Another highly entertaining and pertinent article.
I recently spent several months working as a contractor on an IT project for one of the larger Civil Service departments. This comprised: week after week of being paid an embarrassingly high daily rate to do next to nothing; attending Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting scheduled to last an hour, but terminated after a few minutes because neither decisions nor progress had been made since the previous one; spinning out a couple of hours' worth of actual work (when it arose) over a couple of days, in order not to be bored senseless all the time.
The project had been running since 2021 and was due to go live later this year, and anybody with experience in the industry and an ounce of conscientiousness would look at the state of it, realise that was a borderline impossibility, and ask, "What the hell have you been DOING for the last two years?!?!" The department's intranet was awash with self-congratulatory articles about what a fantastic job people were doing under incredibly difficult circumstances, and advice on how to get support if you encountered 'difficulties' in your work-life.
My IT career now spans nearly four decades, during which time working practices and workplace culture have changed beyond all recognition. My point here, if I have one, is that I've never seen a place more in need of someone coming in and lighting a fire under the backsides of the people who 'worked' there, and I'd bet dollars to donuts that that's what Dominic Raab was trying to do.
Thanks for your comment patrocles. It’s so illuminating to hear first hand from someone who has worked for the Civil Service at, (whatever is the opposite of), the ‘coal face’. I think you have identified the problem perfectly. Huge wasted potential. Massive misallocation of resources. And unrecoverable opportunity costs. The state gets bigger, but the amount of actual work it does, steadily decreases. Thanks as ever.
Nailed it!! Yes what Bettina said, brilliant. I also love the photo used to visually express what we all need to do to escape this, find courage, break free and run for the hills!
Just read this one for the second time, and what a compact gem of outrage it really is. It was lovely to see you let yourself off the leash just a little bit, freeing up the appropriate degree of righteous anger. Your final appeal for a return to the joys of adult responsibility is very much on the money.
Thanks so much WonderWalker. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment on these articles. Great to have your support. I think I might have let myself go a bit there. The nuns bring that out in me!
Thanks for your comment Matthew. I figure we’ll wait a long time for someone like that to turn up. Not least because all the rewards in public life, seem to lie in the opposite direction.
It's hard being stuck on this ship of fools called Planet Earth.
As ever, brilliantly funny and perceptive.
Thanks Bettina, thats very kind.
Another highly entertaining and pertinent article.
I recently spent several months working as a contractor on an IT project for one of the larger Civil Service departments. This comprised: week after week of being paid an embarrassingly high daily rate to do next to nothing; attending Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting scheduled to last an hour, but terminated after a few minutes because neither decisions nor progress had been made since the previous one; spinning out a couple of hours' worth of actual work (when it arose) over a couple of days, in order not to be bored senseless all the time.
The project had been running since 2021 and was due to go live later this year, and anybody with experience in the industry and an ounce of conscientiousness would look at the state of it, realise that was a borderline impossibility, and ask, "What the hell have you been DOING for the last two years?!?!" The department's intranet was awash with self-congratulatory articles about what a fantastic job people were doing under incredibly difficult circumstances, and advice on how to get support if you encountered 'difficulties' in your work-life.
My IT career now spans nearly four decades, during which time working practices and workplace culture have changed beyond all recognition. My point here, if I have one, is that I've never seen a place more in need of someone coming in and lighting a fire under the backsides of the people who 'worked' there, and I'd bet dollars to donuts that that's what Dominic Raab was trying to do.
Thanks for your comment patrocles. It’s so illuminating to hear first hand from someone who has worked for the Civil Service at, (whatever is the opposite of), the ‘coal face’. I think you have identified the problem perfectly. Huge wasted potential. Massive misallocation of resources. And unrecoverable opportunity costs. The state gets bigger, but the amount of actual work it does, steadily decreases. Thanks as ever.
Nailed it!! Yes what Bettina said, brilliant. I also love the photo used to visually express what we all need to do to escape this, find courage, break free and run for the hills!
Thank you for this.
Thanks Deidre K. See you in the hills.
This is such a good piece. Anyone would think you are a professional writer.
Thanks! Maybe I’ll tell my agent, and get her to up my rates.
Just read this one for the second time, and what a compact gem of outrage it really is. It was lovely to see you let yourself off the leash just a little bit, freeing up the appropriate degree of righteous anger. Your final appeal for a return to the joys of adult responsibility is very much on the money.
Thanks so much WonderWalker. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment on these articles. Great to have your support. I think I might have let myself go a bit there. The nuns bring that out in me!
Thanks for your comment Matthew. I figure we’ll wait a long time for someone like that to turn up. Not least because all the rewards in public life, seem to lie in the opposite direction.