7 out of 10 young public servants consider quitting: survey

Seven out of 10 public servants in Korea with under five years of experience have considered quitting, according to a survey released Wednesday.

According to the survey results the Ministry of the Interior and Safety shared with Rep. Wi Seong-gon of the main opposition the Democratic Party of Korea, 32,905 out of 48,248 respondents, or 68.2 percent of state and local officials, said they have considered quitting public office.

The primary reason cited for this sentiment was "low monetary compensation," mentioned by 35.5 percent of respondents. Other significant factors included "unfair treatment, such as malicious complaints" at 18.9 percent and "excessive workloads" at 13.9 percent.

This contrasts with a previous social trend in Korea, where young people favored public service positions for their perceived stability.

Nearly half, or 48.6 percent said they were "unsatisfied" due to the burden of work as a public official, mostly citing "unsystematic reassignment of duties."

Regarding the work culture experienced by public officials, 45.6 percent said they were "unsatisfied," significantly outpacing the 14.4 percent who reported feeling "satisfied."

As for work-life balance, 37.2 percent said they were "unsatisfied."

Among the reasons for not being satisfied, 38.7 percent of them chose "mobilizing public servants for various work-irrelevant events as ‘emergency work sessions.’"

Also, 39.5 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the organizational culture of the civil service, far exceeding the 18.8 percent that said they were satisfied.

The main reasons for dissatisfaction were "an atmosphere that values bureaucratic formalities and people don't defend one another" at 30.4 percent and "an atmosphere that forces individual sacrifice for the organization" at 28.6 percent.

One out of three respondents cited “improving various systems related to organizational culture” as the most necessary to improve the organizational culture of public offices, followed by "department head's action to improve the organizational culture" at 19.2 percent and "members' voluntary efforts" at 16.5 percent.

Based on the results of the survey, the ministry plans to come up with a plan to improve the organizational culture of public servants.

Source : https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/10/281_384836.html

Comprehension

What percentage of public servants in Korea with less than five years of experience have considered quitting their jobs?
What is the primary reason public servants in the survey considered quitting?
What are the two other significant reasons, besides low compensation, why public servants are considering leaving their jobs?
How many respondents said they were unsatisfied due to excessive workloads or unsystematic reassignment of duties?
What percentage of public servants expressed dissatisfaction with the work culture?
What are the two main reasons public servants gave for being dissatisfied with the organizational culture?
How do public servants feel about the work-life balance in their jobs, according to the survey?
What steps is the Ministry of the Interior and Safety planning to take based on the survey results?

Discussion

Why do you think public servants in Korea, who once favored stability, are now considering leaving their jobs?
How important is monetary compensation in job satisfaction for you? What other factors do you value in a job?
Have you ever faced an excessive workload or unfair treatment in your job? How did it affect your job satisfaction?
Do you think it’s easy or difficult to maintain a good work-life balance in most jobs today? Why?
What could be done to improve the work culture in public service jobs to make them more appealing?
How can leaders and managers in organizations contribute to improving employee satisfaction and motivation?
Have you experienced or heard of situations where employees were forced to sacrifice their personal time for the organization? How does this affect the workplace?
Do you think the current generation values job stability as much as previous generations? Why or why not?
How would you improve organizational culture if you were in charge of a public office?
Why is it important for public servants to feel valued and supported in their roles?

Vocabulary

Public servant – A government employee who works to provide services for the public.
Monetary compensation – The money paid to someone for their work.
Malicious complaints – Unfair or harmful accusations made against someone.
Unsatisfied – Not pleased or content with something.
Bureaucratic – Related to the administrative system of government, often implying rigid rules and procedures.
Mobilizing – Organizing and preparing people to take action or do work.
Formalities – Established rules or procedures that are often seen as unnecessary or excessive.
Voluntary efforts – Actions taken by individuals willingly, without being forced.