[fnordpiglet]

In my 30+ years working at about everywhere and on everything the only place I’ve worked, inclusive of federal roles, with intentionally bottom productivity, are private government contractors. Federal employees while fairly kushy in benefits space were often pretty mission driven and believed deeply in what they were doing as they had taken a long term commitment on their role vs more money on the private side. The contractor space is a constant churn of bids and re orgs with the mission being keeping the contract in the next bidding cycle but losing it due to random political whims. It’s the most depressing form of employment I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve worked at multiple FAANG, so that’s really saying something.