Digital transformation is at the heart of structural changes that are imminent or already underway in the labour market, raising a variety of questions – which are eliciting contradictory responses – regarding what labour will look like and how it will function in the future. This short text sets out an initial approach to potential changes brought about by the digital transformation in the work of human resources in Greek public administration.
Acceleration of the digitalisation of the Greek public sector
The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for accelerating the application of digital technologies to public administration globally. The overall Digital Economy and Society index (DESI) in Greece has made relative progress, from 32.3 in 2018 to 38.9 in 2022, with the country rising from 28th to 25th place. Specifically regarding the digitalisation of public administration, the index for Greece in 2022 was 39.4, compared to 67.3 for the EU-27, ranking the country 26th out of 27 countries,[i] due to low ratings in ‘digital public services for citizens’, with an index of 52 compared to 75 for the EU-27, and in ‘digital public services for businesses’, with 48 compared to 82 for the EU-27.[ii] One of the main projects of the digitalisation of the Greek public sector at this time is the ‘Single Digital Public Administration Portal’ (gov.gr), which was inaugurated in March 2020 and brings together 1,543 public sector services of the 5,000 services recorded to date.[iii] The digitalisation of important public services has resulted in a sharp increase in citizens’ digital transactions with the public sector, which, from 8,000,000 transactions in 2018, exceeded 1,000,000,000 transactions in 2022 (including digital financial transactions).[iv]
Digital public services and human resources
Exploring the impact of the above digital developments on public employees is especially complex, as it concerns a number of different types of jobs and roles. It is even more difficult to determine the number of jobs that will change, be lost or be created due to the use of digital technologies. Many of the approaches to this issue, despite their different points of departure, agree in principle that the introduction of digital technologies into the public sector promotes the efficiency and effectiveness of services, and improves the accessibility and quality of services (PSI, 2018, EY, 2022, SEV, DELOITTE, 2022) while having a positive effect on the way work is done. (Maravelakis P., Maragkos H., 2022). At the same time, however, these changes result in salary reductions and job cuts, mainly for employees in administrative, accounting-type services, but also in processing, secretarial and low-skill tasks (PSI, 2018).[v] On the other hand, the gradual reduction of transactions that require physical presence means that employees will be engaged in more important and upgraded services (SEV, DELOITTE, 2022), so the demand for human resources with specialised technical and soft skills will increase. (PSI, 2018, OECD, 2021).
The Greek experience of digitalisation in public services
In recent years in Greece, in tandem with the digital transformation of the state, we have seen a relative decrease in regular personnel and an increase in non-regular personnel (Table 1).[vi]
Table 1: Data from the Hellenic Republic’s Human Resources Registry (Inventory).
| Regular personnel (Apart from Private Law Entities (PLEs)) | Non-regular personnel & others inventoried (Apart from PLEs) | Regular personnel at PLEs | Non-regular personnel & others registered with PLEs | |
| 12/2019 | 572.324 | 128.892 | 34.240 | 25.649 |
| 12/2022 | 568.592 | 192.702 | 30.995 | 24.068 |
Source: Ministry of Interior, Hellenic Republic Human Resources Registry Statistics. [vii]
More specifically, it is noted that between December 2019 and December 2022, regular personnel of the Public Sector (apart from PLEs) decreased by 0.6%, while non-regular personnel increased by 49,5%.[viii] During the same period, the number of regular personnel in PLEs fell by 9.47%, while the number of non-regular personnel in PLEs fell by 6.15%. Moreover, the salaries of regular personnel of public services and PLEs did not increase substantially following the salary cuts (reduction of 11% to 16% between 2010-2020) of the last decade (Mavroudeas, Passas, 2022).
Nevertheless, for the time being, public administration human resources do not seem concerned about the digital transformation of Greek public administration, as they are more focused on the positive effects of digital changes than on the negative impacts these changes may (and will) have on their jobs. In a 2019 survey carried out by the Koinoniko Polykentro of the Greek Civil Service Confederation (ADEDY) (Gioulos G., Filiopoulou M., 2019), the majority of respondents stated that the introduction of ICT into their work over the past five years significantly changed their daily duties, pointing to better organisation, improved productivity and increased efficiency. Regarding the critical question of potential job cuts due to the introduction of ICT, respondents said they feel secure at work and believe they are not threatened by digital technologies, while only a small percentage responded that applying these technologies to public administration will result in job cuts. In a new survey by ADEDY (Maravelakis P., Maragkos H., 2022), the responses are also positive regarding the potential of digital transformation to harness employees’ skills and improve the way they work and their role at work. However, employees do not feel adequately informed by their services regarding the upcoming changes and the new duties they may take on due to digitalisation.
In summary, we would say that because the digital transformation in the Greek public administration is still in the early stages of its implementation, the changes it brings to its human resources are, for now, not clear. However, taking into account trends in the private sector labor market, existing data and evidence from surveys of national and international trade unions in the public sector, it can be argued that the digitization of public services is linked on the one hand to the contraction of overall employment in them, mainly due to the gradual elimination of tasks of an administrative and manual nature, and on the other hand with the increase in demand for tasks that require high digital and social skills. Whether and how public services will take care of leveraging their human resources in the new data, or increasingly turn to external staffing sources is another big debate.
