Backs to the grindstone

Public managers are not yet facing the level of job cuts that have been seen in the private sector - but they are still feeling gloomier than their counterparts in the commercial world. This year's Management Agenda 2010 report - an annual survey of managers in both the public and private sectors - paints a critical view of how public sector managers are coping in today's difficult times and of public sector bodies that fail to live up to their stated values. Despite the fact that there have been more cutbacks so far in the private sector, with 65% of private sector managers reporting compulsory redundancies in their organisations, compared to 22% in the public sector, it is public managers who are feeling more pessimistic and stressed, according to the research from management consultancy Roffey Park. Only half of all the public sector managers in the survey rated their overall wellbeing at work as good or very good, compared to 62% of their counterparts in the private sector. Public managers are more likely to experience conflict and stress and are much more negative about those who lead their organisations. Just under half of public sector managers said conflict was common in their organisation, with an additional 4% describing it as "rife". Under half - 46% - described the reputation of their senior board as positive or very positive, compared to 63% of private sector managers. Most public sector managers (51%) have little faith in their organisations to tackle underperformance, compared to only a third in the private sector. Lack of clarity about their role Public sector managers feel more negative than their private sector counterparts over issues such as lack of clarity about their role, poor communication and a lack of support or control over their work. But leadership development is seen as an important strategy for public bodies, with 62% of the respondents saying their organisation is making this a priority for the future. More shocking, perhaps, is the low number of public managers who believe their leaders put the values of their organisation into practice. Almost half of all public managers (47%) hold this opinion, whereas two-thirds of private sector managers feel their leaders put the organisation's values into practice. A staggering 91% of public sector managers say their own managers fail to "walk the talk" and put their values into practice. Given the much-discussed public sector ethos of service, this will be a disappointing result for many whose job it is to enthuse their public sector staff. The survey throws into sharp focus the extent to which the external political context affects managers in the public sector, with 73% of managers noting this as one of their biggest issues and challenges. Jo Hennessy, director of research at Roffey Park, says the results reflect the fact that public managers operate in a more complicated environment, within a more politicised agenda. "I think our findings show that this just grinds them down," she comments. Not all doom and gloom But it is not all gloom and doom for the public sector. There are pockets of the public sector where managers are able to set out radical change, according to Hennessy. "We work with a number of organisations where they feel they are making advances," she says. "That may in part be due to the government's transformation agenda, which gives managers time to think and to ask difficult questions, such as why do people enter the justice system in the first place, or what a good enough service would look like." Hennessy says that while some public managers still harbour misplaced fears that the transformation agenda might distract them from core service delivery, many public managers understand the role of change in helping public bodies deliver services and are "passionate" about transforming public services. For more on this story see today's Society Guardian