This post is written by Dexter Docherty, Strategic Foresight Analyst, Strategic Foresight Unit OECD Office of the Secretary-General and Human Resources Innovation, Employment and Social Development Canada

  • The problem: Governments have had a narrow understanding of where an employee needs to live in order to be a public servant.
  • Why it matters: In an increasingly digital and globalised world, government could struggle to retain young talent.
  • The solution: Opening up the opportunity for employees to work from abroad could help break down government silos, catalyze creative thinking and help attract young talent.

I’m currently based in the town of Altea, just south of Valencia, Spain. I have two public service jobs: one as an analyst with the Strategic Foresight Unit within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretary-General’s Office, and another as an analyst on the Human Resources Innovation team at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

An amazing post-Covid future of work in the public service awaits if we make smart, flexibility-promoting policy decisions now.

Both roles involve me researching the future of work, among many other things, something I have a major advantage in doing because I am living out parts of that future. My experience the past year has given me insight into how to create the best working environment for young and highly mobile public servants in the coming decades.

How it all began

After finishing my master’s degree in the summer of 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was fortunate to have two job offers. I spent a few weeks stressed about whether to take a more exciting, but potentially less stable job in Paris, or head back to Ottawa to continue as a Canadian public servant. At a certain point, I had an epiphany: why not turn an “either/or” situation into a “both/and”? There were a few factors in my favour:

The Canadian government and the OECD had no expectation that employees would be returning to the office in 2020 because of COVID-19. Geographically, Europe is only slightly farther from Ottawa than Vancouver. And finally, a foresight team and a human resources innovation team could hardly say no to experimental work arrangements.

Thankfully, with supportive managers on both ends, I was able to get security clearance to accept both offers. The newfound bureaucratic flexibility that was a necessity due to Covid-19 ended up presenting me with a largely unprecedented opportunity.

I have set foot in the OECD offices twice, and I have never been to an ESDC office. When it comes to structuring my workday, the timezones play to my advantage because the end of the European workday coincides with mid-morning Ottawa time. The amount of work has been sustainable because Covid-19 restrictions meant I was locked down at home alone during my evening anyways (and was fortunate not to have care work I was responsible for).

Lessons for the future of work in the public service

Normalising set-ups like mine could bring numerous benefits to governments and international organisations. My experience could become a model for partial secondment between completely separate organisations, something that would help bureaucracies break free from siloed thinking.

With smart management, this model could be extended to other types of institutions from NGOs to start-ups, providing valuable external insight to government units. For my Canadian team especially, having a colleague a continent away broadens thinking about what the future of work in the public service might look like, regardless of what ideas I directly contribute.

My living situation generates benefits for both my teams that used to be possible mainly through international conferences in the past. I live with a behavioural scientist on a fellowship at the World Bank, a Brazilian working for a Sao Paulo-based NGO promoting evidence-based policies and an environmental researcher working for a Swedish think tank with offices around the world. I am able to tap into knowledge and wisdom from outside my bubble over breakfast and during lunch breaks. Enabling this kind of opportunity for employees is just one way organisations can leverage technologies to overcome geographic barriers and promote these kinds of connections, which was one of the strategic considerations raised in my OECD team’s Global Scenarios 2035 report.

Attracting new talent through flexible work

My experience can also provide insights for public sector executives trying to attract young talent to the civil service. The flexibility I enjoy is a dream for those not ready to be settling down just yet. My set-up allows me to explore what kinds of work I enjoy and to avoid the kind of career lock-in that can feel suffocating for many in my generation. This freedom allows me to tap into my entrepreneurial side without having to leave large public sector organisations. This set-up also allows me to gain international experience while serving my country, something traditionally reserved mostly for military members and diplomats. There is potential for governments to minimise brain-drain by retaining young talent keen on living abroad.

My situation is not without challenges. Technology issues are among the most difficult. Canadian government IT help lines often operate via toll-free numbers that are difficult (and not always free) to access from outside Canada. There is also limited help provided to overseas employees who work via their MacBook as opposed to a Government of Canada computer. However, even the challenges I face can be seen as opportunities on an institutional level: by having an employee do what I do, organisations can find the blindspots in their HR policies. Having employees like me could well be a strategy to make organisations more future-ready and resilient in the face of unforeseen disruptions.

The ideal future of work in the public service should be flexible enough to provide opportunities for others to do what I am doing. Pulling this off requires a few key supports. First and foremost, it requires agile managers willing to ask “why not?” instead of being hesitant to try new things. The people managing me need to be comfortable enough with themselves and sufficiently trusting in their employees to give me the autonomy to perform at my best. Having employees like me also requires entire teams that are curious about different experiences rather than people who try to cut down those trying to do things differently.

An amazing post-Covid future of work in the public service awaits if we make smart, flexibility-promoting policy decisions now. — Dexter Docherty

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(Picture credit: Unsplash)