Dramatic change in the way public sector workers are appreciated in Belfast

From 86 days since they were last thanked to just 5 days

A remarkable turnaround in the way Belfast people feel about public sector workers has been underlined by a survey – which says appreciation has increased 91 per cent in the space of a year.

Just 12 months ago a survey by public sector membership club Boundless asked public sector workers in Belfast when they were last thanked for the doing their job.

It was commissioned in the build-up to UN Public Service Day, which falls on 23 June, and shockingly revealed that the average key worker in the region had gone 86 days, almost three months, without a ‘thank you’.

Now the same survey has been repeated ahead of this year’s Public Service Day – and the figure has dropped to five days.

That figure places Belfast in the top five across the UK and represents a major shift in the way key workers are appreciated in the city. Only people in Edinburgh, Brighton, Cardiff and Nottingham say thank you more often.

The same survey also revealed:

• 42 per cent of public sector workers in Belfast feel appreciated by the public – last year it was just 27 per cent.
• Nurses are seen by people in Belfast as the most under-appreciated profession, for the second year in a row.
• Care workers and refuse collectors were next on the list.
• 71 per cent of NHS workers across the country say they feel appreciated by the public – it was only 48 per cent last year.

Now the people of Belfast are being encouraged to continue their appreciation for key workers by supporting Public Service Day.

The day, officially launched by the United Nations as long ago as 2003, has barely been recognised in the UK so far.

However, Boundless, which was founded in 1923, wants to change things.

It aims to bring the UK together to celebrate the contribution made to society by millions of public service workers, from nurses to teachers, firefighters to administrators and police officers to care workers.

Darren Milton at Boundless said: “This year Public Service Day falls on Tuesday 23 June and it’s a wonderful opportunity for people in Belfast to remind their public service workers that we won’t forget what they have done for us. Not least during the last few months.

“The figures coming back from our survey are hugely encouraging because they show that millions of people have been saying ‘thank you,’ and doing so far more often than a year ago.

“In Belfast it’s wonderful to see that public sector workers are being thanked more often than last year. In fact it is one of the most appreciative cities in the UK.

“But despite that, less than half of public sector workers in the city say they feel appreciated by the public, so there is still work to do.

“That’s why we don’t want the appreciation to stop when the pandemic is over. The next step is to back Public Service Day and to think about ways that we can value our public sector workers long into the future.”

The most under-appreciated professions according to people in Belfast in 2020 are:

1 Nurses 50% (last year 1st)

2 Care workers 42% (last year 4th)

3 Refuse collectors 42% (last year 3rd))

4 Bus drivers 25% (last year 8th)

5 Doctors 25% (last year 6th)

6 Civil service 17% (last year 9th)

7 Teacher 17% (last year 5th)

8 HMRC 8% (last year 10th)

The cities where public sector workers are thanked most often

1 Edinburgh: 2.5 days since workers were last thanked

2 Brighton 3.5

3 Cardiff 4

4 Nottingham 4

5 Belfast 5

5 Manchester 5

7 Southampton 5.5

8 Liverpool 6

8 London 6

8 Newcastle 6

11 Sheffield 9

12 Birmingham 10

For more information, please visit www.boundless.co.uk/publicserviceday2020

-Ends-

Methodology

2020 survey:

Fieldwork: Markettiers

Sample: 2,003 UK workers

Survey period: May 2020

2019 survey:

Fieldwork: Censuswide

Sample: 2,004 UK workers

Survey period: June 2019

Ends

Editors notes

Boundless is a membership club for civil service and public sector workers who are looking for inspiration on getting the most out of their free time. With a heritage and expertise dating back more than 90 years, Boundless offers its 230,000 members deals on hundreds of unique experiences, events, volunteer activities and things to do. It’s also mutual, so all profits go straight back into the club to benefit members.