A Federal Myth, a
Federal Reality
For years I’ve worked on assignments at home for free,
because things need to be done but there’s not enough time for them to be
accomplished during the regular 8 hour day. I’ve helped co-workers, members of
the public, and the occasional headquarters staff person in keeping processes and
instructions consistent, understandable, and applied. I’ve trouble-shot
systemic and procedural issues. I’ve enjoyed the job.
Nowadays, with all the negativity around the Federal
workplace, there’s not much joy for me in my job. A lot of folks who aren’t
government workers assume I have a cushy job, great pay, huge benefits, and
lots of ego. Instead, after 25 years I have an uncertain future, casual
acquaintances sneering disdainfully at me in misunderstanding, fewer benefits
that cost more than ever…
…and less than $33,000 per year to show for it. Not exactly
what the media portrays, is it?
I’m maxed out at my income level, and unless I get another
job (hard to do with a hiring freeze all over), I will stay at this income for
a long time. We haven’t even had a minimum cost-of-living increase for years.
There are many reports of government spending and high incomes floating around
the ether. Well, I can promise that most of us who work for the government
stare in shocked amazement at those reports right along with most of the
public.
While depression and anxiety descends on my Federal family,
I’m struggling to deal with my own realities and there isn’t a lot of sympathy
out there. So many around me focus on the negative, the news reports of a
broken government and selfish political maneuvering, that I fall through the
cracks with my employer and my neighbors at the same time.
How do I deal with this?
Mindfully, if at all possible.
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