Edinburgh comes out top when it comes to thanking its public sector workers

From 49 days since they were last thanked to just 2.5 days this year – the best result in the UK

A remarkable turnaround in the way Edinburgh people feel about public sector workers has been underlined by a survey – which says the city is top of the table when it comes to saying thank you.

Just 12 months ago a survey by Brighton-based public sector membership club Boundless asked public sector workers in the region 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 49 days 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 just 2.5 days.

That places Edinburgh in first place across the UK in terms of how often public sector workers are thanked – ahead of Brighton on 3.5 days and Cardiff on 4.

The same survey also revealed:

• 38 per cent of public sector workers in Edinburgh feel appreciated by the public – last year the figure was 36 per cent.
• Nurses are still seen by Edinburgh people as the most under-appreciated profession, as they were in 2019 – but they are now joint top with care workers.
• Refuse collectors and fire fighters were named third and fourth on the list.
• 77 per cent of NHS workers across the country now say they feel appreciated by the public – it was only 48 per cent last year.

Now everyone in Edinburgh is 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 on 23 June 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 Edinburgh 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.

“The response in Edinburgh has been be particularly special because nowhere in the UK has thanked public sector workers more often.

“But we don’t want that to stop when 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 10 most under-appreciated professions according to workers in Edinburgh this year are:

1 Nurses 33%

2 Care workers 33%

3 Refuse collectors 29%

4 Fire fighters 25%

5 Bus drivers 21%

6 Doctors 21%

7 Civil service 17%

8 Probation workers 13%

9 HMRC 13%

10 Police 8%

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

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

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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

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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.