Christmas Bonuses

This week we have seen the difference between working for the government and working for a private company. The private guys take better care of their people, because what is being a good boss in the private sector would be a waste of the taxpayers’ money.

The week began with the office Christmas party. It was held at the Museum of Art and was pretty swanky. There was an open bar and waiters carrying unpronounceable hors d’oeuvres. We then moved on to dinner of pepper crusted tilapia for me and a 12 oz steak for the Computer Guy followed by dessert. Then can the good stuff. A Christmas bonus, luggage embossed with the company logo, and $400 in gift cards. I admit to being a little dumbstruck.

When the Computer Guy was a state employee doing pretty much the same job now, the “Holiday” party was a pot-luck lunch in the break room. No bonuses, not gifts, no nothing for any of them. One year they gave him a frozen turkey. But that may have been from UPS when he worked there to help make ends meet that year. I don’t really remember.

How can the state compete for good people? Why would good employees stay and work for the people when they can be better paid and better appreciated if they go somewhere else? There is a reason that government employees are looked down upon by human resources managers. It is because the only people who stay in this situation for a long time are either too scared or too worthless to look elsewhere. When employees know that the can be treated better elsewhere, the best of them will leave. What is the incentive to stay?

Perhaps Christmas bonuses and nice parties would not be a waste of our tax dollars. Perhaps we, as the employers, need to learn a lesson from the guys whose people stay. We need to begin treating our employees in the government with the same level of respect and appreciation that we would like and then maybe, just maybe the best and brightest would want to work for us.