Its not as simple as just leaving the civil service, you still need people to do a lot of these jobs. In the time Ive worked in the civil service, all Ive seen is experienced members of staff leaving which in turn means the general public aren't getting the service they need/require
We're often dealing with really vulnerable people and if you have no dealings with the Government or rely on top up benefits or disability benefits to survive you dont understand how bad things are at the moment.
Experienced members of staff are leaving due to the wage issue, my department has saw them leave in droves for better paid jobs and good for them but it leaves the issue who is stepping in and doing their job now?
There was a huge issue recently with delayed State Pension payments and its because they are so under resourced and under experienced.
Are there people who join the CS because theyre lazy? Absolutely but I also see people battling daily to try and make a difference for the people they serve. The majority of lower paid staff members have strict targets in their roles and it is managed if you dont meet them. The sickness policies are not overly generous like the media would have you believe, there are next to no civil servants these days sitting on paid sick for months and months on end and you will be managed out quite quickly even if you have a serious illness like cancer