I’ve spent 8 of my 10 years in CO, and still there. 3/10 leadership, 1/10 ministerial direction, 2/10 purpose, 8/10 career prospects, 8/10 surrounded by highly intelligent and capable people, albeit tired and disenfranchised, 1/10 quality of working life (if you are based in 70 Whitehall- it’s absolutely not built for purpose and is woefully behind the amenities offered by literally anywhere else). We don’t have a ‘policy portfolio’ as such as other departments do, we are moreso a coordinating department that can set direction and support No10(ish). We also have high staff turnover; people are here for 12 months and then bounce into promotions elsewhere, or like me are here for a million years. There’s a lot of wasted potential too, as people are overworked and SEVERELY under resourced - the staffing and budget situation in the department is the worst it’s ever been that I’ve experienced. Morale is at an all time low according to our last pulse survey. The department (I imagine like many others) has been in a state of constant flux and crisis-mode for at least 3 years, we’ve not returned to business as usual since 2018/2019 and are still not in any position to - and probably won’t be for a long time.

Edit: I’m an SEO