Justice workers too grim to have fun

A NEW report paints a grim picture of working for the Ministry of Justice.

Two-thirds of staff say the department is not a fun place to work, and 60 per cent don’t believe their contribution is valued.

Only half feel the organisation is performing successfully, 55 per cent don’t have a sense of belonging and 71 per cent don’t believe the ministry rewards outstanding performance.

The results come in an internal staff engagement survey, commissioned by the ministry. Author IBM warns there is a large proportion of ‘‘disengaged’’ employees – 33 per cent compared with an average of 20 per cent in other state sector agencies.

Most of these are in the courts, legal services and the Office of Treaty Settlements.

‘‘Just over a third of the organisation currently see a ‘common purpose’ across the ministry and report having confidence in the leadership of the organisation.’’

Justice Secretary Andrew Bridgman admits he is disappointed with the results.

The ministry has seen huge change in the last few years with redundancies, court closures, a reform of the Family Court system and modernisation. Almost 40 fulltime jobs were cut last year.

‘‘I think it is probably fair that in the last couple of years we have had a real focus on the customer and the timeliness of how we deliver our services,’’ Bridgman said. ‘‘But it’s also important that the staff are brought into that strategy.’’

Almost 80 per cent – or 2864 staff – participated in the survey. More than 60 per cent said they didn’t have confidence in the leadership. But two-thirds said they were ‘‘proud’’ to work there.