Flood the Zone With Joy: Renewing the Face of Public Service

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By M. Ernita Joaquin & Thomas J. Greitens
September 27, 2024

“Individuals have put themselves forward to lead our government. But who really is our government? What is it made of?  And what is at stake when politicians say they want to expand or dismantle it?”  – M. Lewis, The Washington Post, 9/3/2024

“Influencers,” as the kids today call them, are everywhere. With a simple camera phone, these people move products, services and ideas in ways that would make any Fortune 500 marketing outfit green with envy. The public sector could benefit from having some on its side. Right now, it is ceding the space to anti-government influencers that many regard as an existential threat to democracy. That, and our neglect of making visible the concrete, positive impact of government can dissuade the next generation from joining the bureaucracy.

Today’s youth eyeing USA jobs came of age when Donald Trump cultivated plans to make around 50,000 federal employees sackable, and the decline of traditional press made it easy to sow doubt against institutions. But pragmatic solutions to the nation’s grand challenges, from building resilient communities to confronting AI, cannot arise from a fountain of resentment. A presidential candidate who promises a “bloodbath” if the election doesn’t go his way, or a “dictatorship” if it does, is hardly a clarion call to join public service.

Nor is divisiveness an incentive to stay. The federal workforce is widely viewed from a partisan lens.  The unions are split, with cops and border agents parting company with civil servants who protest the Republican agenda. Four years after the Capitol riot that resulted in police deaths, the police union endorsed Trump, who then asked its members to intimidate at the polls and promised to elevate them “more than any other group.” Some said that the Constitution dodged a bullet in 2021. Could tales of victimhood among voters—and certain bureaucrats—lead to its “termination”?

Compare this narrative to the past when presidents like Kennedy inspired citizens to contribute to societal betterment and Clinton exhorted a movement for efficiency. Job stability, retirement benefits and the chance to enable a just society provided real incentives, but those have waned. A post-pandemic exhaustion afflicts the workforce, and the demise of the Chevron defense could dent the allure of working in regulatory agencies. Today, with hiring still a maze, many government positions offer short-term contracts and limited benefits. And, instead of working with and for the public, government professionals are hamstrung by rules that prevent certain types of engagement for fear of further politicization.

Getting young talent to give  government a deep bench is crucial as demographics shift. The Baby Boom Generation has largely retired or is nearing retirement, and Generation X is approaching their retirement years. This leaves Millennials, Generation Z and what is sometimes called Generation Alpha as the future of public sector work.

The public administration discipline shares the challenge of getting these succeeding generations to “run” the Constitution. Founded as a discipline aimed at minimizing political bias in administrative tasks, its early efforts to educate citizens about public service were either quickly abandoned or seen as too politically contentious for the nascent ‘scientific’ discipline. In the early 1900s, employees actively promoted their achievements through budget exhibits and various informational handouts highlighting their performance and efficiency. Recognizing that educating the public was crucial for maintaining accountability in their decisions, these workers used diverse educational methods that revealed the value of public service. But during the same period, some politicians and segments of the public complained that the time and money spent on such approaches was emblematic of waste. Scholars also worried that such methods might put the new discipline in political crosshairs. Consequently, most of these approaches were abandoned. In the communication vacuum, it was lost on people that some of the things that they liked were actually from government.

Theodore Roosevelt said that “The American people abhor a vacuum.” Unless we reclaim the service narrative, anti-government influencers will keep flooding the zone and driving the young talent to seek action elsewhere, as “threats to democracy” fail to faze many of them.

The PA field must renew its focus on researching effective public engagement, as practical “how to” guides once routinely published in leading journals have largely faded. Encouraging student contests that propose solutions to current issues, as NAPA does, would help to show “what good government looks like.” Paul Volcker used to say that good government is the story that isn’t told. According to the Partnership for Public Service, civil servants “lack the ability to be recognized.” Addressing this issue involves fostering a culture of recognition, trumpeting the stories of government executives who make vital contributions, from the intelligence community to the Inspectors General. Administrators should engage through interviews, diverse media promotion, targeted outreach and tailored marketing. Joy can become the movement that renews the face of government. While Pew Research shows that Americans continue to hold many agencies in high regard, fostering a stronger dialogue between the public and government is crucial for encouraging the next generation to embrace the privilege of public service.

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Author: Dr. Ernita Joaquin is an Associate Professor of Public Administration in the School of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at San Francisco State University. She writes in the fields of executive politics, governance, crisis learning, and public affairs education. She holds graduate degrees from Northern Illinois University, University of the Philippines, and The University of Manchester. Email: [email protected]

Author: Professor Thomas Greitens is the Chairperson of the School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service and Co-Liaison for The Washington Center at Central Michigan University. With Dr. Joaquin, he co-authored American Administrative Capacity: Decline, Decay, and Resilience (Springer, 2021). Email: [email protected] 

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