'I felt like the boy in short trousers': What’s it like to manage people who are decades older than you?
30 Mar HR

'I felt like the boy in short trousers': What’s it like to manage people who are decades older than you?

Taking on challenging leadership roles can be a quick progression route for younger civil servants, but the experience is not always easy. CSW gets the lowdown from officials who’ve been through it
by Susan Allott
AI curiosity and climate change: What a global survey of public officials tells us about 2026’s big issues
11 May Digital, Data & Technology
AI curiosity and climate change: What a global survey of public officials tells us about 2026’s big issues
Director's Cut: Michael Padfield on flexibility, the Horizon scandal and confusing journalists
08 May HR
Director's Cut: Michael Padfield on flexibility, the Horizon scandal and confusing journalists
Director's Cut: Elisabeth Cuthbertson and Lucy Ryan on job-sharing, agility and the importance of trust
27 Apr HR
Director's Cut: Elisabeth Cuthbertson and Lucy Ryan on job-sharing, agility and the importance of trust
'Tough choices' and antisemitism – what Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss said about the civil service this week
12 Aug 2022 HR
'Tough choices' and antisemitism – what Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss said about the civil service this week
Ex-chancellor says he could "stop or pause" government work, Truss launches war on "wokeism and antisemitism" and Case speaks to Truss's team
The great pretenders: The top 10 fictional civil servants
12 Aug 2022
The great pretenders: The top 10 fictional civil servants
Many of the world’s most famous civil servants never actually existed
Future-proofing healthcare resilience: lessons learned from the COVID-19 Infection Survey Partner Content
08 Aug 2022 Health & Social Care
Future-proofing healthcare resilience: lessons learned from the COVID-19 Infection Survey
Tim Sheppard, SVP & General Manager, Northern Europe, IQVIA, looks back on the journey to deliver robust, accurate data to help government make crucial decisions at a time of crisis
Remote work and regional pay: What Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have said about the civil service this week
05 Aug 2022 HR
Remote work and regional pay: What Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have said about the civil service this week
Truss was forced to U-turn on pay plans, while Sunak wants to expand Prevent
Servants of the people: a portrait of a modern civil service
04 Aug 2022 HR
Servants of the people: a portrait of a modern civil service
A huge diversity of people and roles make up the modern civil service. Here, some of them tell us their stories
Stepping up the fight: How a new public body aims to protect taxpayers’ money from fraud
03 Aug 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Stepping up the fight: How a new public body aims to protect taxpayers’ money from fraud
The Public Sector Fraud Authority is set to change the way government departments and public bodies deal with the nation’s most common crime. Interim chief exec Mark Cheeseman answers CSW’s questions
Bonfire of the quangos and ‘woke jobs’: What Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have said about the civil service this week
29 Jul 2022 Civil Service Reform
Bonfire of the quangos and ‘woke jobs’: What Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have said about the civil service this week
Sunak set out plans for vaccine-style taskforce, while Truss takes aim at civil service "groupthink"
Revealed: the civil service departments with the biggest gender pay gaps
29 Jul 2022 HR
Revealed: the civil service departments with the biggest gender pay gaps
CSW digs into this year's civil service people statistics to see which organisations have the biggest gaps in hourly earnings for women and men, and how gender pay gaps have changed over time
'The farther back you look, the farther forward you can see': how historians can help government
27 Jul 2022 Policy
'The farther back you look, the farther forward you can see': how historians can help government
Tough times often prompt politicians to seek lessons from the past. Andrew Southam explores government’s use of historians
Cuts, churn and 'piecemeal' reward: all the senior civil service reforms the SSRB is calling for beyond a pay rise
20 Jul 2022 Civil Service Reform
Cuts, churn and 'piecemeal' reward: all the senior civil service reforms the SSRB is calling for beyond a pay rise
While the SSRB said “priority” was an across-the-board pay rise, it highlighted several other pressing issues with pay and reward
Net zero: As global warming advances, how can government be a catalyst for change?
19 Jul 2022 Energy & Environment
Net zero: As global warming advances, how can government be a catalyst for change?
