Paris (AFP)

The collective of public officials Our public services published Monday a vast survey alerting to the "loss of meaning" experienced at work by civil servants and contractors.

Of the 4,555 respondents to an online questionnaire, "80% say they are confronted + regularly + or + very frequently + with a feeling of absurdity in the exercise of their work".

"From reorganizations to organized disorganizations, I was automatically transferred to a position where I had no knowledge [...] No support, no training, a + destructive + hierarchy: I ended up breaking down after a year, "says Sylvie, administrative assistant.

This feeling increases with age: only 23% of those under 30 say they experience "very frequently" a feeling of absurdity, ie twelve points less than among 50-59 year olds (35%).

It is "linked above all to the inability of agents to carry out the public service missions for which they are committed", explains the collective.

In the medical sector, in particular, the health crisis has acted as an indicator of this disenchantment.

"I have been working at AP-HP since 1985. I have never known such a number of decision-making layers: the patient has become an abstract datum", regrets Valérie.

Based on the testimonials of the respondents, Our public services details five main categories of reasons which generate the loss of meaning: "Lack of means, a lack of vision, the feeling of serving something other than the general interest, the weight of structure and lack of recognition. "

The level of remuneration, as such, weighs less than contradictory injunctions or administrative dysfunctions.

The collective sent the results of the investigation to the Minister of Transformation and Public Service, Amélie de Montchalin, on Monday.

"The number 1 priority of its action is the meaning of public service professions", assures the ministry.

Despite these difficulties, 52% of the people questioned declared that they remained at their post for the service of the general interest, and 50% for the interest of the missions.

But 37% of respondents justify their retention in the function by "the difficulty of changing", in particular the teachers, and 35% by "the stability of employment".

The questionnaire was administered online from April 30 to August 31, 2021. Among the respondents, those in category A (2,805 responses) are over-represented in relation to their real weight in the overall workforce of the public service.

Conversely, category B (447) and C (294) respondents are under-represented.

Contract workers represent 12% of the sample.

If the ministry guarantees that the collected testimonies will be studied in detail, it expresses its reservations on the overall interpretation of the results, "the chosen methodology is not that of a representative survey".

"The number of responses, the number of written testimonies collected and their level of agreement are nevertheless indicative of a feeling of unhappiness shared among public service employees in all sectors, by all statuses and by all ages" , considers for its part the collective.

© 2021 AFP