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Mamapolo2016 · F
I've had both experiences and I would think long and hard before I took another government job. There are great perks but the working atmosphere was maddening for me. It's the only unionized job I ever had and while I am not anti-union, at least where I worked, I hated it.
To me, working in a union was like having two bosses. Actually where I worked, there was 'my' union, for caseworkers AND a clerical union. It was stifling and any new ideas or work methods were stomped on because it might lessen available work for one union or another. We had computers but did mind-numbing paperwork by hand because those were the rules. You couldn't work through lunch to get something time-sensitive completed - colleagues would stop at your desk and accuse you of breaking down working conditions. My first supervisor told me, "This is different than anywhere you've worked before. If you come in late, you get a slap on the wrist. If you stay late, they break your arm." That was a slight exaggeration.
To me, working in a union was like having two bosses. Actually where I worked, there was 'my' union, for caseworkers AND a clerical union. It was stifling and any new ideas or work methods were stomped on because it might lessen available work for one union or another. We had computers but did mind-numbing paperwork by hand because those were the rules. You couldn't work through lunch to get something time-sensitive completed - colleagues would stop at your desk and accuse you of breaking down working conditions. My first supervisor told me, "This is different than anywhere you've worked before. If you come in late, you get a slap on the wrist. If you stay late, they break your arm." That was a slight exaggeration.
