Beoz

Your highlight was "finance people get fired regularly"

You tripped rather than trumped.

Again ... where do you read this crap?

sr71

I mentioned the halving of the salary in my original post.

So as I said, he might have had a good year in sales, got a bonus, sold equity etc. The $700k a year is probably a one off.

Beoz

A lot of hypotheticals. Helps with the drama of the article right?

the troubadour

if you know much about the finance industry it has high burn out and requires a 'high performance' to remain. Don't blame me if you are not au fait with requirements in the area.

Beoz

Bullocks. It requires people to do the job they are being paid for.

If your government job is far easier, stick to it and accept it.

the troubadour

You don't know then what I term the financial industry. one thing burn out in the extreme form is a regular feature. Self destructive tendencies are certainly not uncommon.


As for government jobs, I see you are not very au fait with that area either. There is rather a lot of stress in large segments of that area with cutbacks, increased work loads and the usual bull shite, inflicting a lot of staff in many areas of working life these in and out of government.

Pollyana

As one who sees government employees regularly assaulted both mentally, verbally and even physically by members of the public who we are trying to help, I fail to see how anyone can call our roles "easy".

Beoz

I would not deny that their are stressful government jobs. I am referring to yours. For starters at the top, the PM. Look stressful enough for minimal pay. That is not going to be for all and the best are going to be hard to find. The Singapore model is far better.

But people have choices. If it suits you, get on with it, if it does not, change it. Relying on others to do it for you will get you no where.

Beoz

I would not deny that their are stressful government jobs. I am referring to yours. For starters at the top, the PM. Look stressful enough for minimal pay? That is not going to be for all and the best are going to be hard to find. The Singapore model is far better.

But people have choices. If it suits you, get on with it, if it does not, change it. Relying on others to do it for you will get you no where.

Amazulu

Yes

Being an infantry soldier in Afghanistan is stressful
Being a nurse in an emergency room is stressful
Being a policeman confronting some asshat loaded on ice is stressful

Being a bureaucrat, sitting is air-conditioned office, on an above average salary, with excessive super, with virtually zero chance of being dismissed for incompetence, possessing minimal work ethic yet constantly complaining and doing work that is of little use to anyone but some other bureaucrat, is not stressful

BadgeIsBack

Agreed. Actually, some office work stress is self-induced - often it's possible to be simply overwhelmed with information. I don't see how a public sector person is any more special than a private sector employee unless they are cops - and many cops spend shifts having a laugh and bonding with their team mates - and get to go home every night. My wife knows one who has months of cushy work training other people. There are the highs and lows of course. Personally, apart from the occasional fear of someone about to clock you, I would find cop work far less stressful than senior mgmt - but the stress is mostly about workloads, demands, deadlines and again shear information. It's also less stressful if you are surrounded by support and teammates and have time to wind down. Stress is often caused by a sense of isolation which is why veterans are at risk when they return.

Some of the verbal abuse is water off a duck's back to an ex soldier, for example. In the case of a cop, he or she knows that he or she has the moral high ground so it's easy to not take it too seriously.

Work in finance is often well rewarded and not stressful if it's not linked to mgmt or point of delivery. Infact, this is where the trickle-down effect is alive and well, Mr T, - analysts earning 150k a year plus to read and reply to emails using their knowledge.

Talk about cutbacks is hard to conclude- the private sector also suffers from not enough of a headcount - so public sector employees are not special. But if you know people are working well, that is more important.

I was talking to my GP friend the other day and he admitted that the work I do is in fact far more technical and more involved in terms of prioritisation, budgets, planning than much of the work many of his medic friends do at all sorts of levels and in all sorts of areas. We were both quite surprised infact.

BadgeIsBack

Polly, do your people cop abuse over the phone by people? In the main an ops room is full of very busy people and again, at times, coping with information overload is the hardest bit.

I've worked in many an ops room over the years at some fairly high levels , and again, lot of opportunity for stress which is self-induced. But everyone is in the same boat which makes it a lot easier. Briefing a VIP or senior polly seems stressful if you are 21. When you are 45 it's actually quite easy.

As for firies - water off a duck's back. You are doing a well paid job which many queue for. Ambos are the same. I do believe there needs to be support in place - but much of the spt is of course the close knit team.

the troubadour

Never mind about me. Stress comes in many shapes and forms. The most protracted stress coming from a position of vulnerability. Being in such a position can be very hard to find relief from. Neither are the best in the top positions. Do you really believe that? The Singapore model is not far better. What aspects excite you about it? The authoritarian democracy?

the troubadour

It does have its moments of stress rest assured. Usually revolves around back stabbers, inept department heads, leap froggers, as well as some dead wood. Hardly unique though. But the trick is to get in line for a big pay out and return part time as a consultant on far more money of course.

Amazulu

Thanks for agreeing with me

In government employment, the dead wood are very hard to get rid of given self-imposed restrictions on firing. Policies encourage government employees to game the system - I personally know someone who got a $200k+ in hand settlement from the WA government because he was 'bullied' and placed under undue stress. In reality, he's a lazy and incompetent f**ker

As for the consultant thing, nice gig if you can get it (above guy certainly has done) and as long as the taxpayer is picking up the tab who gives a shit eh

Banning consultants from being financed by the taxpayer is the way to go - and in the jurisdictions where this has been implemented, there has generally been little drop in performance and output