Mary E. Guy delivered the 2022 Deil S. Wright Lecture on Thursday, March 3, speaking to an in-person audience at the UNC School of Government as well as a large crowd of virtual attendees from across the country.

Guy’s talk, “Fired Up, Burned Out, or Both? Making Sense of the Public Service Workforce,” explored how the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing political tensions have led to an upheaval in the public sector workplace. Frontline workers, described by Guy as “the nerve endings of public policy,” face the rapid transformation of workplace environments, a high risk of burnout, and the shifting demands of public opinion.

Guy emphasized that, much like in the private sector, public service is undergoing a work revolution. Remote and hybrid work have raised a range of questions around issues including compensation, performance appraisals, onboarding, motivation, culture, and more. Many of these difficulties may also overlap with issues of equity, such as workers’ access to high-speed internet at home.

“All of this means that human resources is the most dynamic function in public administration today, and is going to continue to be dynamic for years to come,” Guy said.

As Guy pointed out, public sector workplaces are in a time of profound uncertainty, and it is difficult to predict how workplaces may evolve. Nonetheless, many experts believe the future may include more flexible workplaces, changes to the standard five-day workweek, changes to onboarding and evaluation, and new best practices as they relate to recruiting, career development, and compensation.

Guy closed her talk with a discussion of the citizen-state relationship and the challenges frontline public workers face in charged political and partisan environments. She emphasized the critical importance of sustaining positive interactions between civil servants and community members to foster trust.

A widely acknowledged expert on social equity and the emotive demands of street level work, Guy’s teaching and research focus on the human processes involved in public service delivery. She is a University of Colorado Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado-Denver School of Public Affairs, a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, past president of the American Society for Public Administration, and co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration.

In 2002, the MPA Alumni Association honored Professor Deil Wright for his 34 years of teaching MPA students by creating the Deil S. Wright Lecture in Public Administration. Each year, a distinguished professional from the field of public administration enriches the educational experience of students, alumni, faculty, and interested members of the community.

Watch a recording of the 2022 Wright Lecture here.