My experience was quite the opposite. I had a state job (at a state university). It was in a small town where the university was the biggest and the best employer. So when people heard I worked for the university, to them it was the equivalent of Microsoft, Oracle, Netapp, BMC etc.
From what I observed, the work environment was much like any other place. Some people did good work while some slacked off. I didn't stay too long to figure out how much politics was involved in the whole thing. My work was typical Windows sys admin type work. I did 8-5:30, and sometimes came in later to do updates. My coworker was very hard working because according to him, he didn't want to waste the tax payers' money.
But working there really puts you in the mindset of "All I have to do is not screw up and I can keep this job". No fear of layoffs, no worrying about quarterly earning reports, or company getting bought out. But people have been fired for royally screwing up. The admin before me decided to change to Linux one day. Didn't go over too well, and backups were not reliable.
Had a friend who worked at another state university. Now his job was exactly what people think about government jobs, lots of politics, people who did nothing, and overall attitude of doing the least to not get fired. But his university did have some layoffs when they ran into funding problems.
