As I mentioned the other day I've very recently taken up full-time employment in the Public Service. I had been occupied in a number of short-term contracts prior to my current employer, [prominent financial institution], but this is my first 'grown-up job' since finally giving up on academia.
Now, seen as there has been a bit of a kafuffle in the blogsphere recently I thought I might share my own approach to handling the main issue getting between me and this keyboard, the Public Service Code of Conduct. And hold on there State Services Commission employees!! I'm not about to take this one to task, I just thought that I've dish out a little advice to aspiring and current bloggers who might share my employment in the State Sector.
The first thing you all might need to know is that Che Tibby is the name on my birth certificate. If one more person suggests I changed my name to be more 'hip' or 'left', I'll have a freaking aneurysm. What this means to the real world though is that I don't get to hide behind any stupid pseudonym. But it also means that any of the stupid things I might say are likely to end up being brought before my bosses.
And there's the crux of the issue. From what I gleaned in reading about the blogger who recently lost his job, it looks as though he said some venomous things about his workmates and bosses. From my experience with dealing with the Right Wingers in the blogsphere, this is hardly surprising. Some people are just born idiots.
The rule I like to apply in my personal life is this: I do my utmost to never, ever say something about someone behind their back I wouldn't have the brass to say to their face. If you've heard from somewhere that I've said something about you, if it's true then I'll say it to you in person. And I extend that rule to the interweb.
So, if you aren't prepared or able to front up to your workmate and call them a frickin' tosser, then WHY IN THE HELL ARE YOU PREPARED TO PUT IT IN A BLOG? That makes you either a coward, a petty gossip, or a munter, your choice.
OK, the Code of Conduct. Pretty much the first thing I did when I got the full-time job was to make an appointment with my manager and let him know exactly what it was I had been writing. As it was I had it confirmed that I had been turned down for one job specifically because of Club Politique, so I wasn't prepared to have it become an issue at my new place of work.
Also, if you have a blog of any profile at all, make sure you put a big mention of it in your CV if you intend to continue writing to it. It would be a foolish workplace indeed that tried to reprimand you retrospectively for something they must surely have taken into consideration when hiring you.
That said, the Code of Conduct establishes a very, very clear obligation for you to not bring your workplace into disrepute. Moreover, it also states explicitly that you are not to use the access to information you gain as a Public Servant for either personal gain or to embarrass the Government.
Naturally you're only human, and the Code deliberately leaves room for you to freely express your opinions and to participate in the political life of New Zealand. But, as was pointed out to me by a radio personality this past Sunday, the inability of Public Sector employees to directly criticise the Government of the day does effectively act to constrain a large number probably well-educated and informed citizens. So before you go making fully frank observations about things you might not be entirely happy with, think very carefully about the trade-off you've made.
Although the Code does prohibit a certain degree of outspokenness on the part of Public Servants, it's something necessary for the Government to maintain trust in the fairness and impartiality of the bureaucracy, whatever the party in power. And again, it doesn't mean you can't participate in politics, it just means you don't get to be a radical idiot about it.
Now, despite the seemingly widespread opinion that I'm some sort of communist, that opinion is wrong. I am a liberal. I believe and practice the liberal values of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and perhaps the core tenet, absolute freedom of choice. There is one more, collective responsibility, but that one starts to slip towards philosophical communitarianism, and we don't have time for that argument.
And how do I reconcile these values with surrendering some of my ability to speak openly? Because I made the choice to do so. No-one held a gun to my head and asked me politely to become a Public Servant. Much like the trade-offs in freedoms we all make to belong to society, trade-offs like taxation, limiting anti-social behaviour, and acceptance of majority decisions, the trade-off in being a Public Servant is that you have to curb your more extreme opinions.
[Prominent financial institution] has been very tolerant of the minimal public profile Club Politique provides me, and in return I have agreed in writing to three main constraints. Firstly, I will not represent any of my personal views as those of my employer. Secondly, I will not bring the Government of the day into disrepute by my actions. You could also kind of call that one 'just act with a little decorum'. And thirdly, pretty much the moment I get a position with the word 'Senior' in the title the dream is over (because at this time it will become very difficult to have my words not construed as government opinion).
OK I hear you say, if that happens why don't you just pick up some stupid pseudonym and start somewhere else? Because that path is a haven for assholes. Does the world really need one more slightly deranged and/or disaffected apparatchik spouting bile?
Anyhow, I hope my take on the matter has been helpful. If you are looking to become a Public Servant just remember to keep everything above board, and you should be right.