For most Indians, there has been one perpetual dilemma – whether to go for a private sector job or the government sector job. In last couple of decades private sector jobs came in vogue, before which Government job was the ultimate prize for a job seeker.
Looks like we are back to the times where Government jobs are starting to get attractive again. This article here discusses the advantages of the government jobs over private sector jobs.
Although the government jobs have often been seen as the one with relatively lesser monetary benefits but with the advent of 6th pay commission, the scenario has changed for good.
Earlier, Indians were more inclined towards the private sector jobs, but now, the belief in public sector’s jobs even by the young generation is increasing.
Advantages of Government Sector Jobs over Private Sector
Job Security
The biggest advantage of Government job is “Job Security”.
Private sectors are prone to layoffs and we have very well witnessed such layoffs in the past during the time of recession. Whereas, in government sectors the situation of the employees more or less remained same and the job positions remained intact.
Pay Structure
Now the next significant factor would that be of the pay structure, as it is a very important factor for any job-searching individual. After the introduction of the 6th pay commission, the pay, which a government employee gets, is in par with the corporate sector and I don’t think that you would have anything to complain about here!!
Working Hours
Personally I think the next factor an employee would scratch his head over is of the number of working hours he / she has to input and that is a big plus over private sector. In government sector jobs, there are standard working hours, unlike private sector ones, where an individual has to do overtime against ones wishes (many time without any benefits as well). And if at all situation demands a government employee to do overtime, then he / she is entitled to attractive overtime benefits.
Promotions
An important factor, which any job seeker would take in account, is the promotional benefits. In government jobs, promotion is always based on the service period hence, the longer you work, and higher are the promotional opportunities. Obviously, this can be called as advantage as well as disadvantage because for someone who is above average may not be able to grow faster than his average counterparts
Benefits & Perks
Next comes the benefit & perks a Government employee gets. For government jobs, many benefits such as retirement benefits, pension plans and funds exist moreover benefits such as medical, housing, loans, childcare etc. are also available. While some large private sector companies do offer such benefits, majority of them don’t offer except for mandatory ones.
Retirement becomes a factor and in the later part of our career and the retirement age of 60 years and in some cases of 58 years ensures longevity of an individual’s career.
Work Stress
Government sector jobs are not at all stressful when compared to the jobs in private sector. The work load in governments jobs even if high would have more than enough time frame to complete it in the best manner possible unlike that of private sector jobs.
To conclude, the main benefits of working with government organizations is the reputation associated with it on a whole as well as the numerous opportunities coming up in recent times due to stellar growth of Indian Economy.
Also, I would like to highlight that Private Sector jobs do have their own advantages as well, and in many cases a Government job may not be right for an individual.
