"Secure Government Job? I Change Jobs Anytime"…'MZ Generation Public Servants' Dream of Retirement? 'Not Really'

Civil Servant A: "Stale, Rigid Organizational Culture is Problematic"
Over Half of 2030 Civil Servants "Considering Job Change"
Expert: "Young People, Even After Difficult Employment, Don't Want to Be Tied Down"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] #A, a 4-year civil servant working at a district office in Incheon, recently feels a strong desire to resign. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the workload has increased beyond the usual tasks, and A feels frustrated by malicious civil complaints and the outdated, rigid organizational culture. A said, "People call civil servants 'iron rice bowls,' but there are many difficulties," adding, "There are supervisors who abuse their power to harass subordinates, and because of the closed structure, you always have to be mindful of your reputation. Once a bad rumor spreads, it follows you like a lifelong label." Above all, A sighed when looking at the ridiculously low salary compared to the workload. Even if they want to relieve stress through travel or leisure on days off, they lamented, "It’s not easy because criticism like 'How can a civil servant be traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic?' follows."

More and more people are leaving or hoping to change jobs from the civil service, once called the workplace everyone wanted. The phrase "stable lifelong job" is now a thing of the past. Some point to lower salaries compared to private companies, a closed organizational culture, and a lack of communication systems between superiors and subordinates as reasons for leaving the civil service.

In fact, the number of people quitting the civil service has significantly increased in recent years. According to data submitted by the Government Employees Pension Service to Park Wan-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, in October last year, a total of 28,934 civil servants who resigned and received severance pay within five years of service were recorded over the past five years. This accounts for 14.9% of all retirees.

Also, in 2019, the number of retirees increased by 994 from the previous year (5,670), totaling 6,664 civil servants who retired. Among them, 1,769 civil servants had less than one year of service, accounting for 26.5%.

The number of civil servants considering job changes is also not small. According to the "2020 Civil Service Life Survey" report by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, which surveyed 4,111 central and local government officials, 41.1% of civil servants with less than five years of service expressed willingness to change jobs if given the opportunity. This is about a 7 percentage point increase from 34.2% three years ago.

The reasons civil servants want to change jobs include "low pay" (44.1%), "mismatch of values and aptitude" (16.0%), and "excessive workload" (12.0%).

Reference photo. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, 58.6% of public officials in their 20s and 30s are considering changing jobs. Photo by Yonhap News

Especially, more than half of civil servants in their 20s and 30s were considering changing jobs. According to the book "The 90s-born Civil Servants Have Arrived," published by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety last year, 58.6% of 1,810 'junior civil servants' born between the 1980s and 2000s answered that they had considered changing jobs.

The reasons included "disillusionment with organizational culture" at 31.7%, followed by "disillusionment with working methods" (31.0%), "excessive workload" (14.1%), and "curiosity about other fields" (13.1%).

B, a civil servant in their 20s, said, "There is still a culture in the civil service where you have to treat your boss to lunch. Also, you have to be cautious about taking annual leave, leaving early, or sick leave," adding, "Society is changing rapidly, but the civil service remains outdated and stuck in boring, old-fashioned perceptions."

B continued, "There are so many miscellaneous tasks and various malicious complaints that make me wonder, 'Is this really a civil servant’s job?' I have no choice but to stay because it’s not easy to find another job, but I have seen many employees who couldn’t endure it and quit."

As a result, voices calling for improvement of the conservative and vertical organizational culture are growing louder. Experts analyze that young people tend to decide to change or quit jobs more easily than older generations when their workplace does not meet their expectations.

Professor Kwak Geum-ju of Seoul National University’s Department of Psychology said, "Young people prefer stable jobs with work-life balance, but even if they find a job with difficulty, they tend to quit if they feel a gap between reality and ideals," adding, "They think they can move to a better environment or conditions. Also, they are more individualistic and dislike being tied down compared to older generations. Overall, corporate culture needs to change to adapt to these changes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.