HR want you to cheer up and smile more. In the old days the public sector had something called the psychological contract. Nothing in writing but a sort of gentleman's agreement that whilst you would never get rich working for the public sector you would have a job for life and a jolly decent pension when you retired. If you were not salaried then at least you could expect double time on Sundays and generous paid holidays. If you were unfortunate and suffered a long term illness you could expect to continue to be paid for up to a year. In the unlikely event that your job disappeared in a periodic reorganisation you would be found another one on the same pay. Things started to change when chief executives negotiated pay settlements more in line with the private sector on the understanding they would adopt a more businesslike approach to managing their organisations. This was the era of league tables, star ratings and naming and shaming. The public sector was "encouraged" to compete with the private sector which of course they could only do if staff were more flexible, less resistant to change and spent less time off sick. Then came the banking crisis which meant we could no longer afford to employ so many staff and the realisation that we were paying them more than we needed to. So the psychological contract was torn up and there became no difference between working in the public sector and working in the private sector. This was officially confirmed when services were out sourced and staff were reassured by senior management claims that they would transfer on the same pay and conditions. So why the talk of a new psychological contract? Well HR staff have identified that staff are in general demoralised and not as positive about working in the public sector as they were in the old days. Whilst this isn't necessarily a problem as the priority is still to reduce costs and head count never the less there does need to be a response to all that negative feedback from those who could be bothered to complete the staff survey. HR staff are by nature the glass is half full type of people, keen to accentuate the positive and also to show that they have more to offer than calculating redundancy packages and managing downsizing. So HR are floating the idea of a new psychological contract an unwritten but generally accepted agreement between the employer and employees which says that in return for a little more enthusiasm and a tad more engagement the organisation will offer career development, listen to ideas from the front line and take more time to explain the changes happening. Managers will value and respect staff and paint as positive a picture of the future as possible whilst being realistic about the challenges ahead.Rather than a "new psychological contract" I think I would call this the smile if you know what's good for you contract.Blair McPherson author of People management in a harsh financial climate published by Russell House www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
