Being a government employee is perfectly fine

There’s nothing wrong with working for the government. In fact, government service is one of the noblest professions because it entails fulfilling the needs of the public. It involves a lot of dedication, hard work, and discipline.

Photo by Krisia Vinzon from Pexels

Being a government employee is perfectly fine

Anyway, this topic about government service would always bring to mind a funny anecdote when I was still working with another company, my first banking experience actually.

Hectic mornings

At that time, I was living in Quezon City and I was working in Pasay City. Imagine the distance that I had to travel each day. Naturally, in the mornings, I would often just eat a light breakfast of coffee & bread at home just to get to the office early or at least one time.

I was still single and living on my own at that time, renting an apartment, so there was really no one to prepare food for me. I was perfectly fine with this arrangement because when I get to the office, I would still have a few minutes to spare before my work started, so I’d immediately head to the cafeteria as soon as I had put my things on my desk.

I’d then eat a full breakfast at the canteen then get back to my desk. It was like that for several months until in one meeting, my boss, from out of the blue, called my attention for eating breakfast at the office before work. I was surprised. All along, she was keenly observing me without my knowledge.

Government employment and professionalism

Apparently, eating breakfast before I started work didn’t sit well with my boss who told me I was like a government employee. She’d say “you’re like a gov’t employee who’d eat right after arriving in the office.”

I thought, “Why should that even be an issue? What’s wrong with that?”

I mean, I thought people would appreciate my effort of leaving the house and enduring a long commute without breakfast just to get to the office on time.

Anyway, she said that it (eating before work) made one look unprofessional. So, I looked unprofessional because I was “like a government employee” who’d eat before doing their tasks. I couldn’t find the connection between that – a quick breakfast before work and unprofessionalism. As if that makes sense.

I was bothered by my boss’s statement and I wanted to ask a lot of questions but, knowing me, I didn’t answer back.

In my head, I just said “What’s wrong with being a gov’t employee?” I’ve always thought of it as an honorable vocation.

And what’s wrong with eating at the cafeteria when I still had more time in my hands?

Character defines a person

What makes a person bad or corrupt is not his manner of eating (as my former boss highlighted in this story) or his routine, but his character.

It’s how you treat your peers, your colleagues, your family, your subordinates, the random people that you meet outside. It’s how you conduct yourself when nobody is looking.

When you are an innately good person, you are consistent in your day-to-day actions. You can’t be good and kind only in certain situations or when you are in front of select people. That’s hypocrisy. You have to be good at all times and that’s non-negotiable.

Looking back, I wish I had spoken out against what my former boss accused me of.

Yeah, most of us are aware that government employees were branded as slack in the past, but that image has long been erased throughout years of modernization and putting in place several programs to promote operational efficiency and, in the end, satisfactory customer service.

As a matter of fact, I dream of also one day joining government service. While I’ve enjoyed years of employment in a private organization, I feel that being able to help people would bring a deeper sense of fulfillment. I know that I can also provide service to the people through my current job but I know that above all, I have to also be mindful of profit.

Epilogue

In my current office, each move is dictated by income and its corresponding expense. I want to be able to render service for the sole purpose of serving, either in a government office or a non-governmental organization.

Anyway, I just had to tell this story to get it out of my head (and my chest).

PIN THIS POST

---