It appears that the younger generation is not drawn to the Federal Government like their parents. Generations before saw the Federal Government as a secure place to work with longevity, not to mention a fairly decent salary. Government offered holidays off and a regular 9 to 5. If overtime were required, it was welcomed. Overtime was not only a chance to take care of the government’s business but an opportunity to add some extra dollars to the family’s budget. Families bought homes that retired with them. A 30 year tenure spent in the Federal service, paralleled with paying off the mortgage.
Federal workers were revered because they were thought to have the better jobs. The term was – A Good Government Job. Today more and more younger people are opting to stay away from the Federal service. Much of the new attitude towards the Federal service has to do with the experiences of the older generation. Safety and security were there, but many complained about the environment being unsupportive. This post is the focus of our Newsletter Weekly because of a story brought to us from a former employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). We will call the employee Comet for the sake of the story.
Comet, a female engineer went to work for the FAA after graduating from college at the top of her class. The young woman was all of 23 years old with a Master’s Degree and Bachelor’s that was still under five years old. Comet was ready to soar, possibly getting a PhD during her tenure. A few months into the job, Comet found that she was the only female in her division classified as an engineer. She was treated as the girl-Friday and not an engineer. She became frustrated and found it difficult to find anyone willing to support her. She was assigned tasks that did not fit describe her job description and was left feeling conflicted. The question was whether to stay or leave.
If she left she might miss out on future opportunities with the FAA. If she left and went to private industry what guarantee would she have that things would be better. Everybody told her to stay and that things would get better. Things did get better in terms of promotions after a very long period of time. Comet was finally promoted to a GS-15 but not without stress and controversy.  She supervised and trained other staff and implemented successful programs at the FAA.  Comet’s career ended virtually as a forced retirement. A very bitter ending to what should have been a bright and promising career. Also, not the best advertisement for recruiting young female engineers to the FAA.
Surprise, the young woman had a daughter, a brilliant young woman who graduated at the top of her class from MIT. The daughter, a celebrated PhD with a string of accomplishments behind her name, including a noted publication. Her mother told her during her matriculation that she could work anywhere she wanted except in the Federal Government. She didn’t want her daughter anywhere near the Federal service. Her experience with the Federal service had left her heartbroken and bitter.
Is this an isolated story? I don’t know and I won’t say. It is a story, however, told by too much employees. I don’t think it is the Federal Government or Private Industry. This statement is not to dispute the female engineer, but rather to say that inappropriate management is not a factor of jurisdiction. Management that fails to see the worth of its most valuable asset, employees, constitute a massive drain on the ability of an organization to thrive. The Federal Government, being the largest employer in the world, might be wise to consider the treatment of current employees as they are the breeding ground for supplying the pipeline of tomorrow’s leaders.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Dianna Tafazoli
