and I make it my particular mission to have a high performing office. My employees are very happy. However whenever I need to hire, it’s a hot mess. No matter how hard I interview, I can’t sus out the lazy and bad employees. Weirdly enough some of the worst interviewees are the best and the best interviewees are terrible employees, so it’s hard to hire. After 6 months I place the terrible ones on PIPs and they’re gone by a year. You can’t even imagine how time consuming it is to fire people. But I feel like it’s my duty as a tax payer and as a fed to get rid of poor performers. OPM sure makes it hard as hell to get rid of them though. All of my employees want the bad performers gone too. It’s bad for morale and everyone wants colleagues who can pull their own weight.

If OPM’s Vought hates feds so much why can’t he make it easier for us to hire and fire??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I see the feds have rushed in to defend themselves - all the best performers I'm sure. I ask you though, if you're doing such a great job it must really piss you off seeing all those co-workers coasting along right? I was a DOD contractor for 5 years in the DC area and it was egregious how little some people did. They also didn't have to answer to anyone and had so many early releases/"trainings" etc they barely even had to show up.

I was a fed in DoD. There were a lot of very dedicated, really smart and all-around great workers.

There was also some real deadweight. In government, it’s easier to let these employees just slide by. I was never a fed supervisor, too smart for that, but trying to fire a fed, who isn’t on probation, is a copious amount of paperwork and a real headache. Additionally, you open yourself up, and your agency, to litigation if you don’t have everything in order when trying to let go of an employee.

[Anonymous]

Having consulted at numerous federal agencies I found there to be plenty of wonderful people and plenty of pure dead weight that are just a drain on tax dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I see the feds have rushed in to defend themselves - all the best performers I'm sure. I ask you though, if you're doing such a great job it must really piss you off seeing all those co-workers coasting along right? I was a DOD contractor for 5 years in the DC area and it was egregious how little some people did. They also didn't have to answer to anyone and had so many early releases/"trainings" etc they barely even had to show up.

Are you telling me you don't know anyone in the private sector who get paid for doing nothing lol?

I don’t. I have been in private for 15 years. Everyone has a lot of responsibility starting from the 23 years old.

So you never worked with a higher ups buddy or someone's nephew? That was rampant at the small companies I worked at.

Maybe at F500 top shelf employees the stack racking helps, but even there there is buddy protection and hire to fire.

Once I worked for a small company and the tax directors son was in my group, dude was extremely hard working.

The other places we all had actual jobs to do.

[Anonymous]

I have less a problem with fed workers and more a problem with the beaurocracy that allows many who are unproductive to hang around while hardworking contractors get laid off when funding cuts happen.

There doesn't seem to be a better way for lazy, unmotivated people to park themselves fot decades and for financial security than the fed government beaurocracy. With that said there are some great workers among them as well.

[Anonymous]

People see the benefits, and sometimes pay, Feds get and they are jealous/upset. It used to be more common in the private sector to get a pension, now it’s almost unheard of. It’s a raise to bottom - they want Feds to suffer because they suffer.

I will say I worked in the private sector before going into government contracting and there were constantly layoffs. Feds are not used to it and want a level of sympathy I think a lot of people in private sector don’t feel they deserve. Layoffs are the norm in the private sector.

[Anonymous]

Besides contractors, the people who hate feds also hate contractors. They're not making that distinction. And I say this as a contractor who did spend my day working harder than the feds I was working with. (But it's not like that's always the case.)

[Anonymous]

Some people are just haters. They may hate Feds, but they hate their private sector neighbor too for whatever reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I see the feds have rushed in to defend themselves - all the best performers I'm sure. I ask you though, if you're doing such a great job it must really piss you off seeing all those co-workers coasting along right? I was a DOD contractor for 5 years in the DC area and it was egregious how little some people did. They also didn't have to answer to anyone and had so many early releases/"trainings" etc they barely even had to show up.

I was a fed in DoD. There were a lot of very dedicated, really smart and all-around great workers.

There was also some real deadweight. In government, it’s easier to let these employees just slide by. I was never a fed supervisor, too smart for that, but trying to fire a fed, who isn’t on probation, is a copious amount of paperwork and a real headache. Additionally, you open yourself up, and your agency, to litigation if you don’t have everything in order when trying to let go of an employee.

I was a fed at DOI early career. Never worked harder. And some of the most hard-working professional people I ever worked with. HOWEVER, there were also some of the laziest. Fed world has both in great supply. Private world has fewer of the lazy ones receiving good pay and benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t hate feds, one of my parents was one.

The only thing I hated recently is that one the acquaintances I know whose spouse was a fed who was impacted by job losses was trying to waltz into my private, non-government related company at a pretty high level. I have been in my industry for 20+ years and am not at that level. It felt really arrogant to me.

Oh now you know why Feds have contempt for DOGE employees. Some had only a few years of experience and got the highest GS level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When private sector people get let go, downsized or fired, there is no sympathy, and it is just another day. When federal employees, who get paid back, or for a load there is a lot of woah is me and hand wringing. They will be OK. It’s more of a well now it’s your turn to feel what we’ve all felt before.

Feds in lower-education sectors (think drivers, janitors, some trades) are paid on average more than their private sector counterparts. Feds in higher-education sectors (think lawyers, medicine, financial services) are paid on average less than their private sector counterparts. For the latter, hand wringing can be because there was an expectation of higher job stability as a tradeoff for taking the lower salary.

I don’t know where you are, but many of those “low-education” jobs have been contracted out for a long time.

Yes! What agency has hired its own janitors?! Thanks for the laugh.

[Anonymous]

Aren't NASA scientists considered FED workers? I know NASA has (or used to) have very good Aerospace engineers etc.

The US Air Force also has some very engineers as well.

The ignorance of some Americans is simply legendary.

The CDC has very good scientists as well.

Maybe we just move to hate lol