Less than half of Taipei City Government employees are satisfied with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) leadership style and performance, but almost the same number feel that he has done an “average” job, a survey released yesterday found.
Taipei commissioners fared better, averaging a satisfactory rating of 58.44 and a score of 75.62 out of 100 in terms of leadership and ability.
The survey, conducted by the Taipei Research, Development and Evaluation Commission from Aug. 1 to Sept. 9, found that 42 percent of employees were satisfied with Ko’s leadership, giving him a score of 69.53 out of 100.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Forty percent of respondents felt the mayor has been average in style and performance, while 17.89 percent said they were dissatisfied with him on both accounts.
Asked about the likelihood they might quit their jobs, almost one-fifth of respondents (19.89 percent) said they were inclined to leave within a year; 48.07 percent said they would stay on and 32.04 percent are undecided.
The survey included a list of what employees see as the city government’s shortcomings, including commissioners or officials who hold managerial posts despite being “too moody,” “lacking in empathy” and prone to humiliating their subordinates with harsh criticism.
A sizeable portion of the respondents said that their superiors lacked the decisiveness or made poor decisions only to recant them later, resulting in policy flip-flops, or their superiors lacked the courage to take responsibility and were reluctant to engage in interdepartmental communications.
Other officials were criticized for caving in to pressure from Taipei city councilors or borough wardens and changing their policy directions, according to the survey.
Among the complaints on the list are that “sycophancy” and an “over-attention to details” are rampant in Ko’s administration, which had seen higher-ranking officials who lacked the knowledge needed for their jobs dominating experts during the decision making process and an overemphasis on good-looking numbers and spreadsheets, the survey found.
Another complaint was that high-ranking officials put inordinate emphasis on red tape without addressing core issues.
Some agency heads use instant messaging software to assign work to their subordinates during their off-hours, even if the work is not urgent, and some rely solely on instant messaging to assign work, the survey found.
A sizeable portion of respondents said that they would like to see a channel established that would allow them to submit complaints about their superiors, the survey found.
The survey collected a total of 29,464 valid samples from 147 municipal agencies, including the Taipei Public Library, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp, and the police and fire departments.
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