Public Service Workers Research Articles

Нормативы затрат на эксплуатацию мелиоративных систем Республики Саха (Якутия)

Purpose: to determine the costs for fulfilling the state task on efficient and safe operation of reclamation systems, agricultural water supply facilities and hydraulic structures of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Materials and methods: the research was carried out at the facilities of the state budgetary institution “Department for Land Reclamation and Agricultural Water Supply of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)”. The calculation of standard costs was made using the method of initial cost standards based on local estimates. Results. This work takes into account the standard costs attributed to the provision of public services (work performance), for general needs and for the maintenance of property. The basic standard costs for service, maintenance of the reclamation systems in good working order in 2021 amounted to 6.5 thousand rubles/ha, for agricultural water supply facilities – 1677.7 thousand rubles/unit, to determine the needs and to participate in water resources distribution (group water pipelines) – 25348.1 thousand rubles/million m³. Conclusion. The given calculation method can be used to calculate the financing for the fulfillment of a state task, it will make it possible to make economically justified calculations of the costs of public services deliveries for the efficient and safe operation of reclamation systems, agricultural water supply facilities and group water pipelines of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and, as a result, to ensure the improvement of the organization labor, improving production performance.

Empathy: Challenges Experienced by Social Workers in the Healthcare Sector on the Island of Crete, Greece

Introduction Empathy in social work is one of the most important factors that can bring change in the patient, by developing a productive relationship. The purpose of this study is to explore empathy in the practice of social work, as it is used by professional social workers. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 social workers in public health services in Crete. Responses were recorded, and content analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings There were differences in the way that social workers perceive the concept of empathy, depending on their prior experiences. It was also found that they are more “sensitive” when patients have a common problem with them. Among the difficulties that prevented them from being empathetic was having “a difficult personal period” that affected their work. This study has also identified the importance of professional training for the development of empathy skills, and the key-role of work experience. Moreover, it highlighted the importance of co-operation between the researchers and the social workers for generating efficacious and valuable information. Conclusion This study emphasizes the importance of empathy as a necessary skill in the relationship between social workers and patients, and the need for in-depth scientific research and analyze on this issue in Greece.

Dynamics of autonomy support leadership on Gen‐Y employees in the Nigerian Public Service

Public service motivation is empirically proven to satisfy the psychological needs of public service employees (PSEs). However, with the new generation of PSEs, ever‐changing demands and innovations are constantly altering the drivers of career satisfaction and well‐being. Hence, drawing on the basic psychological needs theory (BPNT), this study proposes an empirical model that investigates the determinants of the Gen‐Y of PSEs' well‐being and career satisfaction. Analysis of data from 217 Gen‐Y public service workers suggests that autonomous‐supportive leadership influences the employees' well‐being and career satisfaction through the fulfillment of certain basic psychological needs. These findings not only theoretically elucidate the intricacies of the relationship between autonomy‐supportive leadership, well‐being, and career satisfaction of Nigerian Gen‐Y PSEs; it also highlights the need for leadership style changes in the Nigerian public service. As unfortunately, the negative impact of the characteristic authoritarian leadership (which is relics of colonial and military governments) will be amplified among the new generation of employees.

Emotional labour and occupational wellbeing in political office

Like many public service workers, politicians must manage the emotions of others as well as themselves in order to facilitate cooperation or goal accomplishment. Coined by Arlie Hochschild, this type of work is known as emotional labour. This article analyses a unique data set on the emotional labour and occupational wellbeing of over 500 elected politicians in the United Kingdom to understand how this important feature of public service plays out in political office. On one hand, all three facets of emotional labour (emotion work, personal efficacy, and false-face acting) are found to be prevalent among elected politicians, with self-reported levels of emotional labour differing among men and women. On the other hand, emotion work and personal efficacy appear to improve job satisfaction and occupational pride among politicians, but false-face acting increases symptoms of occupational burnout. These findings raise important questions about the nature of political institutions and the sustainability of political work.

