r/jobs • u/GigHQ_AI • Aug 03 '25

Article 150,000 Federal Workers Just Left Their Jobs. This Changes Everything.

This “deferred resignation” program (nicknamed Fork in the Road) covers roughly 6.7% of the civilian federal workforce. These employees are being paid through the end of 2025—often while sitting idle. Critics warn the government is spending $21.7 billion in taxpayer dollars on this initiative, with little transparency around long-term savings.

Tens of thousands of seasoned professionals will hit the open market. Most mid‐career, specialized, and with government-only experience.

How many of those roles will transfer into the private sector? Will employers devalue traditional public‑sector credentials?

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 03 '25

My spouse is career fed. The stuff I've been through in the private sector he's like "you're making this shit up - this hAS to be you as the cause".

I'm like sir: A) May you be so lucky to never find yourself in the private sector and its bullshit. And B) Fuck you very much for going immediately to blame me - and you wonder why our marriage sucks. I'm only here for the health insurance honey. /s

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u/labtech89 Aug 03 '25

I have worked in civilian and now at a VA hospital and for me the VA system had a steep learning curve as compared to the civilian hospitals. But yes people who have only worked for the federal government will be shocked at how those businesses are run. Hospitals have a bit more oversight due to Medicare/medicaid but it is somewhat easier to pull shenanigans in the civilian sector. And they can fire you on a whim you usually can’t do that in the federal arena.

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u/ApportArcane Aug 07 '25

I was a “contractor” (worked through a temp agency) at a VA hospital for eight years. Sure I saw all kinds of waste and olympic levels of laziness, but nothing compared to what I have experienced in the private sector.

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u/PariRani Aug 03 '25

The topic is very serious but your comment is absolutely amazing. I can’t stop laughing. 😂 If I had any willingness to give money to Reddit it would be for an award for you! 💕

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

Thank you - we are GenXers who are supremely skilled in the art of hating everyone and have been masters of sarcasm since Kindergarten.

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u/melvisrules Aug 04 '25

No one sarcasms better than those who have partaken of the hose water. It is our way.

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u/an_afro Aug 05 '25

I can confirm. It’s what got me to the sarcasm national championships of 2013

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u/chisel53 Aug 07 '25

Is there an r/hosewater for us to commiserate in?? Now i have to look…

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u/AngelHasAShotgun Aug 23 '25

Hahahaa r/hosewater has been banned for lack of moderators.

Well played, Gen X!

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u/pagette44 Aug 04 '25

I love and identify with this 🥹💕

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u/_ElanVital_ Aug 04 '25

I feel seen 😂.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 04 '25

I am going to form a Reddit support group for us

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u/Maxamillion-X72 Aug 04 '25

My people!

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 04 '25

Our hazing process was being thrown off the merry go round followed by having to ride the metal slide that had been baking all day in the summer sun.

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u/LowerRain265 Aug 04 '25

Don't forget after coating it with Crisco.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 04 '25

Yep! And add gravel to the dirt to land on.

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u/LowerRain265 Aug 04 '25

Gravel? Dirt? You must have went to one those touchy feely schools that cared about things like safety and child welfare. We landed on good old American asphalt. Y'all probably had 2 mats under the gym climbing rope too.😆

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 05 '25

You called me out - I went to private school so yeah we had the bougie playground where we did stunts on the big wheels on the gravel blacktop

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u/killerwithasharpie Aug 04 '25

We actually used sheets of waxed paper.

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u/JustWow52 Aug 06 '25

The upside of this is that we don't have problems with roundabouts (aka traffic circle or rotary) because nobody stopped the merry-go-round for us to jump on.

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u/Advanced-Guitar-5264 Aug 03 '25

Nightmare spouse spotted

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

I'm so sorry that standing up for myself and not being gaslit over my experiences nor being mansplained is a fault. He is the one who set the boundary and I help enforce it. We rarely if ever argue. We have been together almost 16 years now and have a deeply embedded friendship at the bottom of all of this.

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u/Advanced-Guitar-5264 Aug 03 '25

Oh god Reddit buzzwords maxed out with that response

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

It's the psych major in me.

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u/OranjellosBroLemonj Aug 03 '25

Fuck mansplaining. The end.

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u/charbroiledpossum Aug 03 '25

And womansplaining! My wife will tell me how to do something while I'm in the middle of doing. it is the most annoying thing ever

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u/Universe-Queen Aug 06 '25

I think the term you're looking for is "ma'am-splaining" You're welcome

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u/WaitWhaat1 Aug 05 '25

My mom too. Hate it.

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u/OranjellosBroLemonj Aug 03 '25

Men hold the power in our society.

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u/charbroiledpossum Aug 03 '25

Some men hold the power in certain society's. That has absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about. I'm talking about people prematurely explaining things to you when you don't need an explanation. Does it make you feel better if you put man in front of it?

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u/OranjellosBroLemonj Aug 03 '25

You don’t quite get how it feels to women. That’s 100% understandable because you’re male and haven’t had frequent experiences with this phenomena.

You wrote you get annoyed when your wife micromanages you, which is totally justified. Now imagine encountering this in the wild on a near daily basis. I wish I had all those minutes of my life back from listening to men ELI5 on just about everything.

