r/CanadaPublicServants

I’ve been in the government for 3 years now as an indeterminate PM-04. I’m 6 years into my career. I like my department and I have a lot of friends on other teams. My managers like me but my team is super disgruntled and there is a lot of gossip and bullying. I get made fun of for having a good attitude here. My job itself is a bit boring but it’s okay. I work really hard and am qualified in pools but there’s no promotions right now and I don’t think I’d like another department better because at my office we have free parking and our own cubicles.

I recently decided to apply for a job outside of government just to see what happened at a defence company. I ended up getting an offer for 103k. The work is more interesting and fast paced and great experience. They only mandate 1 day in office and the commute is a lot better for me. The team is really nice and not negative like my current one. The job would include international and domestic travel.

My family is saying that this job offer is actually worse off than my current job because the government pension is worth a lot more than I thought. They think that I’ll be better off with a lower salary but retiring younger in goc. They also think if I were to leave it should be for a FANG company or something higher end, and that defence is super boom and bust.

Any thoughts? Would it be a dumb decision?

I’ve been with the public service for about 5 years. I started as a student, became indeterminate, and stayed with the same team through undergrad and now grad school.
Today I watched multiple senior colleagues leave our Teams group because they’ve all moved to different teams. My senior colleagues had their WFA rescinded after SERLO. I was never invited to do SERLO. I'm the only one on the team being laid off and this morning everyone left our team gc to move on to their new teams.

One after another it was just:
”___ left the chat.”

I know this is normal in the public service, especially with all the reorganizations and workforce changes lately, but I wasn’t expecting it to hit me this hard.

I’m fully remote, so my team has basically been my connection to work for the last few years. Seeing everyone I’ve worked with and learned from leave makes it feel like everything familiar is disappearing. I actually cried today, which surprised me. I felt completely alone in the abyss and realized that I'm going to be by myself without a team for a while.

I’m aware I probably have attachment issues, so I know I’m taking this harder than some people would. But it genuinely feels like the end of a chapter. These are the people who watched me grow from a student to an indeterminate employee, and now I’m the only one left from that group.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you adjust when your entire team changed around you?

I’m not really looking for career advice—just wondering if anyone else has felt this way, because right now it feels surprisingly lonely.

The gaslighting continues!

Like all of us faced with the realities of RTO4, I’m now facing a lot more time spent (wasted) on my commute. I take public transit, and it’s about 40 mins each way. I generally try to listen to the radio in the mornings, and a podcast or playlist on the way home.

It’s just been feeling like wasted time though — it’s completely out of my control, and I’d much rather be spending time at home with my family.

I’m wondering how other folks are occupying their commute time in order to make it a bit less painful and wasteful. Audiobooks? Catching up on TV shows? Calling family members? Open to ideas. :)

With 4 Day RTO starting up (I know not every Department is doing it at the same time), what are you choosing as your work from home day?

Are you choosing Monday or Friday, to keep all of the in-office time in one chunk? Are you choosing Wednesday to break up the days you need to commute? Is there some requirement that makes it easier for you to working from home on a Tuesday or Thursday?

Just curious what other folks are doing.

For myself, I find that the roads, parking lots, food courts etc are busier on Wednesday so I've chosen to work from home on that day.

It's probably because of the overlap between people who work from home Monday and Friday, but Wednesdays just seem to SUCK in terms of finding parking, getting a seat anywhere and lining up for food at lunch.

Did anyone attend the CAPE rally at PMO this morning? If so, what was the turnout like?

I’m not sure if this is widely known or has been shared here before but as we move into RTO4 be aware that the employer can (and in the case of my Agency, has been) monitoring in office compliance at the individual employee level.

There is a Power BI report that is generated monthly with the expected amount of in office network connections and the actual amount of connections. Employees are being pulled into meetings and being asked to explain if the numbers show a variance. This report is provided to the DO level and managers are expected to enforce compliance.

No idea yet what punitive action there will be for first, or repeated infractions.

Editing to add:
- Apparently this is known and has been happening, I took a break from this sub during RTO/WFA fiasco so wasn’t aware.
- This information was shared in hopes that it saves someone from getting disciplined, not to fear monger.

For anyone not aware, there is a Public Service Staffing Dashboard that provides numbers on staffing on a quarterly basis.

March numbers are out, so we can see how staffing levels in 2025/26 compare to the previous year. Here are the highlight numbers:

• Advertisements down 38.7%

• Applications down 28.7%

• New indeterminate appointments down 40.4%

• Separations from the public service (resignation, retiring, etc). up 12.3%

• Promotional appointments down 51.8%

• Lateral or downward movement down 21.2%

• Acting appointments down 26.7%

All numbers are year over year, comparing 2024/25 to 2025/26.

Additionally,

• Term-to-indeterminate appointments dropped 69%

• New term appointments dropped 35.2%

• Casuals dropped 31.8%

Hey everyone,

After two brutal years of budget freezes, non-renewed terms, and the stress of WFA and the ERI rollout, I was surprised to see CRA refresh a pool for CS-01 (IT-01) roles recently.

With things locked down so tight for so long, do you think this signals a slow thaw in the IT budget? Or is this just a band-aid to patch critical front-line holes left by attrition and the ERI?

Mostly asking because I’m hoping to see a CS-03 (IT-03) pool on the horizon eventually( I was actiing CS03). Anyone on the inside hearing any whispers, or are upper-level processes completely on ice for the foreseeable future?

Thanks for any insight!

Who would think budget cuts at StatCan would affect data quality?

My team is undergoing SERLO and we have to complete the CAR (Career Achievement Record) and a list of references . I am wondering how the process went and how long it took for you to get the results after the deadline to submit the CAR and list of references.

May your commute be light and your coffee strong.

I’m only 4 years into the government and I’m still in my 20s. So far, the work I do is easy and I’ve moved up quite a few steps in my classification since I started. I don’t see myself staying in this position forever but I know right now is an iffy time to move. I often think about where I see my career in 5-10 years and I’m not sure the AS role is for me. I’m wondering if anyone can point me towards where I can find information on PE qualifications and what education I would need to get me on the right path. I know there are TONS of different classifications but I do want to explore HR/Labour Relations as that is something I believe I will truly enjoy. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Would really appreciate some advice. Besides the potential reputations fallout from doing so, is there anything that actually prevents me from reneging on a signed LOO before the term starts and accepting a different one?

TIA

Edit: I’m on a short term acting at the place that offered me a term position

I am definitely interested in some of those agencies but it seems like a lonely life to literally not be able to talk about what you do. Are you allowed to say anything? I guess this thread might be for free-lipped retirees only lmao

Hi everyone! Trying to add a dependent on Canada Life. I have no idea how this process works. I was able to add my common law partner on ESS this morning. However, I am trying to figure out how to add him on Canada Life. I’m aware there’s a 3 month waiting period - will I only be able to add them after this period? Does it automatically happen? I can’t find a positive enrolment form for dependents.

I. Am. So. Confused. :)

EDIT: I have figured it out. I have single coverage and first need to get family coverage before I can add anyone.