Restructuring the Public Service—The Integration of Data Entry and Clerical Areas

Abstract

The 1987 second-tier wage agreement between the federal public service and the government provided for the restructuring of employment in the public service, including the integration of job classifications and extensive job redesign. This paper is based on research, conducted within a department of the federal public service, into the process of integrating data entry processors and their functions into the mainstream clerical work area. It also examines the wider process of participative work design, in particular its ability to provide a mechanism for worker participation and to improve the workers' quality of work life. In terms of the integration of data entry and clerical streams the process has been very successful. There is some dissatisfaction and disenchantment on the part of some clerks, but for most workers it has provided positive and worthwhile improvements in job satisfaction. In terms of the participative work design, the process has been less successful, although it seems to have contributed to a shift in organizational culture toward increased participation and consultation with workers.