As our federal government enters another shutdown, I went through seven government shutdowns in my 20+ years as a federal employee. I can tell you that going through these shutdowns caused by our politicians is a stressful experience. I can assure you that no federal employee is happy about this regardless of their political party.
Unfortunately federal employees are the pawns in a political game that they have absolutely no control over.
Today federal employees will either be furloughed - essentially laid off until the shutdown is over - or they will be deemed "essential" and will be required to work without getting a paycheck. I have been both during my shutdown experiences.
Contrary to what must of the general public believe, there is never a guarantee that federal employees will be paid back after the shutdown. This is a very stressful situation when you don't receive your paycheck. Your bills still have to be paid and I can assure you that most are not willing to work with you. I was fortunate to always receive my pay back after the shutdown was resolved but during the shutdown I still had to pay the mortgage, car payment and buy groceries. During the longest shutdown I went through, I had to get a loan to cover my bills until the shutdown was over.
I know that when I worked for the Department of Justice in Macon, Georgia that the local federal credit union didn't understand that there were other federal employees which were not employed with Robins Air Force Base which was the largest federal employer in that area. When I attempted to secure some financial aid during various shutdowns, they were hesitant to do so simply because I wasn't employed at the base.
Government shutdown is complete chaos and honestly the general public doesn't care and has absolutely no compassion for federal workers who are going through this process.
The most annoying thing about a government shutdown is that the people causing the shutdown aren't working without their paychecks. I can tell you from personal experience that most federal employees do not care about politics, they just want to work and do their jobs.
