Public service employees’ satisfaction on decline: survey

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/06/2022 (1368 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s public servants reported feeling less positive about their work than they did two years ago, a government study finds.

The Winter 2022 Employee Perspectives Survey shows 65 per cent of respondents found their work “meaningful and energizing.” It is a decrease of 12 percentage points from the survey conducted in 2020.

The newest data found fewer than half — 49 per cent — feel “inspired by, proud of, and attached to Manitoba’s Public Service,” compared with 60 per cent two years ago.

The responses to each of the 10 survey questions were less positive this winter than the first time they were asked in 2020, as part of a Manitoba Public Service Commission program that aims to make the civil service a better place to work. Since then, there’s been a change in premier and two cabinet shuffles, while the COVID-19 pandemic continued and a flexible work arrangement policy was introduced.

“These major events make the need for an update even more imperative,” the 2022 survey report says.

“Periodic measurements of employees’ sentiments on issues that matter to them are essential for the Manitoba government to make timely adjustments and achieve its commitment of providing a productive workplace and promoting positive engagement among employees.”

The public service workforce shrank by 18 per cent under then-premier Brian Pallister, who made good on a 2016 campaign promise to scale it back. Last year’s Civil Service Commission annual report said it will have another 22 per cent of employees and 34 per cent of managers eligible to retire in the next five years.

The annual report followed the Pallister government ordering cost-cutting throughout government departments and agencies at the start of the pandemic, while legislation to freeze wages for the civil service was before the court. With the popularity of his Progressive Conservative government plummeting, Pallister resigned as premier Sept. 1.

In her throne speech in November, Premier Heather Stefanson praised the civil service and said “too often, their contributions are taken for granted.” The Stefanson government promised it would work “to recruit and retain the best possible talent.”

That won’t happen unless the PCs start showing the public sector more respect, NDP labour critic Tom Lindsey said, pointing to the 2022 government employee perspectives survey of 5,539 respondents out of a possible 11,894.

“This government has spent years disrespecting all those civil servants,” the MLA for Flin Flon said Thursday. “They got rid of so many of them that people are frustrated trying to do their jobs — there’s not enough of them to be able to do it.”

Public servants know it’s impacting services, and that can be demoralizing, Lindsey said. “They know people are frustrated.”

The union representing more than 11,000 government workers said the survey results are no surprise.

“Civil servants have been forced to do more with less since this government came into power,” said Kyle Ross, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union.

“Over 2,600 jobs have been cut in the civil service since 2016, and that means many, if not most, have taken on unmanageable and unsustainable workloads,” he said in an email.

“When premier Stefanson took over, we had reason to believe we would see some change,” Ross added.

“In her first throne speech, we saw a commitment to recruitment and retention in the public service, but so far… we have seen little action on those words,” he said.

“If this pandemic has shown us anything, it’s how much we count on public services. It’s long overdue that this government invest in provincial services and the civil servants who make them happen.”

A spokesman for Labour Minister Reg Helwer noted there was an overall increase in participation of 34.3 per cent, from 12.3 per cent to 46.6 per cent, compared with the 2020 survey.

“The Public Service Commission is pleased that public servants felt comfortable responding to the survey,” he wrote. “We want to hear how we can improve. All departments have reviewed their specific results and are working to address areas of concern.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca