Public officials lose the meaning of their work, alerts a collective – archyworldys

Public officials suffer from a loss of meaning in their professional activity, warns a group of officials, Our public services. The think tank published a survey on Monday, September 20, which revealed that 80% of public officials questioned said they were “Confronted” regularly “or” very frequently “with a feeling of absurdity in the exercise of their work”.

The survey was conducted between May and August on the Internet and on a voluntary basis. In all, 4,555 officers responded. Those who fall under category “A” (corresponding to managerial functions) are more numerous than the other two, “B” and “C”. The panel is therefore not representative. But all age categories are represented, such as statuses or sectors of activity. There are “Bias”, recognizes Arnaud Bontemps, of the collective, which have not been rectified. However, “The results are very significant by unanimity” which is expressed there, he insists.

In fact, the study reveals “A deep discomfort”. The collective Nos services publics asked the agents if they had ever said to themselves in their work: ” It’s absurd. Or if that makes sense, it’s not what I signed up for. “ Only 3% say they have never been confronted with such a feeling of absurdity. On the other hand, 48% have made this reflection regularly and 32% very frequently. Eight out of ten agents.

This feeling is more marked as we progress in age. Only 22% of those under 29 experience a very frequent loss of meaning, against 30% between 30 and 39, 34% between 40 and 49 and 33% beyond. It is also more marked in national education: “43% say they are confronted” very frequently “with a feeling of absurdity, against 27% of the total of people questioned outside national education”, ensures Our public services.

The general interest, a driving force

The collective has collected more than three thousand written testimonies. This allowed him to identify five recurring reasons explaining the loss of meaning. Among these, there is the lack of means, whether it is a question of faulty tools, an absence of resources or the obligation to have to reduce “costs”. A territorial official lamented being asked to “Make proposals for new projects in the fall and have to propose new sources of savings six months later”. A high school English teacher notes: “I am forced to teach 35 students per class, giving priority to oral interaction. “

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