What is life like for civil servants?

How to put it? As a city secretary once told me: no matter how well you do, you have no chance to rise; if you do poorly, why would they promote you? If you do too well, why would they help you escape?

So for most people, without the connections to move things around, there's a high probability they'll stay in one position for life.

Is the suffering of civil servants worthy of sympathy?