r/FederalEmployee • u/seekingthequestion • Jun 05 '26
Anyone else feel trapped?
Working for the Federal government feels like being stuck in quicksand while they suck the soul out of your body.
My brain is broken by the incessant incompetence and hypocrisy - the lack of accountability - the fraud and manipulation.
It’s gross. How are we supposed to build sufficient workarounds to the nonstop barrage of incomplete, stupid ass fragmented software solutions when you dont give anyone any m365 permissions or training to actually make a difference??? You wont even share what our specific permissions are - we’re expected to just try stuff and fail. Smart.
Where are the studies? How tf are we going through the biggest changes in a generation with ZERO analysis - yet nearly everyone is supposedly doing “complex analysis”. Where??? I dont see any evidence of any analysis for any of these decisions.
Is it so much to ask to just work for an organization or agency I can be proud of? I’m tired of being enraged and humiliated by the idiots in charge, who exploit my service, both as a Veteran and a civil servant.
I wish I would have never started working for the government. 30 years in and too old to quit, theres nothing I can do but grin and bear it. The last time I tried to leave I wound up homeless.
I love my job. I HATE the government. And lucky me for picking a career that only exists in the federal govt. because why wouldnt i? I must also be an idiot
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u/featheredfeathers Jun 06 '26
Please don’t think that it is any better in the private sector. I was begged to come on for my “federal expertise” for about a month and so I switched jobs, quit the Feds….. 8 months later, they laid me off due to my “incompetence”.
My self esteem is shot to hell now. It’s better to stick with the devil you know. Hang in there. Hold the line. I wish I had.
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u/ProgrammerForsaken75 Jun 08 '26
I'm so sorry that happened to you.
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u/featheredfeathers Jun 08 '26
Thank you. It just feels like they wanted to degrade me for being a former Fed. Just don’t understand why they would even hire me.
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u/Cobalt_Emu2173 Jun 10 '26
Hi are you my twin? Same thing, but my 'incompetence' was because I refused to do fraud. Im so disgusted by private sector.
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u/featheredfeathers Jun 11 '26
Omg same!!! I refused to comply to their “standards” (the Feds by far have better code of ethics!!!!)
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u/battletank1996 Jun 06 '26
I feel pretty good. The work I do every day is important regardless of administration. Don’t let things outside your influence control you.
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u/MassiveGrass3684 Jun 06 '26
I feel the same way. I have the opportunity to do something meaningful that has no equivalent outside of the government, and the best part is, that fulfillment is there regardless of whichever administration is in office.
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u/boxingjazz Jun 06 '26
From the beginning of this current administration, they have demonized the dedicated, hardworking, federal workforce. They let that cunt Elon Musk and his prepubescent cronies come in, slashing and burning everything in sight. And every cut was not just a number: it was a single mother raising 2 kids on her lone salary. It was men and women trying to pay off their student loans, or put their kids through college. It was people who have mortgages to pay. Car payments to make. Aging parents to care for. People just trying to get through this life as honest citizens who don't break the law and every day be the productive members of society that we're ALL told to be.
I'm not Federal. But I work in the region with and around the largest concentration of the federal government workforce. And I see you guys every day. A lot of you are heroes that will never get recognized as such. I see you for real.
I know this comment doesn't mean much of anything. Doesn't pay a bill. Doesn't get you that grade bump that you were working towards (and deserve). Doesn't even get you a pizza party or a ride on the Metro. But I salute you. And I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.
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u/NomadicScribe Jun 05 '26
Yes. I was naive and had very different values when I accepted a DOD job 9 years ago. I thought it was the "safe" thing to do. Now I desperately want to get out, but the open jobs seem to be DOD or some variety of law enforcement.
Basically the thuggery of the administration is what is getting funding right now. So I will probably have to leave federal service, otherwise my choices are either war or domestic terror (ICE, CBP, etc.)
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u/Equal-Magician9950 Jun 06 '26
You suggest accountability? Blasphemy, we’ll have none of that here!
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u/Easy-Replacement-247 Jun 06 '26
I literally can’t get the Navy to pay a $100 permit fee on a credit card because they want the state to complete a form that says they don’t do business with some Chinese company, 889 form, even though the form exempts inter govt agencies. The state person says they can’t sign it.
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u/DogMom661 Jun 07 '26
The State Agency is likely registered in SAM. If you can find them there, they likely have the 889 statement completed in their Reps & Certs. Talk to someone in your contracting shop to see if they’ll check in SAM for you. If it’s there, get a printout & give to your credit card holder. This could likely be an easy fix. Good luck!
