We encounter quite a few inquires regarding government jobs. Most people tend to want to secure a government job, but we have the inside story on these coveted positions.

So why do people tend to gravitate towards these roles? We are not sure and think a lot has to do with hear-say and other non-verifiable information. The bottom line is that government jobs have their minuses and we have listed a few below:

1. Lack of motivation

We have worked in a government environments and in most cases we witnessed lack of motivation, poor work ethic and general office malaise. Why is this? Not sure but could be related to boring work, strong job security and maybe hiring the wrong people.

2. Outdated systems, tools and decor

When we worked at a location north of Toronto, the office decor was ugly and drab. It was demoralizing, and screamed 1950s (not in a good cool way). Unfortunately, if you work in a government location, chances are, you will have a boring workplace and most likely you will be using outdated technology as well.

3. Unionized environment

We have our own opinion about unionized environments and generally speaking we prepared to work in non-unionized (union-free zones). The main reason is that we enjoyed talking to our managers about work issues and we really liked moving up the corporate ladder because we were good at our job and we tried really hard to get to the next level. In unionized environments, if Sue or Joe was hired before you, chances are they get the first crack at the job and may make more, even if their performance is sub-par to yours.

If you like work environments where you feel good about doing a good job, like new and updated work systems and refreshed work decor and like to excel at your job because you are good at it, rather than who’s been working there the longest, you may want to reconsider a government job.

That’s our opinion, what do you think? Spark some debate and share this with your friend, brother, sister or aunt who keeps telling you to get a government job.