In Praise of Public Service
There are differences in the types of rewards employees receive based on whether you work in the public or private sectors. In the private sector, if you do well, you may get a financial bonus, extra days off, stocks, or some other financial renumeration.
However, in the public sector, at least here anyway, the rewards are less tangible but no less appreciated. Most public employees, by law or tradition, don't get financial rewards. In fact, most public sector worker base salaries are substantially less than their private sector counterparts to begin with. We also pay substantial parts (40 percent) of our medical, dental, and optical plans.
So what do we get? Last Friday, I attended our Incentive and Service Awards ceremony. I was invited to come and celebrate my 20 years of public service and decided to do so. Along with the recognition, you get a pen and pencil set, a certificate, and picture with the Chief Justice and Administrative Director.
These small items are appreciated. But what makes the ceremony so moving and significant to those who attend is the recognition that these celebrants are more than just employees, they are public servants.
Few people in the private sector will ever understand the depth of commitment to serving the public that these people have. Yes, I know, just about everyone has or has heard of horror stories when dealing with public servants. But truth be told, those incidents are in the minority. In fact, from my own experience, I've had more problems with people in the private sector providing shoddy or nonexistent service than in the public sector (see my problems with the various private shipping services versus the exemplary service I get at the US post office). I also know that independent survey after independent survey of the public who have actually received services confirms the high level of service.
But back to the ceremony. Part of the ceremony is the recognition of individuals who have, over many years, excelled. These employees receive special recognition. In listening to why they were chosen, I am struck by the level of commitment and perseverance embodied in their stories.
These individuals struggle everyday working within a system designed to be inefficient (Why do you think we have three branches of government? If you want efficiency, check out any dictatorship). But the recognition is not for their struggle, laudatory as that is, rather it's for their reaching nearly impossible goals within the financial constraints forced upon them.
Many of the incentive awardees noted the countless hours of uncompensated overtime they put in. One recipient, heading up an information technology project, spends 80 hours per week working to make it succeed. The toll on her health and family is evident (I hadn't seen her for about a year and almost didn't recognize her due the changes reflected in her face) but she perseveres.
Another awardee, overcome with emotion from the recognition she received could barely speak. Tears flowed down her face as she haltingly, and with quiet dignity, tried to express her thankfulness for the support she received from her co-workers, supervisors, friends, and family and what an honor it was to serve others.
I know much of what I've said will probably fall on deaf ears. There are those out there that will judge all people by one or two bad experiences. Others, who haven't even had any contact with a public servant will adhere to a biased caricature of what we do and who we are. But you should thank God that there are people like these women working to serve the public. Because if they, and all of the other public servants, decided it wasn't worthwhile, things would truly go to hell in a hand basket.
Aloha!