The challenging working conditions for political staffers

The working conditions that political staffers can face are sometimes very problematic, and at the very least, atypical of other high pressured professions. Table 1 depicts the worse case scenario situation.

Political staffers can face crazily high workloads and work well beyond paid hours, with work going into weekends/holidays. They are often on call 24/7, so never switch off.

The workplace is like a pressure-cooker - high speed and fast paced with no room for error, no time to stop and breathe, and everything feels like it is on fire.

This generates extraordinary stress which borders on unhealthy and requires extreme resilience to survive.

In staffers own words:

Extended hours

"These aren't nine to five jobs. They are weekends, holidays, nothing's off the table. It really does go above and beyond a regular forty hour work week."

"All the staff are working enormous hours… the demands of this job are constant."

"In parliament you are there at eight o'clock, and you might have to stay there until ten o'clock."

"These jobs are mostly not appropriately sized, particularly ministerial jobs."

"Most people still work ten to twelve hours a day on average."

"That’s the thing in politics; being there until ten o'clock at night is not strange, it's actually expected of a lot of teams."

"We were doing 14-16 hour days - me and my strategic partner - literally 14-16 hour days from home - and this was during lockdowns that were months in length."

"This idea that you work all night hurts because you then have to be at work at seven or eight o'clock the next morning."

Weekends and 24/7

"It is not uncommon for briefings to happen over the weekends, not because it's an urgent situation but because that's the only time ministers can take them."

"You're approving press releases on your way to dinner on Saturday night. You're stepping out of the restaurant to speak to them."

"It involved a lot of work, 24/7."

"The phone is always on the hook… you can be called at any time."

"It's 24/7 certainly in the roles that I had."

"You’re never not at work."

"Staff are never switched off. They're always on."

Pressure

"It was a big three years. We had a baby, there was a terrorist attack, a volcanic corruption and a pandemic and an election….But I don't get the sense talking to people that are still there that much has changed. It seems to just be the way it is."

"It is one of the most stressful and demanding jobs that people will have."

"People are under an extraordinary amount of stress, delivering extraordinarily complex solutions to complex problems that affect a lot of people."

"It always felt like everything was on fire… it's a tough, tough business."

"It's so frantic and fast paced."

"Political staffers are always under the gun."

"Things are just thrown at you."

"The deadlines are always pressing, and always everything was always due yesterday."

"It can be an incredibly constant and fast-paced environment."

"Your day just blows up from for something that you couldn't have anticipated."

"The pace was just at another level. It was a sledge-hammer to my senses."

Extreme scrutiny

"Politics is so scrutinised and so contested and so bare knuckle in terms of the way business is conducted. People say in business it can get ruthless but I’ve worked in big corporates and there's nothing like it."

"It's not like a normal organization where you know you have pre-set markers or milestones to deliver something."

"The level of scrutiny, the pressure and the competitiveness is brutal."

"We have in Canada about thirty-six million shareholders who get an equal say in terms of are you doing well. So the amount of public pressure is very different than the private sector."

"We've got a very unforgiving culture. People are often doing these jobs for the best of reasons, but that can also put them at genuine reputational risk."

But added to this is that there is no job security, as staffer are there at the behest of politicians. This leaves them very vulnerable to losing their job through no fault of their own, or because an election is called, and if they are told to go the exit is swift and brutal.

The standard rights that apply to employees in other industries and professions do not apply to political staffers. The protection and benefits that civil/public servants enjoy do not apply to staffers. In New Zealand for example MPs staff are on events contracts so they can be dismissed at any time; in the UK some staff are put on short term fixed contracts so they could be dismissed if it did not work out. And when a party of government loses an election badly, 1000s of staff are suddenly left without a job. The jobs are very precarious:

"There's also the complete lack of job security. It’s brutal. The minister loses your job and you're out on your ear with a few months pay."

"Your castle can come tumbling down very quickly if there's a snap election or your minister fails. It’s a high-risk environment in that regard."

"It's one of those rare bits of current reality that are untouched by modern life. Special advisors literally have no rights at all."

"You can lose your job in a day; there's absolutely no job security whatsoever."

"Political staffing is one of the least stable jobs you can have where every three years there is a chance that 650 odd staff will get marched out the door."

"You don't really know how long this is going to last."

"We can all be there one day and gone the next."

"The position of political advisors is quite tenuous. The job is inherently insecure."

At its’ worst, the political staffer job is not very attractive in reality, as this mock job description conveys.

The role

Your job is to assist the politician in doing their job. There is no specified description for this, you will need to figure it out once you start, but you should expect it to be wide ranging and unrealistically demanding, and it is luck of the draw as to whether you have an effective manager or not.

Working hours

You will be commonly expected to work 80-hours a week, including late evenings & weekends, and keep your phone on so you can be called in the night.

Line management

You will be managed by any one of the following people: 

• A politician, who most likely will not be trained or experienced in how to manage people but will nevertheless expect high standards of performance.
• A more experienced staffer who may or may not be well positioned to orientate, train and support you in your new role.
• Civil servants in government departments or parliaments who will share rules, codes and policies but little advice on doing the job because your role is a partisan one.
• Political party staff or figures who will provide ad hoc and variable direction depending on whether they are in power or opposition, running elections, have resources, and the leader cares about staff at the time.
• The media who could subject your work and personal life at any time to extreme and invasive public scrutiny
• The public who decide whether the politician is re-elected or not which determined whether your job continues to exist or not.

Expectations

You will need to adhere to expectations from different government offices, legislation and rules that are incomplete and contradictory, and focus more on what not to do.

Leave, benefits and other rights

You will be exempt from standard labour laws and rights and denied the same benefits and rights as civil servants such as parental leave. There is minimal capacity for annual leave and restricted access to sick pay. Continuous employment benefits will most likely not apply if change the politician you work for.

Job security

Please understand that there is no job security. You will only get a few hours notice and lose it through no fault of your own when your politician loses position or an election.

Performance management

You will not receive formal performance management, although if something goes wrong this will be highlighted immediately and it could end up on the news. Ultimate success will be judged on non-work factors associated with the politician you work for, such as their appearance and ability to entertain the public.

Professional development and career path

There is little appropriate professional development for this role, only generic training which is mostly not relevant. You will need to train yourself or seek help from fellow staffers, if you can manage to meet any. There is no clear career path and whilst you will inevitably take on higher duties your salary will rarely reflect this.

Potential for burnout

Because there is no work life balance, applicants need to accept the extremely high risk of burnout and should expect to only last 2 years in this role.

Salary

The salary will be typically lower than equivalent jobs outside of politics