It depends. Pay as a whole is poor due to it being dependent on how the candidate fundraises, but it boss's can either alleviate or exacerbate those problems. My council boss voluntarily declined her pay the last three months before the election in order that staff could get their checks on time and in full, and my congressional race superiors were amazing. (that race also happened to retain a compliance consulting firm that functioned as a quasi-HR department)
But in other cases, shitty bosses crop up who either dont care or actively want to exploit your talents. In the races I've run after the Jack/Jill cycle I've always worked to be the boss that I'd have wanted during my work with Jack/Jill, and employee morale as a result always was quite high.