Addressing bullying
A series of allegations of workplace bullying at government agencies has aroused public concerns. Whatever the result of the administrative investigations, public service ethics have been compromised. It is time to review work procedures in the public sector.
Working under immense pressure, some civil servants take on heavy responsibilities, which can lead to regrettable incidents.
Some people quit even though their job is a so-called “iron rice bowl,” or secure employment. This is why turnover has risen in recent years.
Some people work half-heartedly, then forge work records and are held liable. Some people take their frustrations out on their coworkers and subordinates, which is why there has been a series of bullying allegations.
The administrative sector formulates protocols and regulations to delineate responsibilities and rights, prevent malpractice, pursue consistency, exert internal control and provide a basis for external supervisions implemented by elected officials and watchdogs.
The complexity of the workflow process increases. When the workload is not heavy, standard operating procedures can be implemented step by step, but when workloads are greater, employees might not be able to cope. This can trigger conflicts and lead to overwork. This is why bullying often occurs in “tense workplaces” in government organizations.
After the death of an employee at the Ministry of Labor was linked to alleged bullying by a superior, Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) announced that the government would halt the “5S” movement — sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain — which originated in Japan.
The announcement prompted extensive discussion. The idea itself is not a problem, as it has positive effects from a managerial viewpoint. The government has arranged time for gender equality, incorruptibility, human rights, environmental protection and information security education, which is necessary, but these can become mere formalities that seem like added work and stifle government workers.
Frontline staff work to the point of exhaustion, but to no avail. They even have to bear the consequences of poor execution and withstand being accused that they are a public nuisance.
It is inevitable that conflicts arise, as well as bullying.
When handling bullying allegations, apart from examining personal factors, it is also crucial to take a look at systematic issues and cut red tape. If work procedures are not changed, old problems would continue despite officials stepping down.
Huang Jui-pei
Taipei
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
RSS