Michael Lissack and when many no longer can afford to stay, these rewards no longer seem to be enough. Part of the problem is compensation. A climbing deficit, a politically sensitive Congress unwilling to vote bureaucrats more money, and antipathy toward the government have not been conducive to federal pay raises. Because starting salaries in government have fallen so far behind the compensation given to the graduates of leading law schools and business schools, the civil service needs some special initiative to attract exceptional young people. Attracting talented young professionals will do little good if they leave after a few years for lack of opportunity to assume more responsi- bility. A major drawback of government service is the widespread impression that the prospects for advancement are much more limited than in the private sector. Several forces combine to limit opportunities. Careers in the federal service are typically narrow and specialized, giving young professionals little chance to develop their skills to assume wider administrative responsibilities. In the private sector, top corporate managers delegate much authority to younger executives, despite the risk that errors will occur, because the flexibility and innovation that can result are more than worth the cost of an occasional mistake. In government, although creativity and flexibility may be celebrated in theory, the benefits seem minor in comparison with the po- litical cost of errors that lead to negative publicity or a hostile public. Overall, the obstacles to developing a shared sense of mission and commitment are undeniably greater in government than they are in the public sector. much of what is wrong with our workplaces, both public and private, is the effects of restricting people's sense of self-determination. This situation is more egregious the lower one is in the hierarchy, and is aggravated by the con- straints of public sector employment. By and large, those who do the least interesting work and receive the least compensation are those who should, at a minimum, have the consolation of being able to make decisions about how they carry out their assignments. Instead, they are the most carefully controlled. Regardless of the organizational level, the difference between success and failure, enthusiasm and apathy, even health and sickness, can often be traced back to this issue.
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