Paris (AFP)

69% of hospital public service workers (FPH) who have suffered the full brunt of the health crisis are pessimistic about the future of their missions and 12% want to reorient themselves, according to a survey by the BVA institute on the initiative of the public service cooperative bank Casden.

Most of them present at their workplace during the crisis, more than one in two (56%) "felt that they were on the front line" and 67% that they "lived it well", against 71% of agents of the State civil service (FPE, ministries, teachers) and 78% of those of the territorial public service (FPT).

Among hospital workers, 75% said they suffered from a "lack of protection at work" (compared to 66% for all civil servants), 70% "from a lack of resources" (compared to 57% for all civil servants) and 63% to have had "health problems" (against 48% for all civil servants), according to this poll published by Le Monde on Monday.

69% of them declare themselves "pessimistic about the future" (compared to 50% for all civil servants) as public officials and 12% want to "reorient themselves at the end of the crisis" ( against 7% for all civil servants).

Support came mainly from their colleagues (83%) and their hierarchy (64%), as well as from the users with whom they came into contact (62%). That of the institutions was much less felt, whether that of local elected representatives (37%) or the state and government (29%).

They are nevertheless 87% to have "felt useful" and 84% "proud of their mission", 59% to have had the "feeling of being recognized by society" and 43% have felt "valued". 70% think that this health crisis will improve the image of civil servants among the French (against 55% for all civil servants) but only 5% think that it will be "sustainable".

More generally, the survey indicates that 2 in 5 civil servants state that they have worked remotely (42%) while a third have continued to go to their workplace (34%), that one in ten has been on special authorization of absence (13%) and that 3% were under arrest for childcare. Telework induced by the crisis was perceived as a "rather enriching" experience by more than two thirds of the officials concerned (70%).

Survey carried out on a sample of 1,000 civil servants aged 18 and over interviewed by internet from May 14 to 18, 2020, according to the quota method applied to the following variables: sex, age, type of public service and hierarchical category.

© 2020 AFP