Are the real pros being managed out of existence?
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1810497,00.html
Simon Caulkin
Sunday July 2, 2006
The Observer
Professionalism is in crisis. 'Professionals have never been more
important, nor under more pressure,' according to John Craig in a new
collection of essays from Demos. The evidence, although anecdotal, is
everywhere. One in five schools has no head; in any one year, 40 per
cent of those in post will consult a doctor for stress. There are
reportedly more qualified teachers outside the profession than in it.
Doctors too are under fire. In her weekly FT column, GP Margaret
McCartney worries that a new contract and changing conditions leave her
feeling 'less like I think a doctor should ... Have we become less
dedicated and by extension less professional?' The Work Foundation
finds that fewer than half of health service workers think senior
managers know where their organisations are going. Police, university
lecturers, social workers - all report low morale and insecurity, and
have trouble recruiting as a result.
At first sight this seems odd. More of us aspire to, and call
ourselves, professionals than ever before. One in seven employees
regards him or herself as a manager. In theory, organisations in both
public and private sectors should be crying out for responsible
self-starting knowledge workers who are committed to the work they do -
who 'profess' (promise) to do good work and observe high moral
standards. What else, notes Craig, would persuade us to leave children
with strangers or allow ourselves to be operated on by someone we've
only seen once before?
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