Engaging Government Employees

CHAPTER 1

______________

The Power of Employee Engagement and What This Book Is About

This is not an easy time to be employed in the public sector. Heated budget battles and rhetoric about the size, function, scope, and effectiveness of government have generated criticism not just of government but also of the public servants who deliver government services. Across the country—in Congress, state legislatures, city councils, political speeches and ads, the media, and elsewhere—government organizations and their employees are denigrated and stigmatized as underworked and overpaid.

In stark contrast, in the not-too-distant past, government service was a respected profession—described as a “noble calling” by President George H. W. Bush.¹ The best ...