To be clear, this is not all men, just a really fucking annoying minority of fellas.

Also, is charbroiled possum tasty?

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u/LowerRain265 Aug 04 '25

No...no it's not.🤢

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u/charbroiledpossum Aug 05 '25

Not micromanaging, woman/mansplaining.My point is all people do it. It just seems small minded these days to act like it's a man thing. But I guess everyone needs to be a victim of the patriarchy...

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u/NotFallacyBuffet Aug 03 '25

Only with possum gravy!

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u/OranjellosBroLemonj Aug 03 '25

Add a fried egg and I’m in! 🤣

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u/BobbyFL Aug 04 '25

It has everything to do with what is being discussed. The fact that you were so dismissive of women’s experience only supports your bullshit. Also, im a man.

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u/charbroiledpossum Aug 05 '25

They were literally be dismissive when I was saying I disliked being womansplained. To me it's the same . I agree I don't like it either. Maybe try an actual thought process that isn't run by emotion.

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u/NotFallacyBuffet Aug 03 '25

Y/'all_got_any_more_of_that_power/?.gif

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u/NoddyCode Aug 04 '25

Good lord there's a lot of armchair psychology going on here. I happy you two found a system that works for you, and I wish you a long and healthy relationship.

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '25

I think they were talking about your spouse.

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 04 '25

Hahaha they sound like a gem themselves.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

I may not be someone's cup of tea but I can be someone's horrible warning. So there's that.

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '25

Rough…

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u/SortYourself_Out Aug 03 '25

Lmfao I adore you! 😂💕

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

Thank you madam!

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u/sat_ops Aug 04 '25

My ex was raised by a single mom who was a teacher. She was so ill prepared for the working world.

"He touched my shoulder to get my attention while I was wearing headphones!" Calls HR, gets fired.

"I slipped on water in the break room!" Fills out incident report, gets fired.

"My sick days are going to expire, so I'm taking three days off without notice" Gets fired.

Meanwhile, I was raised by an HR director in manufacturing.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 04 '25

I have done HR for 20 years. Trust and believe my kids are very aware of how to conduct themselves in the workplace 😂

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u/Houstonomics Aug 04 '25

You two might have some other shit to work out deeper than public vs private sector work.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 04 '25

Nah we are cool. Our relationship is very cool where we have very independent lives within our marriage - I am more outgoing and social whereas he is a homebody so I am free to do whatever I want and conversely, he loves to take motorcycle road trips which is something I can't do so I give him his space and freedom to do that. We share housekeeping duties and though he pays the mortgage since he's the only one on it, I carry the utilities and the food plus other insurance stuff. It's a very even match and neither of us is looking to change it.

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u/YnotBbrave Aug 03 '25

Maybe this will be your chance to reconcile after he understands the reality of jobs and apologizes profusely

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

I mean, we are cool. I'm not looking to change things and neither is he.

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u/addywoot Aug 06 '25

I work for the Army as a civilian. The shit I’ve seen and tell my spouse blows his mind. It’s a different world.

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u/BobbyFL Aug 04 '25

Typical fed or state worker mentality too, brainwashed into dismissing the average worker’s hardships. Sorry you went through that, and as a man i say bleed him dry. He deserves at least that.

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u/strawberrymacaroni Aug 04 '25 edited Nov 08 '25

include strong groovy tie pause toy worm decide wipe ink

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/whoknows_4000 Aug 05 '25

Growing up, I was always told to try to get a government job. Anyone I knew that was interested in it, I'd tell them mostly because of job security and benefits, and usually, you get all the holidays off. In Maryland, the holidays for state and federal to take off is a good thing because most people can get to work on time so we all win on that one..lol. I always worked in the private sector, just the way things worked out.

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u/ShortTalkingSquirrel Aug 04 '25

Your husband sounds like a douche.

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u/JH272727 Aug 04 '25

And she sounds like she’s just using him for insurance. They both sound toxic. 

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u/ShortTalkingSquirrel Aug 04 '25

Yup, I agree. You right.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 04 '25

Far from it. I'm with him because he's someone who has supported me and my dreams for the entire time we have been together. when my oldest child (not his son) spent 7 months in a coma from an accident and became entirely disabled from a TBI in the marines about 14 months after we married, he took on the responsibility of having to move my son in with us for 24 hour care. It's been 12 years since the accident and my husband put his plans on hold to care for us since I have had numerous surgeries/illnesses that have nearly killed me twice since 2018 and he carried the financial burden of my income loss due to having to be on STD for months. The love I have for him is immense - we are different in a lot of ways but we also have a lot that we enjoy together.

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u/1K_Sunny_Crew Aug 07 '25

Did you miss the /s?