Avaliação dos egressos do Programa de Educação Tutorial (PET) do curso de Odontologia da Universidade Federal de Pelotas

O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar o perfil profissional dos egressos da Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade Federal de Pelotas, participantes do Programa de Educação Tutorial (PET). Foi realizada uma pesquisa descritiva, de natureza qualitativa e quantitativa, utilizando um questionário eletrônico estruturado e autoaplicável como instrumento de coleta e enviado, via correspondência eletrônica, à todos os egressos que participaram efetivamente do grupo PET e aceitaram participar desta pesquisa. Atividade profissional, níveis de formação e objetivos propostos pelo programa foram avaliados. O total de egressos foi de 89, desde a criação do grupo, em 1992, até o ano de 2019. Com as respostas obtidas (n=59), verificou-se que maior parte dos egressos que aderiram a pesquisa concluíram o curso entre os anos de 2004 até 2018 (59.3%), e apenas 24 (40.6%) em período anterior a 2004. Verificou-se que 25% atuam no serviço público, 44% no setor privado e 22% atuam em ambos. Em relação à titulação, apenas 4 (6,8%) não possuem nenhuma pós-graduação, e 53 (89.8%) atuam na região Sul do país, 36 (61%) são do sexo feminino e 23 (39%) do masculino. Ao final do questionário, foi perguntado a respeito da influência da participação no Programa sobre a trajetória profissional, com uma escala de intensidade progressiva de 1 a 5, gerando 19 respostas com nível 4 e 39 respostas com nível 5. Os resultados evidenciaram uma influência muito positiva da participação no Programa na vida profissional de seus ex-participantes, tanto no mercado de trabalho, quanto na vivência de pós-graduação.

A behavioural model of heuristics and biases in frontline policy implementation

This article theorises how behavioural public administration can help improve our understanding of frontline policy implementation. The human factors that characterise policy implementation remain undertheorised: individual variation in policy implementation is dismissed as mere “noise” that hinders predictability in policy implementation. This article aims to fill this gap. We provide a model for street level decision-making which outlines the role of heuristics and biases in frontline workers’ allocation of resources and sanctions. Based on an analysis of the behavioural and street-level bureaucracy literature, we present 11 testable propositions that point to predictable patterns in the ways that bounded rationality influences policy implementation and outcomes. Heuristics can help hard-pressed frontline public service workers to make decisions but may also produce social inequity or inefficient or ineffective service. Therefore, we need to improve understanding of biases that are common among frontline workers in order to inform the development of appropriate mitigation strategies, such as de-biasing or even ‘re-biasing’ (nudging).

Psychometric Properties of the Psychological Well-being at Work Scale in Gabonese Public Administration

ABSTRACT The objective of this article is to corroborate the original Dagenais-Desmarais & Savoie psychological well-being measurement instrument in the civil service in Gabon. This instrument is composed of five factors relating to lived experiences of psychological well-being in the workplace. To adapt it to the civil service in Gabon, 310 civil servants from various ministries completed a measurement tool. This was also done for nomological purposes and to assess job demands, job control, social support, and job satisfaction. Following exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, it appears that the dimensional structure of psychological well-being in the workplace (PWBW) is identical to the initial structure developed by Dagenais-Desmarais and Savoie. Moreover, the metric properties on the PWBW scale of the present research are satisfactory. The analyses confirm all the predictions of the nomological network, reinforcing the validity of the adaptation of the scale developed by Dagenais-Desmarais and Savoie to the world of public service work in Gabon.

Tingkat Pengetahuan Kader tentang Posyandu di Puskesmas Temindung Kota Samarinda

Community health workers are selected by the community from community members who are willing to voluntarily be able to help and have time to organize basic health service activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of knowledge community health workers in basic health service the health centers in Temindung, Samarinda. The research subjects of community health workers were 32 people who were on duty in basic health service activities in 10 basic health service centers in Temindung Samarinda. Measuring the level of knowledge of community health workers using a questionnaire. Percentage analysis to determine the level of knowledge about basic health service. Most community health workers are chosen directly with the essential requirements of being able to read, write and be friendly and voluntarily help and be in their community. Although their knowledge of basic health services is still low with 87.5% of basic health service. Knowledge of community health workers is still low Even though their knowledge is lacking, they still do health services at basic health services once a month. Basic health services are an important part of health services in the community, especially helping health workers in public health services to the community, but so they are expected to get training in basic health services to improve the Indonesian health republic's work program

Beautiful stranger: Voices from the front lines of community practice in Israel.

