The Pulse

In this time of general dissatisfaction with governmental institutions, no part of the political system has escaped public opprobrium. The decline in the public's evaluations of the Illinois state legislature since 1984 was noted in this column in April. But how does the public view government workers, who have historically received even more flak from citizens than have elected officials?

Whether called bureaucrats or public service personnel, government employees in general have been used as a whipping boy by some political leaders. They often enhance their own careers by blaming the public bureaucracy for perceived failings of the political system.

Figure 1. Evaluations of Federal, State, and Local Government Employees as Hardworking, Honest, and Intelligent

In the 1991 Illinois Policy Survey, results show that state residents have different opinions about the job performance, honesty and intelligence of government employees, depending on whether the employees work at the federal, state or local level. For the first time, the 1991 Illinois Policy Survey included an unusually varied set of questions about bureaucratic performance. These questions were sponsored in part by the Illinois Commission on the Future of Public Service, a 15-month study group of the Government Assistance Project at the Chicago Community Trust.

The characteristic on which all government workers score lowest in the minds of the citizens for whom they toil is how hardworking they are. When asked if most, some or just a few are hardworking, survey respondents saw local government workers the most positively. Even so, less than a majority (41 percent) think that most local employees work hard. The percentage drops even lower for federal and state employees: Only 31 percent of respondents say that most federal employees are hardworking; 30 percent think that most state employees work hard (see figure 1).

When it comes to honesty, government employees at all three levels are perceived in a somewhat better light. Again, federal and state employees are rated similarly: 39 percent think most federal workers are honest; 41 percent say the same about most state workers. Local employees again top both: 47 percent think most local government workers are honest.

On the characteristic of intelligence, however, the order of evaluation is reversed among federal, state and local employees. This question also produced the only positive majorities in the set of questions on public service workers: 61 percent believe that most federal employees are intelligent, and 53 percent say that most state workers are smart. Less than a majority (44 percent) think that most local workers are intelli-

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gent. The impression of greater intelligence for federal and state workers may be tied to perceptions that federal and state jobs require more education and carry higher pay than local government jobs. While local governments generally have become more professionalized in Illinois, the extent of staff professionalization varies widely by type and size of local governments.

Illinois residents think they get the most for their tax dollars from local government. They think this even more today than they did in 1988, as confidence in both the state and federal governments has dropped (see figure 2). Presumably, the hardworking characteristic of local employees contributes to this perception.

The survey did not ask citizens for the reasons they concluded that most public employees are not hardworking or honest. Are the perceptions of the typical bureaucrat — at all levels of government — based on personal experience or misinformation, or is it perhaps a conclusion citizens have reached because the system itself does not seem to be working very well?

Figure 3. How often do you think elected officials in Illinois know how you and other citizens feel about state issues

Regardless of the reasons, public support for government workers is so low that it may jeopardize the future recruitment and retention of the best and brightest into government service. The public itself seems to have a sense of this problem; 60 percent of respondents think that government has a harder time than the private sector in attracting high quality employees. Twelve percent think it is just as easy for government as the private sector to attract high quality employees, and 24 percent say it is actually easier for government.

With today's sour public mood toward government and political institutions, government workers are in the same negative boat as elected officials. While the bureaucrats are found to be insufficiently hardworking and honest, their elected bosses (at least at the state level) are perceived to be out of touch with their constituents. More than half (53 percent) indicate that public officials seldom know how they and other citizens feel about state issues (see figure 3). Both these perceptions may be incorrect, but it is going to take prodigious feats of public-spirited political leadership to navigate in this sea of public aversion.

Ellen M. Dran is a research associate in the Center for Governmental Studies al Northern Illinois University, which has conducted the Illinois Policy Survey since 1984.

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