Getting fired once was painful. Getting rehired and then fired a second time was excruciating. But federal workers are learning that waiting for the government to make it official may be worst of all.

When President Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency began slashing jobs in February, the mass layoffs were supposed to cut through America’s hulking bureaucracy and streamline government functions. For workers caught up in those firings, and the legal wrangling that ensued, the process has been anything but efficient.

In interviews, workers described reaching a stage where they were ready to move on, only to be frustrated by administrative morass. They are finding that the only thing harder than getting fired is staying that way, and navigating a Kafkaesque web of bureaucratic snafus that has left some of them in a surreal employment limbo.

Obtaining the termination paperwork necessary to apply for employment benefits in some states has taken months, some said. Calls and emails to former bosses and human resources officials went unanswered, or were redirected in what seemed like an endless loop. Lapses in health care coverage were a major source of stress.

Sometimes, the people whose job it was to deal with terminated employees had been fired, too.

“Honestly, I need this to be over,” said Erin Czajkowski, who was fired from her job at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in February, rehired in March and then fired again in May. “Every time I get an email, my anxiety spikes and I get mad.”

Ms. Czajkowski, from Carmel, Ind., said she spent weeks seeking answers from former supervisors about her employment status and how to interpret various court orders stemming from legal challenges to the firings. The government would not send her formal separation documents until June 30.