No one voted for me. Why should I take an oath?

Imagine you are a public works employee in a California city. 

Today’s service order: drive across town to paint a curb red.

You locate the paint, drive to the site, and paint the curb to the prescribed specifications. Sweat drips down your face as you crouch into the uncomfortable position required to get the job done. You put up a “just painted” sign and head back to the public works office.

When you arrive home at night, how do you reflect on your day? 

Did you just paint another curb -- one of many you’ve painted this year? Or did you uphold a trust between you and the residents of your city? Did you protect a fellow citizen, an elementary school student, from the danger of an unmarked walkway? Did your work make the city better than the way you found it?

How one city reinforces employees’ sense of responsibility

Tom Frutchey, city manager of Paso Robles, Calif., believes strongly in the power of taking an oath and requires every employee -- not just elected officials -- to do so. 

At each Paso Robles ceremony, Frutchey briefly describes the history and gravity of oaths. He explains that they have been around for about 2,500 years, dating back to Athens and the Ephebic oath. “Employees need to understand and recognize that we're all in a line of succession of people who've made that commitment,” he notes.

It’s easy to be “more concerned with rights than responsibilities” these days, says Frutchey. Any employee deserves compensation commensurate with their responsibilities and should also derive a sense of pride, accomplishment and professional growth. Public sector employees, however, take on obligations that are grounded in fulfilling the needs of a reliant public, combined with the mandate to use people’s tax dollars wisely.

Why team members stand for the oath

Frutchey administers the oath at the new employee’s workplace when possible. For example, a librarian takes the oath at the library. Friends and family are invited to attend the ceremony. 

In addition, anyone present who has already taken the oath stands as a show of support. “It’s a reminder to each of us of when we took the oath. It’s the symbolism of standing with the person who’s taking it here in this city.” Frutchey encourages everyone to look around the room as he reminds them that these people are the core of their support system. In a city of around 32,000 people an employee corps of 180 is “a pretty small band of brothers and sisters who have to support each other and back each other up,” he says.

The oath’s role as a reminder of the public trust

Employees should go home at the end of each day, confident that they brought value to the community and upheld the faith and trust people put in them. People are losing trust in government, Frutchey fears, but he believes that degradation of trust is misplaced. 

“It’s not that we haven't done what we said we were going to do, or we haven't adhered to ethical and legal behaviors,” he says. “When citizens disagree with public employees’ decisions, that shouldn’t translate to ‘I don’t trust you.’” Frutchey wants citizens to express their disagreements (in a civil way) and tries to model that receptivity for all the city’s employees. 

About that red curb

Remember the employee painting the red curb? That person took an oath when they started that job. In front of coworkers, family members, and city officials, they raised their hand and promised to “leave the City greater and better than it was when entrusted to me.” It was a weighty moment that also celebrated teamwork and hope.

Frutchey says, “When our public works employees are painting a red curb, yes they ARE painting, but it’s different. They’re painting a curb because kids walk that way to school. Everything we do, no matter how mundane, is for the benefit of the public.”

We make all kinds of promises in life, but we don’t take many oaths. For the employees of Paso Robles, Calif., doing so solidifies their place on the team and makes for a safer, better place to live.