Civil service union condemns ‘concerning narrative’ that leaving work on time is ‘quietly quitting’

A growing expectation that civil servants engage with work outside of their normal hours is creating “an unsustainable working environment”, according to the organisation representing senior staff in the sector.

In a survey of its membership conducted by the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants (ACHPS) a third of the respondents said they work more than the hours they are actually required to and 30 per cent of those said they worked an additional eight hours or more a week.

Almost a third of the membership generally said the demands involved were unsustainable with 40 per cent saying issues were arising because of understaffing and more than a quarter suggesting problems were arising as a result of the blurring of lines with regard to hybrid working.

Ahead of the AHCPS’s annual conference in Dublin on Friday, the organisation’s general secretary Ciaran Rohan, blamed at least some of the issue on the increasingly common characterisation of those doing their jobs as required but then finishing their day broadly in line with their contracted hours as “quiet quitters”.

“There is a concerning narrative developing in the world of work which insinuates that conducting your duties within working hours is ‘quietly quitting’,” he said on Thursday.

“It’s clear from the responses from our members, and from the motions, that the expectation to go ‘above and beyond’ is creating an unsustainable working environment and these are matters that should be part of the engagement we have with departments.”

Among the motions touching on the issue is one seeking clarification on the “right to disconnect” and another dealing with payment of “on-call” allowances where appropriate.

One of the hurdles to progress on this and other issues is a growing reluctance on the part of departments to properly engage with representatives of staff, says Mr Rohan.

“It’s a source of frustration to us, and our members, that engagement from some departments has fallen short of what should be expected as part of functioning industrial relations, and we are calling for a return to genuine consultation and dialogue.”

Those strained levels of engagement within departments have prompted a number of motions from sections of the union which represents almost 4,000 principal officers and assistant principal officers across the civil and public service.

Among the other motions to be discussed are ones calling for additional measures to promote diversity in the civil servants, the status of unmarried partners of staff posted on diplomatic assignments in certain countries and pensions.