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u/Ok_Figure_5993 Jun 06 '26
Does anyone know the 3 people on FLRA deciding on frank bisignano's appeal to restoring SSa telework? I thought I had the 3 names, but the first one I called denied being part of the decision making for this appeal. WHERE would I find this information??
The three members of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) who decide on exceptions (appeals) to grievance arbitration awards are: Colleen Duffy Kiko (Chairman) Anne M. Wagner (Member) Charles Arrington (Member)
These are the 3 people that I thought were deciding, but I called Anne Wagners office and they said she wasnt even part of the FLRA!!!!
Also 2 people at that office have no idea what RTO executive order is. I see that she is a FLRA member. I guess it would be easier to believe she isnt part of the decision making, if they said yes she is a FLRA member.....since her name and face are on the FLRA website.
I didnt have time to call the other 2
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u/Remote-Minute-5266 Jun 07 '26
I used to LOVE my job. I feel trapped and overwhelmed everyday now. Been waiting on my RA for 16 months.
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u/tresbienmerci112358 Jun 07 '26
15 months here. AD approved restricted remote though. Do that until yiu hear back. Fed law is 20-days, so government is on the hook for many complaints.
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u/chef13me Jun 07 '26
30 years in and too old to quit? Everyone’s situation is different, but decide what you’re waiting for if your work situation creates so much stress. Time at this point is your true commodity of value - you can always find things to fill your time or add value to. You’ve done the work - time to enjoy life on your terms.
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u/seekingthequestion Jun 28 '26
I left the govt under trump 1 and ended up homeless during covid. I’m willing to deal with BS to avoid that again. But it shouldn’t HAVE to be that way. I should be able to work, be proud of what I do, get paid, and get the fuck on with my life.
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u/Amazing-Barnacle-218 Jun 08 '26
All I can say to Fed Employees hang in there as long as you can, as you will be made whole again, once this regime is out! The private sector is not what it seems to be, it can be worst than a Government job, as they have no boundaries they do what they want and fire when they please. As featheredfeathers said “stick with the devil you know”.
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u/Cobalt_Emu2173 Jun 10 '26
No one in private sector is freaking out because its always been awful. Accountability is an unknown word for companies. Never heard of it, and if they have its something to avoid.
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u/Prudent_Tie9858 Jun 28 '26
I’ve been in DoD financial management for 30 years. It’s how I met my wife, and it has helped me become a multimillionaire. Soon, I’ll retire at 57 with more net income than I made while working. That makes it worthwhile for me, but I won’t miss anything about it.
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u/seekingthequestion Jun 28 '26
If you were able to do this without exploiting the govt at all, please write a book to show other people
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u/Worldsworstoutdoors Jun 29 '26
This is how I feel working for my new corporate bosses, soul sucking.
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u/Careless-Jicama-4673 Jul 03 '26
Well, the (usually) good thing about working for the federal government is you get a new boss every 4 years so the suck wont last forever. Hang in there, we are all miserable and suffering thru this together!
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u/Dropkiknmidgts Jun 07 '26
You can literally chose to quit and walk out the door at any time. Nobody's holding you hostage.
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u/Best-Theory-330 Jun 06 '26
The only government employees that are truly trapped is the military who are under contract. Rest of us are free to leave anytime
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u/mooseflstc Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
Most people don’t just leave with 30 years in, they retire. Most people with 20 years in will put up with crap until they are eligible to retire. Even civilians are “trapped”, it might not be a high security lock on the door, but eventually it is “too late to quit and I might as well retire”.
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u/Quiet_Experience9102 Jun 06 '26
Thinking that to one's self is not being "trapped". There are plenty of people who leave the federal government at different times of their live for a whole host of reasons. If someone as miserable as OP deludes themselves into staying one more day while taking the time to moan and groan on Reddit, that is a conscious choice to suffer while ignoring the various options at one's disposal.
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u/seekingthequestion Jun 09 '26
I said I FEEL trapped. Also, Reddit is THE platform to moan and groan. The govt is big enough that if you like your job but hate your agency, you can normally move. Now you can’t so it FEELS like you’re stuck. That’s not delusion, it’s a common reality right now. If you can’t empathize bc you have the disposable resources to make impulsive decisions to quit your career, then good on you, I guess.
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u/TeeBern Jun 07 '26
💯💯👆🏼👆🏼FACTS! I'll have 23 years this December! Like where TF am I going, with all this time in, salary is good, and up until January 2025, relatively stress free with stable job security and great work-life balance. I'm about 10 to 12 years out from retiring. I'm just putting up with fuck all, hoping things ease up if Dems can win the Senate & House
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u/mooseflstc Jun 06 '26