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Old 06-23-2010, 06:37 AM
 
Location: In my view finder.....
8,515 posts, read 16,157,681 times
Reputation: 8079

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That's what I hear from people that work in those sectors.

I've heard it many times about Gov't workers.

My mom was in Social services for years and was director of many programs.
When I got laid off and took a social services job the first thing my mom told me was you're going to meet the laziest people you've ever worked with in your life.

After 2 years in the field, I must say she is 100% correct. Now to clear things up, she did not say ALL social services workers are lazy. She was saying I'll meet some of the laziest people I have ever worked with. I'd like to add they are the most inept group, that's for sure.



Chime in........


Thanks,
Ron
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Old 06-23-2010, 06:53 AM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
10,447 posts, read 49,589,806 times
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Oh yea......you know what they say: "Oh you work for the government? So you don't work huh"?

The real bottom of the lazy pool of bad attitudes work for the DMV or whatever your state calls the motor vehicle offices. All dead weight.
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Old 06-23-2010, 07:08 AM
 
3,650 posts, read 9,198,662 times
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Lots of experience here. Yep. Sure there are all types everywhere you go, but on the whole, it's very true. A LOT of people who are either lazy or incredibly incompetent, or both. Partly just the nature of the beast, I'm afraid. Probably not helping is that it's all but impossible to fire civil service people. Talk about a haven for mindless slugs - it's often like a glorified welfare program.
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Old 06-23-2010, 07:11 AM
 
Location: Maryland
37 posts, read 76,546 times
Reputation: 44
I work in government, and here's my take: working in the government is liking working anywhere else in the sense that you have people who work hard, people who skirt by, people who try and suck up and avoid work, and people in between. The problem is that it's a lot easier for people who don't do much to get by in the (federal) government because it's basically impossible to fire anyone unless they punch another employee or something, and for some people that means doing the bare minimum.

It reminds me of stories I'd hear from friends in college (my university didn't seem to have this problem). There'd always be a professor or two whose attitude was basically "I worked my butt off to get my PhD and get my tenure, so I've earned the right to do however much (or however little) I want." Getting jobs in the government is pretty hard, and I feel like there are far too many people with a similar attitude around here.

It's really a shame because of what it does to people who are hard-working. Take my father for example. He's been in the workforce for more than thirty years, private sector and government. He's at the highest level he can/is willing to attain since he doesn't want to be a supervisor. He's been with the government long enough that he's in the class that would have to really screw up to get fired. Yet he works from 8:30-6:30 most weekdays and puts in 6-8 hours most Saturday and works one at least Sunday a month. I hate the fact he gets lumped in with the people who spend their days reading TMZ and watching YouTube because they know there's very little their boss can/will do about it.
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Old 06-23-2010, 07:36 AM
 
47,525 posts, read 69,570,473 times
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I would have to say the workers at the DMV here aren't lazy - they're pretty quick, pretty efficient.

I would think social workers would be lazy however for the most part. If you're faced with welfare seekers day after day, it's not like they have jobs to get to and a lot of motivation themselves.
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Old 06-23-2010, 07:45 AM
 
Location: Camberville
15,837 posts, read 21,372,529 times
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I interned with local government and thought it was a shame. Most people were very hard working but the public has such a negative perception, even as budget cuts mean that what once used to be an overworked office of 4 staff members plus a part time intern intern becomes an incredibly stressful department with 1 staff member and one part time intern who is now doing the work of a 35K a year employee. I worked in a branch of the Department for Public Works and though I was entitled to a 1 hour lunch break, I ate lunch at my desk every day so I could get everything done. That was the way most of the office functioned just to get things done.

To the public, though, we seemed lazy. We got off early and closed to the public on Fridays (I stayed all day to finish up paperwork alone) because there was one day where the office was open until 8PM so we could be open when it was convenient for people who work. Local government couldn't afford to pay anyone overtime so you had to leave early unless you were the friendly unpaid intern. :P

I've never seen so many people steamed and angry over the Friday closings. Sure, it was nice for the staff to have off early in the day for long weekends and such, but it was a very long day on Wednesday when they were in the office for 11 1/2 hours.
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Old 06-23-2010, 08:49 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,601,376 times
Reputation: 17830
Look at a Federal Form SF-171, Box 12. Notice how the word "lowest" is bolded in "What is the lowest pay you will accept?" What's the message here?

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Old 06-23-2010, 10:59 AM
FBJ
 
Location: Tall Building down by the river
39,605 posts, read 58,901,044 times
Reputation: 9451
It depends on what you are doing in social services because being lazy at my job will get you fire quick since it's so fast pace.


Now at my previous job there lots of laziness going on because it was a slow pace environment
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Old 06-23-2010, 11:28 AM
 
436 posts, read 754,586 times
Reputation: 257
Every time I have worked on a state or city government contact, I am amazed (in general) how inefficient government departments are. Yes, almost everyone is trying to do the minimum required (which is very little).
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Old 06-23-2010, 12:14 PM
 
38 posts, read 98,797 times
Reputation: 30
I work with some Dept of the Army (federal) employees as a gov't contractor. Part of the problem is that once they are passed their 1 year probabtion period, you cannot fire a federal employee. Many of them sit back, collect their yearly step increases and operate on crusie control. Not all, but they know they can't be fired so it promotes a very complacent attitude. Also, as a veteran, you get alot of the same thing in the military as well.
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