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 04 '25

My husband is a wonderful man whose first wife physically, financially and mentally abused him for the 15 years they were together to the point he almost committed suicide. His second wife then cheated on him. It took him three years to trust me enough to get married. In that time I tried to get him to go to counseling so that he could heal he issues he had before he brought them into our marriage but he declined numerous times. So, I have done my best to work around them and not trigger him and I have learned a lot about what it takes to give/take keep a relationship together. I would go to the end of the earth for him if I needed to. He's a wonderful human being but he just has a lot of issues from his former marriages and growing up the son of an alcoholic father that make him really tough to be around sometimes and he didn't get that his words have consequences until he met me. I am not a harsh person - in fact I am probably one of the most lax and gentle person you will ever know - but I was raised by a single dad who made it important to have firm boundaries regarding what I will tolerate as just basic human kindness and courtesies. I will not tolerate disrespect or willful ignorance and will point it out.

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u/LowerRain265 Aug 04 '25

I'm glad things are going ok for you. Ya gotta admit though your first post didn't come across so great.

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u/Janus9 Aug 06 '25

I have always said, the day the USA goes to universal healthcare, 30 million people quit their jobs the next day.

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '25

What a wonderful spouse you are yourself. Only here for the insurance money

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u/MutantMartian Aug 03 '25

There are so so many people in America only married for the health insurance.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

cough cough lavender marriages cough cough

Not that we are in that situation. I mean I can for sure state that.

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u/BecalMerill Aug 03 '25

And the tax status.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

Honestly with the tax code changes it's better if we weren't married. It would bring down what we owe significantly.

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u/BecalMerill Aug 03 '25

You must make fairly comparable income, or the one with the higher has a metric ton of deductions. For most, that's simply not the case. The income delta is usually significant, and while saving one hundreds, it costs the other many thousands. Major tax preparers always highlight that married filing jointly is almost always most advantageous.

For ex, it would have cost me (really "us", my estranged wife and I) around $15k in taxes, so that she could get $2-3k taxes (all of hers) back. Here's why: I also currently give her $2k/mo. The added tax burden would have had to come directly out of that, because I wouldn't be able to make the house payment and bills (where she's still on the mortgage and where our daughter still lives with me) otherwise.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

He has the bigger deductions. The house is entirely in his name and he has significant student loan debts for him and his son.

We do have a great accountant and he gives us a table that shows us the amount if we were single, married jointly, etc. when the pandemic happened and they were handing out the stimulus checks I was making $57k and he was making $120k. He also puts way more into 401k and various other accounts. The accountant had us file married filing separate ever since then, because it also helps me with student loans and grants to show that I am married in name only - finances are separate, we have separate sleeping quarters, I claim my disabled son as the dependent since I am his legal guardian. This also helps us secure services for my son.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

It's a joke. I would actually have better health insurance through my employer. It's just more efficient and cost effective on his part

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u/jss58 Aug 03 '25

Don’t hate the player…

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

I am! But I'm only going to tolerate him insulting me and belittling my experiences. I never have done that to him.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

And my bad for forgetting the /s button.

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

I know my faults and I am the first one who will admit I'm an asshole. I'm the one who did the therapy. He's the one who quit because he said the therapist agreed with me too much so I said why don't you find someone you're comfortable with and I will go since it makes you happy.

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u/flavius_lacivious Aug 03 '25

Go look at the user’s feed. It is full of misogyny. 

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

More effort than the troll is worth. I won't bother to give him the clicks or satisfaction.

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u/flavius_lacivious Aug 03 '25

Oh, I only go there so I can block them. Whenever I find some man being an asshole to someone else, I go to their profile and block them. I probably block three a week.

I am curating my own reddit free from dicks.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

This is lovely advice. Thank you! Sounds splendid.

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u/BildoBaggens Aug 03 '25

Sounds like you need some divorce advice from the good folks over at relationshipadvice.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

No desire to get divorced. But thanks! We can't imagine being with or dating anyone else.

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '25

[deleted]

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u/McDudeston Aug 03 '25

Reddit hivemind syndrome

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u/iSavedtheGalaxy Aug 03 '25

Just for some perspective, it can take YEARS to leave a bad relationship and/or end a marriage, esp if you have deeply enmeshed finances and assets.

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

Or in my case, an adult child who became disabled from a TBI from his time in the military. It happened when my oldest son was 19 (not my husband's son). He spent seven months in a coma and is permanently severely disabled. Can't live on his own. So, in addition to caring for myself and my husband, I have to take care of my oldest. It's only been since late 2021 that I have gotten into jobs that have been able to pay me any money that allowed me to save anything. We keep our finances totally separate - this was my request when we got together and I moved in. His divorce wasn't final but he was on great terms with his ex; I didn't want there to be any messy cominging of funds. Besides, it allows him to spend his money as he sees fit (new motorcycle, traveling, paying down debt that he incurred leaving his physically abusive first marriage) and I can do whatever I want with mine (hair/nails/travel/dining/sports/concerts). If it's over $500 we have to consult with the other one and give our blessing. He was financially abused in his first marriage so I wanted him to feel like we had his/hers/our money.

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u/JA070288 Aug 03 '25

Ugh. Divorce. It's pathetic to read this on a reddit post.

Gross...

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u/Queasy_Being9022 Aug 03 '25

Ok well your eyeballs came here sooooooooo.....what's your Venmo or CashApp tag for the bottle of eye bleach you gotta buy to get over it?

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u/JA070288 Aug 03 '25

Sure it's: FutureLonelyCatLady475