I have some friends and relatives in the public sector. They are very good, very competent people, but when it comes to talking about work there is a very palpable culture shock.
They have no concept of what those of us in the dreaded private sector have to go through when it comes to health insurance. They may complain about having co-pays, that’s the extent of their difficulties. No deductibles, monthly payments, etc.
They get vacation days, floating holidays, comp time, mental health days and if one took the time to add up the time they actually spend working they’d probably be considered part-time in the private sector.
And it is sad to see smart, hard-working people wither somewhat under a system that penalizes drive and ambition. Many of their co-workers are barnacles and get the same rewards for half the effort, so they begin to wonder “why bother” and their own work ethic starts to wane.
Many state and federal departments are glorified adult day care centers. End them.
I am a retired federal manager, grabbed early retirement first time eligible, left and lived happily ever after. Until 1980 or so, federal employment was credible and to some extent fulfilling, particularly is you worked for an agency like NASA where I started. It all fell apart with affirmative action, hiring quotas, non-merit promotion preferences, the advent of public unions and the like. I am sure progressives would say the “good old days with white guys in charge” was racist, sexist, homophobic” et. al. To which I would reply..not likely and the American public was much better served by those days and those guys at about 1/2 the cost.