Postie Research Public Service Ethos

[MerseysideBlue]

Hi everyone, and thanks for letting me join this community.

I am a professor of public management, currently doing research on how postal work has changed over time, especially with the impact of privatization and the shift toward more commercially driven models. One area I’m particularly interested in is the public service ethos that many postal workers are known for.

I’d love to understand whether this ethos has changed over the years, and if there are noticeable differences between the old guard who started in a more traditional public-service environment and the newer generation entering the job today.

My aim is simply to learn from the people who know the work best. Whether your experience spans decades or just a few years, your perspective is incredibly valuable in understanding how these changes have shaped the job, workplace culture, and the everyday reality of being a postie.

Thank you all in advance

[BenacreNick]

Yawning chasms of difference, I would imagine MB.

[MerseysideBlue]

I’m really interested in those gaps. Do you think any of that relates to the public-service mindset, or is it more about contracts and expectations?

Out of curiosity, have you seen any examples in your office that really show those differences in action

[Jb1969]

For 500 years the attitude of 99% of posties was “the mail must get through”
That attitude has been degraded by poor management, different contracts, appalling revisions & work loads that cannot be completed over the last 15-20 years.
Delivery Managers get bonuses based on tracked being delivered, so that very same attitude has changed to “the tracked must get through, ignore the letters”
It is nothing more than a company for profit now.
Most on old contracts have long since given up on that attitude, the newbies dont have a clue what is is at start.
To them mail failing is the “norm”