Over the past few decades, economic, political and cultural forces have altered the development of social policies and affected the life circumstances of oppressed communities in many countries. In response, calls for greater understanding and awareness of macro practice skills and interventions have been increasing within many of the social care professions. These calls have been particularly strong within the social work profession. A major field in macro social work is community practice, which aims to help people organise, plan and act for change. To date, there has been a dearth of studies examining social workers' involvement in community practice at the ground level. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 26 community social workers in public social services in Israel, this qualitative study examines community social workers' everyday experiences of community practice and the meanings they attribute to it. Findings highlight three main themes: (a) the elusive and unbounded nature of community practice; (b) the tense relations that community social workers maintain with various actors within the profession; and (c) the complex relations they maintain with the communities in which they work. We discuss these findings in light of Georg Simmel's concept of 'the stranger'. Implications to community practice are outlined.

Public oral health services performance in Brazil: Influence of the work process and service structure.

The quality of oral health care might be evaluated based on Donabedian’s structure-process-outcome model. This study assessed the association between the oral health public services structure and work process of oral health teams (OHT) and performance indicators (access and problem-solving capacity) in Brazil. Secondary data from a national program obtained through interviews and by observation in 2013/2014 were analyzed. The performance indicators were Coverage of First Scheduled Dental Appointment (FDA) (< or ≥ the mean) and Ratio between Completed Treatments and First Scheduled Dental Appointments (CT/FDA) (< 1 or ≥ 1). The structure was assessed by the sum of available instruments, equipment, and supplies. Latent class analyses were used to identify similar groups (consolidated, developing, and incipient) of OHT according to the work process (planning of actions, health promotion and intersectoral actions, and integral health care). Each OHT was also described regarding the number of the health team in which the OHT operates, whether the primary care unit receives students/teaches, frequency of care provided outside of OHT coverage, and participation in telehealth. Multiple logistic regression models were adjusted for each performance indicator. A total of 16189 (99,8%) and 16192 (99,9%) OHTs located in 4344 (78,0%) municipalities had complete data on the work process and structure. 91.92% of OHTs presenting CT/FDA ≥ 1 and 37.05% presenting FDA ≥ the mean. Consolidated planning of actions and better structural conditions were associated with better performance. A higher frequency of CT/FDA ≥ 1 was observed among OHTs with consolidated integral health care and those that performed telehealth. OHTs that served individuals outside of OHT coverage daily and that worked with two to nine Health Teams presented a higher frequency of FDA ≥ the mean. OHTs with better structural and work process conditions had better performance.

A view into managers’ subjective experiences of public service motivation and work engagement: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the underlying factors which may foster or attenuate public managers’ public service motivation (PSM) and on the processes through which it affects their work engagement. A qualitative analysis of interviews with senior staffers in public-service organizations revealed multilayered subjective experiences of PSM and work engagement. The findings which emerged from the interviews suggest five factors behind PSM: The nature of task; Reaching beyond the self; Career development opportunities; The burden of red tape, and; Identification with the beneficiaries. Growing from these, analysis further suggests that PSM fosters emotional engagement and engagement in micro-community and in macro-community.

Valores e satisfação no trabalho dos servidores públicos em uma seccional da Justiça Federal

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar as relações entre os valores do trabalho e a satisfação no trabalho dos servidores públicos que trabalham no serviço de atendimento à sociedade na Justiça Federal. Com base em uma em uma amostra de 193 indivíduos, o estudo caracteriza-se por sua natureza quantitativa, de caráter analítico, em que utiliza a modelagem de equações estruturais. Os resultados confirmaram que: (i) existe influência positiva dos valores de relações sociais relativos ao trabalho na satisfação no trabalho; (ii) há influência positiva dos valores de prestígio na satisfação no trabalho, apesar de menos expressivo; (iii) há uma influência positiva dos valores de estabilidade no trabalho na satisfação; e (iv) não existe influência dos valores de realização profissional na satisfação no trabalho. De modo geral, os resultados podem subsidiar estratégias e ações de melhoria da gestão de pessoas na área de atendimento ao cidadão.

