{"id":3095,"date":"2017-01-14T00:46:28","date_gmt":"2017-01-14T05:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/?p=3095"},"modified":"2017-01-14T00:46:28","modified_gmt":"2017-01-14T05:46:28","slug":"what-makes-for-a-successful-public-sector-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/2017\/01\/14\/what-makes-for-a-successful-public-sector-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"What makes for a successful public-sector workplace?"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNPOST<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Community Voices features opinion pieces from a wide variety of authors and perspectives. <\/em><\/p>\n

What makes for a successful public-sector workplace?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

By\u00a0Monte Bute<\/a><\/p>\n

January 13, 2017<\/p>\n

Wherever we work, employers use a fundamental\u00a0mission to shape our daily labor. For the private sector, it is profit maximization. For nonprofits, it is service to others. For the public sector, well,\u00a0that has become increasingly murky. I contend that the purpose\u00a0of public employment\u00a0is a\u00a0stewardship of the common\u00a0good.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0the means by which an organization\u00a0seeks to achieve\u00a0those various\u00a0ends\u00a0is more important than the goal itself. Means reflect\u00a0a workplace\u2019s ethos, its character, moral nature, or norms.\u00a0In other words, an ethos is the\u00a0oxygen\u00a0of an organization, the cognitive, sensory, and emotional atmosphere that envelops our daily work \u2014 and it may be\u00a0benign or malignant.<\/p>\n

To paraphrase Tolstoy, all successful workplaces are alike; each unsuccessful workplace is unsuccessful in its own way. Having been in the\u00a0public sector\u00a0for 33 years, I will attempt to sketch what makes for a successful public workplace, and what may derail it. I will use as an example my employer, Metropolitan State University.<\/p>\n

At a tipping point<\/strong><\/p>\n

While our new president, Ginny Arthur, is a strong advocate of stewardship, our institutional ethos\u00a0is currently at a tipping point. In 2016, the administration proposed measures to resolve a significant budget shortfall. The faculty union pushed back, rejecting changes to the status quo.\u00a0Management claimed that these solutions were temporary measures; some faculty saw a Trojan horse, a hidden agenda for an irreversible reduction of compensation.\u00a0Compromise became elusive.<\/p>\n

Consequently, the administration went ahead and made cutbacks that the union did not agree to, adding\u00a0toxins to\u00a0the atmosphere. In turn, the faculty\u2019s rampant mistrust of\u00a0management\u2019s motives\u00a0is further polluting\u00a0the institution\u2019s ethos.<\/p>\n

The faculty is not exempt from self-scrutiny. While we deserve a just wage for our labors of stewardship, do we have any obligation to shoulder part of a shortfall that was not of our making? Under normal circumstances, the faculty has a right to seek whatever compensation is available. In a financial emergency, does that still hold true?<\/p>\n

Distortions abound<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welcome to a\u00a0hall of mirrors, where distortions abound. Nearly every fact in this workplace drama is contestable: The cause and scope of the budget crisis; the parties responsible for it; the appropriateness of responses to it; the need for faculty to share its burden. Is there a way out of this impasse?<\/p>\n

What every organization needs\u00a0to avoid\u00a0is\u00a0an institutional ethos that fosters a constant zero-sum game; rather, what it requires is an ethos where both managers and employees agree that everyone is in this together. However, that also\u00a0means everyone, from the president to the janitor, is accountable\u00a0for\u00a0his or her fair share of the\u00a0load.\u00a0If the distribution of that burden is unjust (or perceived as unjust), discontent spreads like a contagion.<\/p>\n

That often\u00a0leads to conflict, something that is too often discouraged.\u00a0Conflict is essential for\u00a0the well-being of any institution. The distinction that\u00a0we fail to make clear enough is between realistic and constructive conflict and unrealistic and destructive conflict. The former\u00a0actually fosters a positive ethos; the latter\u00a0is nihilistic and the enemy of all organizations.<\/p>\n

A successful public workplace needs both an aspirational mission and a corresponding ethos that encourages\u00a0both managers and\u00a0employees to walk the walk. Will Metro State resolve its present discord in a manner that strengthens its long-term heritage of stewardship? Conversely, will ongoing strife push the university into a future of zero-sum hostilities? It could go either way. The onus is\u00a0upon the leaders and followers of the institution\u2019s various constituencies.<\/p>\n

Monte\u00a0Bute\u00a0teaches sociology and social science at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul.\u00a0This article reflects his opinions alone.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINNPOST Community Voices features opinion pieces from a wide variety of authors and perspectives. What makes for a successful public-sector workplace?\u00a0 By\u00a0Monte Bute January 13, 2017 Wherever we work, employers use a fundamental\u00a0mission to shape our daily labor. For the private sector, it is profit maximization. For nonprofits, it is service to others. For the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3095"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3098,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3095\/revisions\/3098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}