Tackle workplace depression, federal executives plead

2014/05/10 Leave a comment

Not too surprising, in the current context of continued Government distrust of public servants, high-profile attacks (e.g., SCC Chief Justice, Chief Electoral Officer etc.), reduced role for policy advice and cutbacks:

APEX’s most recent study of the health of the government’s 6,560 executives clearly showed the workplace was making some of them sick.

The study found the organizational commitment of executives was on decline – from 64 per cent to 52 per cent. About 32 per cent are disengaged, feeling disconnected from their work and unable to deal with the jobs’ demands.

The survey found that the government’s executives are more stressed than 75 per cent of Canadians. They feel they have little control over their work, receive little support from colleagues and supervisors and get scant recognition for their efforts. They complained about incivility in the workplace and harassing bosses. About one-quarter reported symptoms of burnout, ranging from emotional exhaustion to cynicism and a declining sense of accomplishment and usefulness.

Tackle workplace depression, federal executives plead.

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Kevin Page calls for public service renewal from the ‘ground up’

2013/11/08 Leave a comment

While I think Kevin nails the lack of senior level leadership on public service renewal (and his dismissal of initiatives like BluePrint 2020 as an “empty vessel without a rudder”), I am not sure, given the hierarchical nature of the public service, that a grass-roots initiative is workable. But his diagnostique is bang on.

Kevin Page calls for public service renewal from the ‘ground up’.

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Public service losing its ability to provide policy advice, former top bureaucrat says

2013/10/22 Leave a comment

A good article by Kathryn May of the Ottawa Citizen on Mel Cappe’s upcoming Public Policy Forum speech. Thoughtful remarks on the decreased demand for policy advice and reduced role of the public service. Reinforces points in my book. Quote:

“The issue isn’t whether advice is followed or not but whether public servants can prepare the work they need for ministers to make decisions … Let the minister choose whether to take or ignore the advice, but they should hear it. Let the minister choose to ignore the evidence, but don’t allow them not to have the evidence in front of them.

“I never expected my advice to be followed, but it was heard, listened to and taken into account. When the government did what it thought was politically the right thing to do and I was heard, I was successful whether they followed my advice or not. But if public servants don’t get heard, it’s not a good thing for the country.”

Public service losing its ability to provide policy advice, former top bureaucrat says

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My Book – Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Printing Proof Stage

2013/08/19 2 Comments

Just finished the final edits – substantive, copy and formatting. On track for September 16 release. Good feeling, now on to pre-production and marketing.

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An independent Canada

2013/08/07 Leave a comment

Good piece by Robert Sibley on the history and the people that shaped Canada’s becoming independent in the 20s and 30s. And a strong comment on how much the role of the public service may have changed since then.

That’s the kind of visionary counsel — backbone stiffening, if you will — Canadians could once expect from their public servants. You have to wonder, given the current dysfunctional relationship between the government and the public service, if those days are long past, and, if so, how that might affect the country’s future.

An independent Canada

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