Promoting a Public Service Ethic in the Legal Profession in Kenya: The Imperative Role of Clinical Legal Education

AbstractThe taskforce appointed in 2016 to undertake a review of the legal sector in Kenya highlighted a decline in public service and pro bono work as one of the challenges facing the legal profession in the country. In its report, the taskforce made several proposals to tackle the problem, all directed at qualified lawyers. This article seeks to contribute to the deliberations anticipated from the findings of the taskforce, by suggesting instead that the problem of a declining public service ethic be addressed by targeting law students. Bringing students face to face with real clients and their needs can play an important role in broadening their horizons and shaping their beliefs about, and attitudes towards, the different possible careers they can pursue with their education. The article specifically recommends clinical legal education as a practical and comprehensive means by which students can be encouraged from early on to have an interest in pro bono and public service work.

Crafting or mass-producing decisions: Technology as professional or managerial imperative in public policy implementation

Policy implementation is characterized by professional public service workers who make decisions about clients using knowledge and skill-sets acquired through years of training and experience. Their unique position separates them from other workers, provides them with autonomy, and enables them to challenge managerial directives. Information and communications technology is used to tame this power. Whereas public service workers have been criticized for having too much influence, technology may shift decision-making from a professional craft to technology-driven mass-production. This article studies how technology impacts policy implementation in seven sub-stages resulting in alternating professional and managerial imperatives in all sub-stages except for discretionary practices. Whereas managers, public service workers, and clients can appreciate that professional norms are strengthened, and managerial goals achieved, there is a growing concern about the role of technology and its influence on public service workers responsible for policy implementation. The article ends with suggestions for future research.

Sense of community, sense of community responsibility, organizational commitment and identification, and public service motivation: a simultaneous test of affective states on employee well-being and engagement in a public service work context

ABSTRACT The present study has two aims. First, we examine sense of community, sense of community responsibility, organizational commitment and identification, and PSM in predicting measures of employee engagement and well-being. Second, we examine if PSM acts as a direct or indirect predictor of the employee measures. The findings highlight that community experiences are powerful predictors and that the role of PSM is more indirect than direct. The study provides a step forward in understanding the utility of psychological predictors when simultaneously compared, and offers hope for future studies where we continue to conduct comparative analyses beyond the boundary of public management.

Independent Mental Health Advocacy: A Model of Social Work Advocacy?

ABSTRACT Advocacy has received less attention in social work research than other aspects of social work practice. This paper draws attention to two tensions in social work advocacy; between worker-led advocacy and person-led advocacy, and between individual advocacy and system level advocacy. We argue that human-rights-based social workers must choose a person-led approach over a worker-led approach while advocating with both systems and individuals. This argument is made by drawing on findings of an evaluation of Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) in Victoria, Australia. It is shown that social work training had not prepared social workers for rights-based, person-led advocacy and that social workers in public mental health services were struggling to maintain the rights of people in their services even with assistance from IMHA. IMPLICATIONS Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) is a model of advocacy influenced by social work theory and delivered in part by social-work-trained advocates. Social work training is not preparing social workers for person-led, human-rights-based advocacy. Public mental health social workers are struggling to maintain the rights of people in mental health services even with the support of external advocacy services.

The anatomy of institutions: diagnosing the formation of legal rules

ABSTRACTThe explanation for the outcomes of environmental policies is often sought either in policy design or in the behaviour of street-level bureaucrats, thus tending to examine only one level of the policy process and neglecting its multi-level nested nature. Specifically, most of the studies omit addressing policy specification, which is located between design and adoption of primary legislation and the actions of public service workers. Considering the policy process as a multi-level nested process of shaping and carrying out legal rules, this paper uses an institutional economics approach and the institutional grammar tool for its analysis. Using the example of the Ukrainian soil protection policy, it examines the way legal rules are being co-created and the policy objectives shaped at the policy specification stage and discusses the implications for the discretion of street-level bureaucrats, behaviour of the policy target group, and soil protection. The results of the study reveal that the desired outcomes of the Ukrainian soil protection policy are undermined because many institutional statements written in primary legislation are not supported by the expectation of remedy in case of non-compliance and are therefore dysfunctional.

