According to a recent job survey, a majority of Indian would prefer a government job than a private one. This comes at a time when the government of India has discontinued pension plans for retirement. So what prompts Indians to prefer the government sector than the private sector? Here are some plausible reasons for that seeming anomaly:

  

Working in the government sector gives you a lot more allowances and benefits than the private sector. There are house allowances, medical allowances, transport allowances and a whole lot more. Sure, private companies too offer that, but only when you reach a very high level in an organization. With a government job, you get those benefits right from the beginning. In fact, most times, the allowances of government employees are far more than their salary.
    

Unless and until you are dishonest towards your work and you get caught, nobody will fire you in a government organization. That is a huge incentive for candidates who are looking for security and stability in their career. On the other hand, private organizations are known to fire people every now and then over performance issues. Sure, the government of India has policies in place to prevent favoritism in private organizations. For example, any company with more than 100 employees needs government approval before firing an employee. However, those riders do not work a deterrent for private organizations.
    

The working environment in a government organization is much easier than in a private organization. To start with, government organizations have a very set pattern for promotions and salary increments. This pattern is almost never linked to performance, which means you are not really under pressure to perform all the time. Secondly, there are easier deadlines and easier working hours in government organizations. Compare that with the private sector. Promotions and salary increments are almost always performance based. If you are not performing upto the expectations, you can never hope to move up the career ladder. Add to it the working hours and tough deadlines and you get a very stressful work environment. In fact, stress and anxiety are commonly seen in employees working in the private sector. Many of them have to work in graveyard shifts which take a toll on their mental and physical health as well.
  

Government jobs allow you an opportunity to network with some really influential people. That may be a very small factor in government sector being the preferred sector for Indians, but it is a factor nevertheless. Sure, you can network in the private sector as well. But we are all aware of “babudom” in government circles. That does play a part.

    

However, despite all that has been said, it really does boil down to personal preference. For some people, quick growth is more important than anything else, and for them, private sector is the preferred one. For others, peace of mind is critical, and for them, the government sector is the preferred field.