Achieving net zero will require a substantial and coordinated effort across all sectors, as experts on a CSW cross-sector round table discussed
What would each of the Tory leadership contenders do to the civil service?
15 Jul 2022 Civil Service Reform
What would each of the Tory leadership contenders do to the civil service?
From headcount cuts to battling “the blob”, Civil Service World explores what the potential PMs have said and done
With a new PM on the way, will the plan to cut 91,000 civil service jobs go ahead?
13 Jul 2022 Civil Service Reform
With a new PM on the way, will the plan to cut 91,000 civil service jobs go ahead?
Experts discuss what will happen to the government's plan to reduce the headcount to 2016 levels
As Boris Johnson prepares to step down, what do the next few months hold for civil servants?
12 Jul 2022 HR
As Boris Johnson prepares to step down, what do the next few months hold for civil servants?
How will officials support the caretaker government as Conservative Party leadership elections to decide the next PM get underway? Experts weigh in
Matt Bazeley OBE: 'Our colleagues in the civil service and public sector have never been in greater need of support' Partner Content
07 Jul 2022 HR
Matt Bazeley OBE: "Our colleagues in the civil service and public sector have never been in greater need of support"
CSSC’s new CEO took on the role in March, leaving a senior position with the Ministry of Defence. He reflects on his first months in the job, and what the organisation is doing to support its members, employees, and volunteers
'Fed up' officials: What a leaked Cabinet Office survey tells us about staff wellbeing and satisfaction
06 Jul 2022 HR
'Fed up' officials: What a leaked Cabinet Office survey tells us about staff wellbeing and satisfaction
Less than a quarter of the survey respondents say they think the Cabinet Office’s senior leaders have a clear vision for the future
On purpose: MoJ perm sec Antonia Romeo's lessons on leadership
05 Jul 2022 HR
On purpose: MoJ perm sec Antonia Romeo's lessons on leadership
In the 2022 CSW Leadership Lecture, Antonia Romeo described the importance of leading with purpose, and creating the conditions for people to thrive
Read the summer 2022 issue of CSW: A Portrait of the Civil Service
04 Jul 2022 Digital, Data & Technology
Read the summer 2022 issue of CSW: A Portrait of the Civil Service
Officials working in some of the many organisations and functions that make up government give us a glimpse inside their world
‘The way ministers talked to officials would have got them punched in the mouth in the army’ – ex-minister Johnny Mercer
01 Jul 2022 HR
‘The way ministers talked to officials would have got them punched in the mouth in the army’ – ex-minister Johnny Mercer
Mercer says he had an “awful” time in government
‘Horrifying behaviour’: What we learnt at Simon Case’s PACAC appearance
30 Jun 2022 Civil Service Reform
‘Horrifying behaviour’: What we learnt at Simon Case’s PACAC appearance
The cabinet secretary is grilled over the Partygate scandal, sets out the process for disciplining those involved and discusses how much of his time he spends on standards
‘You can’t be in crisis mode all the time’ – how to maintain momentum on departmental data-sharing
29 Jun 2022 Digital, Data & Technology
‘You can’t be in crisis mode all the time’ – how to maintain momentum on departmental data-sharing
Civil Service World, SAS, Intel and Capgemini recently brought together a group of leading data practitioners from government and industry to discuss priorities, pain points – and pandemics
A zero-tolerance position on inappropriate behaviours, sexual harassment and bullying alone is not enough
28 Jun 2022 HR
A zero-tolerance position on inappropriate behaviours, sexual harassment and bullying alone is not enough
Shocks and revelations might look like they galvanise action. But culture change takes time
‘Civil servants want you to do well, irrespective of your politics’, says ex-minister
27 Jun 2022 Justice & Home Affairs
‘Civil servants want you to do well, irrespective of your politics’, says ex-minister
Hazel Blears says officials hid Maltesers under her red-box papers to give the boss an energy boost
Why can't BEIS and the Treasury get on?
24 Jun 2022 Economics
Why can't BEIS and the Treasury get on?
At the heart of the government’s problems with the cost-of-living crisis is a rupture between the two departments charged with managing the economy. Is it just down to the personalities, or is there something deeper going on?