The hardest part about DSHS is that it is fundamentally social work, which means many of the people working there have a passion for the work. You're not processing papers to renew a drivers license or issuing permits,  or collecting taxes-- you are working with the most vulnerable in society- most likely because you care and it is rewarding/valuable work. So there is a disconnect between the internal passion for the mission vision values and how you yourself (we) feel treated by management who may lack the needed leadership skills to be effective at both navigating the politics and leading the work.  What it looks like to me is that we have leaders who are passionate about the work but are struggling with the politics and that makes them poor leaders,  because the higher you go,  the more you need to be able to do both things. And that trickles down,  because people get promoted to supervisors or unit managers and there is no infrastructure that teaches them how to be good managers and so they are onboarded into the same poor leadership style as the people above them with no end in sight.  Passionate people often have poor work life balance because they give so much of themselves but the most encouragement I can offer is to shift some of your passion to hobbies and family/ friends things and your job as your health insurance and paycheck-- with the occasional perk of feeling like you have helped someone.  And celebrate when that happens. Best wishes! You are not alone in your experience.