Survey questioning value of public servants comes amid widespread layoffs in government
Public servants across New Zealand were recently surveyed about what they perceive is the value of their work in the wake of job cuts carried out across the country's public sector.
The Public Service Commission ran a census between March 3 and 21, where they asked a variety of questions to employees in departments and departmental agencies.
Among the questions asked was whether public servants agreed that the work they do contributes to better outcomes in New Zealand, and provides value for taxpayers.
It also asked if they agreed on whether their organisation is working for the long-term good of the country, and if it is important to them that their work contributes to the common good.
Meanwhile, the questionnaire also asked questions about employees' use of flexible work arrangements and artificial intelligence in the workplace.
Overall, the commission said their questions covered the following key topics:
Enablers of productivity e.g. clarity of agency priorities and work objectives, manager support, impact of flexible work on productivity, team collaboration, workload, and engagement
Delivery e.g. responsiveness to customer feedback, innovation, interagency collaboration
Good employer requirements e.g. job stress, bullying, racial and sexual harassment, discrimination
Integrity and conduct e.g. transparency, political neutrality, free and frank advice
Demographic characteristics not collected elsewhere e.g. age, caring responsibilities, religion, disabilities
The survey came in the wake of widespread layoffs in New Zealand's public sector, with some even leading to disputes raised with the Employment Relations Authority.
Data from Radio New Zealand showed that there have been over 9,500 public sector cuts as of December 2024, as part of the government's plan to cut down on back-office expenditure.
According to the PSC, they ran the survey to "inform work across the system and within agencies." It also supports their core work such as:
Chief executive, agency and system performance management (e.g., assessing whether an agency has the capability and culture it needs to be an effective system leader and steward, providing comparable data to inform Performance Improvement Reviews)
Workforce policies and interventions
The guidance and support we provide on integrity matters (including supporting agency-specific work through our network of Integrity Champions)