Sources for further reading
- Bertrand A., Bakshi S., McQueen J. (2022). «How can government workers and technology align to serve future citizens?» EY Report, https://www.ey.com/en_gl/government-digital-innovation/how-can-government-workers-and-technology-align-to-serve-future-citizens
- Gioulos G., Filiopoulou Μ. (2019). «Research to capture the attitudes and perceptions of employees in the public administration on the digitisation-automation of procedures», ADEDY Social Polycenter, October 2019, https://kpolykentro.gr/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/20191108_digitalministry_report_press.pdf
- European Commission (2022). «Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2022. Thematic chapters», https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/digital-economy-and-society-index-desi-2022
- European Commission (2022). «Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2022. Greece». Greece in the Digital Economy and Society Index | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)
- Maravelakis P., Maragkos I. (2022). «The position of civil servants in a digitally transformed administration. Study of the relationship between the skills and knowledge of employees and their curriculum in the Greek public administration», ADEDY Social Polycenter, October 2022, https://kpolykentro.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/DhmYpalPolykentro_167x24_dr04BALL.pdf
- Mavroudeas S., Passas Κ. (2022). «The level and evolution of remuneration in the Greek public sector from the crisis of 2009-0 until today», ADEDY Social Polycenter, https://kpolykentro.gr/2022/04/05/mel-exelixi-amoivon-dt/
- Mitropoulou D., Mpalaoura Μ., Deligiannis Α., Melidis Α. (2021). «Digital transformation of public administration. The role and value of open technologies». Study by the Open Technologies Organization EELLAK for the Nikos Poulantzas Institute, July 2021, Athens, Ψηφιακός-μετασχηματισμός.pdf (poulantzas.gr)
- OECD (2020). «The Future of Work in the Public Service Preparing the workforce for change in a context of uncertainty». Working Party on Public Employment and Management, December, 2020, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/1a9499ff-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/1a9499ff-en
- Peña-Casas R., Ghailani D. and Coster S. (2018). «The impact of digitalisation on job quality in European Public Services the Case of Homecare and Employment Service Workers». Final Report, June 2018, European Social Observatory, OSE, European Public Service Union (EPSU), https://www.epsu.org/sites/default/files/article/files/FINAL%20REPORT%20EPSU%20DIGITALISATION%20-%20OSE%20June%202018.pdf
- Public Services International (PIS) (2019). «Digitalization and Public Services: A Labour Perspective». Report prepared by Eckhard Voss and Raquel Rego, September 2019, https://pop-umbrella.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/4fbc6dfa-0406-4050-b7eb-96033ab593ff_2019%20-%20EN%20Digit%20main%20report%20with%20foreword.pdf
- SEV, DELOITTE (2022). «From State 0.2 to State 2.0. The benefits of the digital transformation of the Public Sector», June 2022, https://www.sev.org.gr/ekdoseis/apo-to-kratos-0-2-sto-kratos-2-0-ta-ofeli-tou-psifiakou-metaschimatismou-tou-dimosiou-tomea/
- Sotiropoulos Α.D. (2021). «Public administration in the post-coronavirus era», διαΝΕΟσις, January 2021, Athens, https://www.dianeosis.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Sotiropoulos_final.pdf
- Ministry of Digital Governance (2021). «Digital Transformation Bible 2020-2025», https://digitalstrategy.gov.gr/website/static/website/assets/uploads/digital_strategy.pdf
- World Economic Forum (2023). «Future of Jobs Report 2023. INSIGHT REPORT», May 2023, Geneva, https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2023.pdf
[i] Results for the index cannot be compared over time due to changes in how it is calculated.
[ii] The Path to the Digital Decade proposal aims for all essential public services for citizens and businesses to be fully online by 2030. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/europes-digital-decade-digital-targets-2030_en
[iii] Interview of the Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis in To Vima newspaper. Press Releases – Announcements/April 29, 2023, https://mindigital.gr/archives/5142
[iv] “For a Greece of creation and self-confidence”, article by the Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis in the anniversary tribute for the two years of “PowerGame”, Press Releases ‒ Announcements /April 17, 2023, https://mindigital.gr/archives/5121
[v] An OECD report (2021) states that, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, clerical jobs accounted for more than 19% of the US public workforce in 1985, up from 4.3% in 2017.
[vi] It is noted that at this stage it is difficult to relate these changes to digitalisation in public administration, due to the long-term restrictions that existed in the context of the Economic Adjustment Programmes, but also the emergency needs arising from the health crisis in the period 2020-2021.
[vii] Ministry of Interior, Statistics of the Human Resources Register of the Greek State (Inventory), https://84.205.194.219//hrstatistics/pub/menu.php
[viii] These include Fixed-term – project contracts – hourly workers, teachers, staff to deal with the refugee/migration crisis and natural disasters, specialized Doctors and Nurses, hired to deal with COVID-19, hired through OAED programmes, etc.
