NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN PUBLIC SERVICES – THREATS OR ADVANTAGES?

Abstract

Using new technologies (automation, digital platforms, and advanced data analytics) has changed the way public institutions deliver their public services to citizens. There is no doubt that digitization offers various benefits in essential dimensions such as efficiency, cost savings, and service quality. However, at the same time, serious concerns regarding job security and employees’ retraining have been raised. In this sense, we aimed to analyze the implications of the transition to digitalization in terms of the public service workforce, especially in terms of job losses due to this phenomenon. In other words, the transition to digitalization implies the abandonment of several employees whose skills are no longer needed. Thus, the entire personnel architecture undergoes changes, but there is also the possibility of the emergence of the phenomenon of resistance to change. From the perspective of employees and, implicitly, of the provision of public services, this transition to digitalization can also generate a high level of stress, along with a reduction in the degree of job satisfaction as a result of the level of digital literacy of civil servants. Therefore, the transition to the digitalization of public services must be accompanied by a series of specific government policies. Through these, both the professionalization of civil servants (such as: continuous training, permanent qualification) is ensured, as well as an increase in the degree of institutional resilience. In conclusion, the transition to the digitalization of public services is a complex process in which the benefits of digitalization and the resilience of the workforce must be viewed in a relationship of interdependence, so that the public services provided to citizens are at the level of expectation.