Irrational rationalities and governmentality-effected neglect in immigration practice: Legal migrants' entitlements to services and benefits in the United Kingdom.

Governments' attempts to manage immigration increasingly restrict immigrants' eligibility to healthcare, education, and welfare benefits. This article examines the operation of these restrictions in the United Kingdom. It draws on qualitative research with civil servants and NGO expert advisors, and applies sociological theories on bureaucracy as a lens to interpret these data. Conceptually, the paper employs a generative synthesis of Ritzer's notion of "irrational rationality" and Foucault's perspective on "governmentality" to explain observed outcomes. Findings show that public service workers struggle with complex and opaque regulations, which grant different entitlements to different categories of migrants. The confusion results in mistakes, arbitrary decisions, and hypercorrection, but also a system-wide indifference to irrational outcomes, supported by human factors in contexts of austerity. I consider this a form of governmentality-effected neglect, where power operates as much through inaction as well as through intention, but which results in exclusions of legal migrants that are harsher in practice than in law.

Impacts of temporary pedestrian streetscape improvements on pedestrian and vehicle activity and community perceptions

IntroductionMicro-scale streetscape built environment attributes can support or inhibit physical activity over and above macro-scale community design factors. Quick build projects involve rapid and low-cost approaches for modifying streetscape design elements to improve pedestrian safety and support walking. This study evaluated quick build projects at two intersections in low-income neighborhoods. MethodsTwo intersections were identified using a participatory process with community residents. The projects included painted crosswalks and temporary curb extensions to narrow the vehicle traffic lanes. Video and in-person direct observations were conducted before and during implementation to assess the number of pedestrians and vehicles using the intersection and vehicle/driver behaviors. Resident and stakeholder (e.g., public service workers) attitudes towards the projects were captured through surveys and interviews. ResultsPedestrian activity increased by 23% (p = 0.030) and vehicle activity did not change. The number of vehicles that failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign decreased by 9% (p = 0.040) and the proportion of vehicles creating two lanes of traffic at the intersection of single-lane streets decreased from 70% to 0%. The mean rating regarding whether residents wanted the project to become permanent was 3.1 on a 1–4 scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The primary concerns noted related to burden to drivers. Stakeholders had positive attitudes towards the project but some noted concerns related to large vehicles’ (e.g., fire engines) ability to make turns in the intersection. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that inexpensive quick build streetscape improvements are promising for increasing pedestrian activity and walking. More research is needed to evaluate long-term outcomes of sustained quick build projects.

Linked government administrative data: Public or Private?

Background with rationaleIt is commonplace in policy discussions concerning administrative data linkage to presuppose that the data referred to is government services data. But this is not always the case. Much of the data public services hold is now collected via intermediaries, such as Non-Government Organisations, operating under service contracts with one or multiple government departments. Nor are these the only administrative data holdings applicable to clients of government services. There are also vast private administrative data holdings – including utility data, and consumer behaviour data.&#x0D; Creating and amending legislation that governs public service practices in this domain is increasingly made complex when private companies partner with governments agencies on policy development and evaluation work.&#x0D; Understanding the concept of public data for public good in light of this expanded sense of administrative data opens the door to deeper questions about the role linked data can play in government decision making.&#x0D; Main aimThe paper problematizes how legislation governing the linking of government administrative data is scoped and discusses how public service work can be affected by the opaque communication networks that increasingly span the public-private sector divide.&#x0D; Methods/ApproachAfter contextualising the challenge of legislating for administrative data linkage in the current work of the Office of the National Data Commissioner (ONDC) in Australia, this paper tests aspects of the proposed legislation against the extent to which it permits the possibility of ‘data laundering’.&#x0D; ResultsThe presentation demonstrates the need for greater sophistication in the specification of data linkage and sharing legislation in service of the public good.&#x0D; Conclusions This paper indicates that contemporary practices governing the linkage of government administrative data holdings is porous to the aims of extra-governmental organisations and may benefit by better incorporating legislative structures that govern private analytical services entities.