Tennessee State Government reviews

Governor Haslam's TEAM Act pretty well eliminated any job security, which opened the door to malicious managers being able to bring trumped-up charges against employees they don't like and terminating them. Less security would be ok, but pay rates were still below market average, at least in my department. A bad manager can make an employee's life a living hell, and there's very little they can do to remedy this because the old grievance process was eliminated.

As expected, the State is full of politics. However, the culture in one Department is generally different then another department. What is "OK" to say or do one day is probably not "OK" the next day. Once a good employee (smart / technically adept) is brought into IT (contract or full time hire) they are usually run off by incompetent leadership (especially true in contractors and executive positions). This generally leaves a majority of staff that are in a "protected class" and absent of the skills and drive needed to do the job correctly and efficiently. Cost of projects are never thought about, only how they look to the public, if the project is required by federal law, or what value they may have in the next election. Obtaining power is the key objective here. Employees go years without a pay increase and the State does not have cost of living or merit increases. When pay raises happen, they are generally a small percentage and given to all employees. Advancement is generally limited to how you are connected politically.