UWI study cites reluctant officers’ fear of criticism

A significant number of civil servants are hesitant to introduce creative ideas and streamline services out of fear of criticism or lack of support, according to a University of the West Indies survey.

 However, the research has made a surprising discovery of who in government service is more willing to take risks, suggesting that older heads are bolder heads.

The revelations came from Professor Dwayne Devonish, a professor of management and organisational behaviour, who spoke exclusively to Barbados TODAY about the survey of more than 500 public officers across the civil service.

The survey, carried out in late 2023, investigated public officers’ perspectives and experiences in attempting to take initiative within their organisations. While the results are still being analysed and expected to be published in full by the end of the year, Professor Devonish said the findings were “mixed”.

“Just under half of the surveyed public officers felt at least somewhat comfortable with taking a healthy risk,” he said. “However, this readiness is tempered by a cautious approach – just over 30 per cent reported a neutral stance in taking risk in the public service.”

For those less inclined to take initiative at work, Professor Devonish identified several barriers, including “an unsupportive organisational culture resistant to change; insufficient resources and tools; and bureaucratic red tape and processes”.

But older public officers over 45 were more comfortable with taking risks than their younger counterparts aged 25-34, who were among the least comfortable. “Typically, there was a correlation between those who were older and those who had more permanent status within the public service,” Professor Devonish explained.

“When I dug deeper, I realised that the ones who were younger were those who were still temporary or had more precarious job arrangements with the public service.”

He warned that such hesitation could hinder the government’s efforts to streamline public services, which have long been a source of frustration for citizens due to the time required for seemingly simple tasks.

“Over a third of public officers indicated reluctance to propose new ideas or new ways of doing things within the service, due to fear of criticism or failure,” he said.

“The fact that we still have prevailing barriers to public servants taking initiative and being innovative will serve to further slow down the progress that the government wants to make in developing these new systems and processes.”

The government is currently embarking on a public sector-wide customer service charter to restructure public officers’ customer service orientation, improve digitalisation and automation of processes, and enhance training and development for staff.

But Professor Devonish cautioned that “all of these things can actually be stymied or impacted negatively by this kind of prevailing culture” of risk aversion and fear of criticism within the public sector. 

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb