Reply to Federal Govt an Artificial Job Market? Admin Changes, Private Sector Adjusts

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Reply to " Federal Govt an Artificial Job Market? Admin Changes, Private Sector Adjusts—Why Not Train for Portable Skills?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I get that the federal government seems upset about cutting staff and shifting directions, but is that just because they aren’t used to it?

Today I had to cut half of one manager’s team across multiple departments, letting go of 9 people because of budget and priority changes. They’re all technical staff, and their manager thinks they’re talented. While it’s tough, they’ll almost certainly land something soon since their skills are in demand. In the private sector, this kind of thing happens all the time, and while no one likes it, it’s just part of the reality. We’re giving them 30 days' notice, which is more than enough from a private sector viewpoint. Many companies give nothing, with employees discovering the same day they’re let go. So, it’s interesting to see how differently government workers react to job changes.

Thinking about the fork email, it seems like if I could give those employees 8 months of paid time to look for a job while doing nothing, they’d be thrilled. Is the outrage from the federal side just because government employees aren’t used to these kinds of shifts?

I also talked to a relative in their 70s who works for the government, and they’re actually excited about the deferred resignation deal. From their perspective, getting paid for 8 months without working before retiring is a dream scenario and a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of government jobs don’t have portable skills like IT or accounting that easily transfer to the private sector. I also see people who spend their entire careers managing government grants, foreign aid, and similar programs. It seems like these jobs exist mainly to process government functions that wouldn’t even need so much administration if the system were more efficient. If that’s the case, shouldn’t employees in these roles be training for portable skills instead of putting all their eggs in the federal government basket?

And if government priorities shift, isn’t it normal for those employees to look elsewhere? If we’re cutting foreign spending or shoring up the border, wouldn’t it make sense for them to move to agencies in demand instead of expecting a lifetime job in a field that changes with each administration?

Like, if a job was focused on managing the Pony Express mail system back in the day, and then new technology made it obsolete, shouldn’t people in those roles have expected that focus to stop instead of assuming they’d do it forever?[/quote]

Firstly shut up troll. Your "relative" is absolutely made up. Secondly, you realize MANY, MANY of us worked in the private sector and then many many of us return to the private sector, right???? I just cannot with you alls high school level understanding of the way the world works. Or even just america because you certainly have zero understanding of the way the world functions. [/quote]

Let's keep our discussion respectful and avoid personal attacks. I assure you, my relative is real. They were planning to retire this year but are now considering the deferred resignation program, which offers full pay without work obligations until September 30. Their main concern is whether to respond with "Resign" or "Resign and Retire." According to the Office of Personnel Management's guidance, the choice doesn't affect the outcome, but it might be used for internal metrics.

High school level understanding? Is that some type of boomer Gen X elderly person insult to make it seem that things should be more complicated than they are? Why does everything need to be complicated? I am the generation of TLDR or "this could've been an email." I am all for simplicity, and if it's too complicated, then it needs to be redone. This could've been an email or a Slack message, and don't message me saying "call me" or just "hi."

[/quote]

NP. OP, are you a real person or an AI? If an AI, it’s understandable since you write well and ask good questions that belie a truly horrifying lack of knowledge about the real, 3D world. If you’re human… well, I’m sorry.

The constant comparison of government to business tells me that you fundamentally have no concept of what government is for. The claim that science is of value only if companies would be willing to pay for it tells me that you don’t understand anything about how scientific research is done, or the massive amount of evidence that is published proving that government funding of R&D pays for itself many times over. Please, before you keep pushing back on the posters in this thread (although some of them are a bit impolite), please go learn something about what our government does and why. Your Dunning Kruger is on flagrant display right now. [/quote]

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