“To alcohol! The cause of… and solution to… all of life’s problems.” — Homer J. Simpson
The above quote is taken from an episode of Season 8 of the Simpsons where Homer bootlegs alcohol and secretly supplies it to Moe’s Tavern during Springfield’s version of the Prohibition. It’s relevant because you could substitute the word “technology” for “alcohol” and it would be a rather accurate assessment of our current relationship with technology. Technology is a blessing and a curse. It is convenient and, yet, we are building a growing dependence on it. The number of people that can survive longer than a few hours without their cell phone is growing fewer and fewer.
That being said, e-mail is awesome. It combines the immediacy of a telephone call with a written record. I am handling a probate case in a county that is new to me, and the county is rather distant from my office. Thus, I am learning their local practices without being able to regularly visit the court in person. That means I either need to spend an inordinate amount of time in an automated phone tree or communicate via postal service–a method that could significantly slow down this probate. Much to my surprise, I received an e-mail from the Probate Examiner (the person who handles all the probate filings at the court) explaining to me that he hadn’t received a necessary document. We corresponded a few times until he was able to locate the document. Problem solved, probate continued. A few weeks later, I had an issue and sent an e-mail to the Probate Examiner. Again, problem solved, probate continued. A third time, a mutual error occurred. Yet again, we corresponded by e-mail. Problem solved; however, this time with a caveat. A probate clerk (the person who physically accepts the documents to be filed and then sends them along to the Examiner) informed the Probate Examiner and me that court personnel e-mail addresses are not public and that if I had any further questions I should address them by phone or mail. In simple terms, she told the Examiner and me to cease communicating by e-mail.
“Wait… you’re telling me to STOP using a form of communication that is working beautifully and to instead revert to when I couldn’t reach a responsive human being?”
This makes no sense. We all know how difficult it is to get a human being on the phone, especially at a government office. We also know how these same offices never happen to receive mail sent to them. Now that I have found a mutually effective way to communicate with the court I have to refrain from using that method of communication?
This isn’t the fault of the employees. They are presumably just following the rules. However, there is simply no incentive for government employees to go the extra mile. They get paid the same amount of money whether they work really hard or drag their feet. There is also the same risk of losing their job if they don’t go the extra mile: zero. As long as government employees arrive to work on time, and do not sexually harass anyone, their job is relatively safe. Those in private sector jobs, however, need to be productive or risk losing their jobs.
You see, like technology, capitalism is a two-edged sword. Capitalism rewards people who produce capital. It’s good, some might argue, because it creates an incentive to be productive and weeds out those who are not. It’s a meritocracy. It’s bad, some may argue, because it puts profits (capital) before people. Capitalism has no moral compass.
It’s not necessarily that cut and dry, though. For example, small children make for cheap labor. Ask sweat shop owners in southeast Asia. However, we value the health of children over their productivity and have passed child labor laws in this country. So, we do not necessarily practice unbridled capitalism. There are some limits.
In such a capitalistic country, why then is the government so unaccountable and… bureaucratic? Why do our government employees not face the same accountability measures that employees at for-profit institutions face?
Let’s get back to work. Let’s give a crap. I know not all jobs are “dream jobs.” Even if you love your job, we all have bad days where we question our chosen career paths. But that’s why we all get paid to work. It’s a trade. However, by striving to be the best [insert job title here] in your office, we make other people’s days better. We will all be happier. On the flip side, those who are just kicking back and collecting a pay check are no good for any of us. It’s in our best interest to hold each other accountable, not to assist in being unproductive.
This post isn’t directed at the probate clerk personally. This is directed at how we want our government to work. I understand that answering non-stop e-mails can be tiresome and frustrating. But isn’t that better than getting telephone calls and/or letters and/or visits from several frustrated people who could not get a human being on the phone? And, if it is truly an unbearable job, perhaps it’s not for you. Maybe there is someone out there better suited to do that, or doesn’t mind to do that job. We are not entitled to a pay check, but rather earn it through our work.
Technology or alcohol or capitalism, or whatever else, isn’t evil in and of itself. They are beneficial or detrimental based on how we use them. We should have e-mail access to our court employees. It’s quick, clear, and effective. We should also expect a timely, informative response. Any other company would expect that of its employees, and as “employers” of government agencies, we should expect it, too.
