Public Eye – July/August 2024

From the Editor

See You in September: A Peek at What’s in Store at PSHRA24

When this edition of Public Eye drops online, we’ll be roughly four weeks away from PSHRA Annual Conference 2024.

This year’s event offers a packed schedule of concurrent sessions, dynamic keynote speakers, exciting exhibitors and plenty of opportunities to connect with and learn from HR professionals and thought leaders from across the public sector.

A few of those thought leaders share some insight in this issue, providing a sneak peek at what to expect at PSHRA24.

For example, one of the concurrent sessions in our conference program will focus on findings from an artificial intelligence- focused survey that PSHRA recently produced in conjunction with researchers from Nova Southeastern University and the University of Illinois Springfield.

This issue’s cover story dives into the new report, Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence & Generative AI on Public Sector Human Resource Professionals, which surveyed 155 PSHRA members, combining their responses with qualitative insights from focus groups and individual interviews. Noting the “rapid advancement” of artificial intelligence and GAI as well as the opportunities and challenges AI offers government agencies at all levels, the report examines how AI and GAI tools affect HR tasks, focusing on adoption, readiness and perception among public sector HR professionals.

Overall, the research found that perceptions of AI and its workplace potential are positive among the PSHRA members surveyed.

For example, more than 80% of respondents indicated they were comfortable or very comfortable experimenting with AI. More than half (53%) reported finding generative AI tools such as ChatGPT “easily accessible and beneficial.” More than 70% acknowledged that the rapid adoption of AI is significantly changing how they approach their work.

“Fear still exists around AI in the workplace, particularly fear about job displacement,” report co-author Romeo Solano, doctor of public administration candidate at the University of Illinois Springfield, recently told Public Eye. “But, there’s also the perspective that, as AI becomes more prevalent in processes and functions [throughout the workplace], that fear is going to change into more of an outlook that AI can be used to improve what we’re doing at work.

“And the human touch is always going to be needed in the public sector workplace,” Solano continued. “You can’t displace human interaction with AI. That is always going to be there for HR.”

Award-winning author, journalist, international speaker and work- place culture strategist Jennifer Moss will also be on hand at PSHRA24 in September, where she will deliver the Day One keynote address. In her Sept. 4 presentation, Moss will discuss the importance of creating a culture in which employees feel comfortable experimenting with new technologies and new ways of working, and the critical role that public sector HR leaders play in fostering this type of environment.

In a Q&A for this issue, Moss shares a preview of her keynote address, advising leaders to gain a better understanding of the causes of employee burnout, such as unsustainable workload, perceived lack of control and insufficient rewards for effort. She urges public sector leaders to determine how these factors may be playing a role in employee well-being and performance, “and consider an upstream approach to solving for them.”

Moss also lays out some steps that government agencies, including public sector HR leaders, can take to foster greater mental well-being in the workplace—providing mental health first-aid training, offering access to service and resources, and forming employee resource groups that offer peer support, for instance.

“All of these tactics are a great first step toward a strong culture of well-being,” she said. “But what I believe is the most vital component to a successful mental health strategy are leaders who model the behaviors that will lead to real change. Employees can’t be what they can’t see. If leaders refuse to be vulnerable and demonstrate a willingness to talk openly about mental illness, frontline workers will feel like they need to suffer in silence.”