Rethinking Human Resources in Public Administration: An Empirical Analysis of the Problem of the Ineffective Usage of Human Resources in the Public Sector

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the possible causes and consequences of the problem of ineffective utilization of human resources in the public sector, with reference to the philosophy of "Let the people live so that the state may live", through the extreme example of passive public servants in the public sector, who are also characterized as " benched ". The lack of research focusing on the ineffective usage of human resources in Turkish public administration requires the study to use a research design with a strong exploratory aspect. The importance of this study is to contribute to the knowledge in the focus on the problem of effective use of human resources, which has been constantly mentioned but has not been empirically investigated until now. It is possible to be carried out within the framework of the study to collect and analyze data more easily, especially on sensitive issues such as inactive public officials. Qualitative case design allows to obtain detailed information about a particular social/administrative situation, event, or group and to make unique discoveries about problems. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 47 public employees in the study sample. The reasons for the ineffective usage of human resources can be summarized as follows; Political patronage relations, nepotism, incompetence, unawareness, etc. Consequences of ineffective usage of human resources can be summarized as; loss of motivation and possible job dissatisfaction and problems of person-environment fit, financial weakness, loss of national performance, loss of confidence, loss of individual performance, and inefficiency.