Changing Government Workplaces. CPRN Discussion Paper. Human Resources in Government Series.

Changing workplace practices in Canada's government workplaces were examined. The study analyzed 774 responses (response rate, 53%) to the 1998 Survey of Workplace Issues in Government, which was a survey of government managers in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta. The findings of five case studies were also considered. The survey results provided the systematic empirical evidence of how external pressures to "increase emphasis on results" and budget constraints have led some Canadian governments to change the way they organize work and adopt workplace practices such as measuring performance, increasing the volume of work, and divesting service delivery functions. Public managers were increasingly adopting flexible staffing practices and flexible job designs, which in turn meant greater emphasis on training and employee involvement policies. Compensation remained highly centralized, and workplaces remained highly unionized. Employed training increased slightly in all areas compared with 3 years earlier. The case studies provided concrete examples of changing work in government workplaces, including the move from direct service delivery to policy formulation and increasing emphasis on outputs and outcomes. Appendixes include 41 tables of detailed statistics and regression results and a summary of the case study findings. (Contains 18 figures and 41 references.) (MN)