‘Govt sector jobs taken for granted, productivity is low’
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KUWAIT CITY, Jan 27: In this week’s Arab Times online poll, readers weighed in on the factors that lead to unsatisfactory services in the public sector in Kuwait. The majority of voters blamed poor performance on the fact that public sector jobs are taken for granted.
28 percent felt that as public sector jobs were safeguarded, they were taken for granted by employees. Along the same vein, 15 percent of voters felt that the employees were unmotivated to do their best work. “In most countries, a public sector job is one of the most secure jobs you can find. Dismissals for bad employees are terrifying low. Also the structure of the public sector is more rigid so it is hard to enforce changes. This leaves a lot of workers with a low drive to excel and leads to lower productivity”, a voter remarked.
“There is a very low work ethic among government employees. In my personal experience there have been so many instances where officials will come in late or not turn up at all, take several breaks and delay the whole process. I am always highly impressed by those who do a competent job and that should be the norm, not something exceptional”, an expatriate reader shared.
On the other hand, another reader stated, “I think it is a misconception that the public sector is inefficient. I don’t think this is the case anymore. The public sector infrastructure has improved and public agencies today are performing well enough.”
18 percent felt that the unsatisfactory service could be linked to the employment of unskilled and unqualified employees. “Investing in public employment without investing in enhancing skills is not wise. Public sector employment should be competitive and attract the best and brightest”, a reader remarked.
20 percent of respondents blamed outdated systems of operation and felt that processes should be automated and made online as much as possible. “I think there is room for most processes to be streamlined and everything that can be done online, should be made online. It is so much more efficient. Digital public services make things simpler and faster for everyone. We need to keep pace with the rapid technical advances all around the world to continue improving our services”, a respondent commented.
20 percent of voters felt that there was no customer or public oriented focus. “The reason why the delivery of services from the private sector is superior is because of their perspective. The customer or consumer is central and his satisfaction, paramount. If the public sector were to adopt this mindset, we would find many improvements and less to complain about”, a reader shared.
By Cinatra Fernandes Arab Times Staff
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