DQ 7-1
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Dq7.docx1.
The current state of public service workers is that they are underpaid and over worked. According to the article Public servants: Bullied, overworked and underpaid “Public servants are working around 20,000 additional unpaid hours per week, or one million hours per year, as they struggle with “unmanageable workloads” that can’t be maintained” (hrmamerica.com). This is a horrible state especially working as a public servant. I see it all the time workers cannot manage a 300 case, case load but management wants them not only to manager their caseloads they also want them to provide superior customer service. This causes the public service worker stress and burn out. The way that public service personnel is treated is it depends if the customers’ needs something or they are receiving the services or resources they are seeking. If the customer is receiving the services they are seeking they are treated well if the customer is not receiving the services they are seeking they are treated poorly. This can be a difficult task as a public service worker because they are trying to deliver customer service, maintain a large case load, and trying to give the customer what they are seeking. However, this is a major improvement to other times in the past because of the advancement of technology. I have heard some crazy stories how they use to have to have everything hand written by the customer then they had to file the case and this was a logistical nightmare. Because of the advancement of technology it made the lives of social workers much easier to manage caseloads and look for data that is relevant to the customer.
Reference
Public servants: Bullied, overworked and underpaid retrieved from: https://www.hrmamerica.com/hr-news/public-servants-bullied-overworked-and-underpaid-19955.aspx
2.
Public Service workers are filled with more anxiety and angry because the times has changed from what it was in the past. There money was decent for the standard of living and the jobs were more appreciative about the people they hired. Now you deal with the public sector lowering they wages and you are doing more work not to mention it is still competitive maybe even more than before. People that are in the public sector as public service workers are now suffering, and you see some people venturing over to the private sector. Even on that end of things its not better. You are now getting the money you feel like you deserve but you don’t have no stability or job security that makes you want to stay. You start to see the trend from public sector slowly turn to what the private sector are doing. At that point you tend to worry more because its starting to show that you don’t have security either way it goes. In the past, you could count on the public sector to provide you with better benefits of longevity than the private sector. “The private sector has been more welcoming. During 97 consecutive months of job growth, it created 18.6 million positions, a 17 percent increase. But that impressive streak comes with an asterisk. Many of the jobs created — most in service industries — lack stability and security. They pay little more than the minimum wage and lack predictable hours, insurance, sick days or parental leave (Cohen,Gebeloff, 2018).”
Cohen, P., & Gebeloff, R. (2018, April 22). Public Servants Are Losing Their Foothold in the Middle Class. Retrieved July 6, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/22/business/economy/public-employees.html
3. People choose to work in the public service because they want to serve or have an impact on the society. Public service workers provide public goods, they are guardians and promoters of civic life essential to our communities. They have the well-being of an entire community in mind, they solve real human issues, asking themselves everyday: is anyone going hungry today? Are any citizens in danger because of the weather? Is someone in despair because of illness but can’t afford treatment? Does victims of violent crime need assistance? Are citizens receiving the education they deserve? They plan for the benefits of citizens, preserve historical places while balancing new development. In the same sense, President Kennedy said in 1961 during a speech: “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Despite they great accomplishments and dedication, they are always blamed for troubles in the society and anything that goes wrong in the system. Let’s take the example of the education system failure. Many people are blaming the teachers by holding them accountable to unreasonable testing and grade metrics. In the past as Milward and Rainey (1983) said public agencies and public employees were berated as inept and inefficient. Most teachers are loaded with works and are underpaid. Some jobs such as plumbers, builders, factory workers are disregarded as powerful jobs but they have an impact on the society. I think public service has evolved in social equity and today it is unthinkable (as well as illegal), for example, to deny someone welfare benefits because of their race or a job opportunity because of their sex. (Frederickson, 2013) Despite the creation of the Public Service Recognition Week by the Public Employees Roundtable since 1985 to honor those who serve our nation on the federal, state, county, and local government level and to show appreciation to our nation’s talented and dedicated servants (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2018) public service workers are still being treated bad they don’t get the honor and appreciation they deserve.
References:
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. (2018). Public Service Recognition Week. Retrieved from https://www.opm.gov/about-us/our-mission-role-history/public-service-recognition-week/
Milward, B., H. and Rainey, G., H. (1983). Don’t Blame the Bureaucracy! Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/3998255?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Frederickson, H., G. (2013). The State of Social Equity in American Public Administration. Retrieved fromhttps://oied.ncsu.edu/selc/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/The-State-of-Social-Equity-in-American-Public-Administration.pdf
