There was perhaps an impression that public sector has more work-life balance than private sector where people slog hard to earn the extra dime from the market. Well, I think the truth is far from that.
In most organisations, the extent of the slog really boils down to 2 parameters: load distribution and system efficiency. An organisation where some work especially hard while others are not fully deployed struggles with load distribution while an organisation where everyone seems overworked struggles with efficiency. Of course it is usually a combination of both but simplifying to this 2 extremes allows us to look at working out ways to cope with it.
Load Distribution ridden companies need to improve their resource composition and utilisation. They might be chasing the wrong kind of work. Organisations dealing with efficiency issues might need to improve hiring or their overall system of managing their people.