Pros and Cons of Government Sector jobs
It is a very common statement that the government sector is more liable and secure in terms of jobs. But due to limited vacancies and tough competition many people might not be able to achieve it.
For selection, you need to invest the required time in exam preparation and fulfill other criteria. The government sector has a limited number of vacancies hence fewer chances of people getting recruited.
So let’s look at this with some in-depth analysis.
Pros of Government Sector jobs:
- Security of jobs: In recent years, private companies fired a lot of employees to cut down their costs. You cannot be assured that your job will be there after 10 years. But government jobs are relatively more secure. People are fired only when one is involved in corruption or some activities which are completely unacceptable.
- Holidays: Public and National In India, government offices provide holidays for almost all festivals. Hence government jobs allow you to celebrate festivals without affecting your leaves.
- Better balance of work and life: Government sector jobs have lesser working hours and no overtime shifts. Hence a government employee can spend enough time with family and loved ones.
- Better plans for retirement: Government jobs provide security to employees’ future even after retirement. The new pension scheme ensures the maintenance of the lifestyle of an employee after retirement.
- Good relocation policies: A government employee could relocate to places of his choice while working with the same bank or department. Many people choose to relocate after marriage or where their parents live.
- Less work stress: Works in the government sector jobs are long-term, they don’t have tight deadlines and hence work pressure and stress are lesser than in the private sector.
Cons of Government Sector jobs:
- The slow rate of growth: Employees do not get appraisals or promotions based on their skills and creativity; they only get promotions based on guidelines by upper authorities or after a fixed tenure.
- Limited earning potential: For any government position, earning potential is limited as compared to private sector jobs. Hence government employees always earn fixed salaries, there’s less opportunity to receive bonuses.
- Seniority dominates ability: Government organizations mostly work in the hierarchy which means those who have served longer get more promotions than those who are more qualified for that position or role. This may frustrate the employees who are not used to this kind of hierarchy.
- Lengthy hiring procedure: The recruitment process for government sector jobs takes 6 to 12 months, which is a very lengthy procedure. Several rounds of interviews and medical tests make the process tedious.
- Impact of politics: Government works are sometimes impacted by election cycles and politics. Continuous change in leadership can make time consuming long term projects.
- Not safe: By their very nature some government jobs are not safe. Example: Paramilitary, police, RAW, etc.
- Corruption: If you are a very moral person with self-respect, then it will be hard for you to work in some government organizations. Many honest employers and officers have faced punishment and transfers.