Picture this: you’re a qualified nurse in Manchester. Tesco is offering better pay than the NHS. So you hang up your stethoscope and start scanning barcodes instead.
Absurd? It’s happening. And it’s just one symptom of a much bigger problem plaguing European governments from Lisbon to Tallinn.
Citizens want world-class public services. They also want low taxes and modest public sector salaries. These demands don’t add up—and the maths is finally catching up with reality.
The great exodus
Walk through any European hospital, school, or government office and you’ll hear the same story. Good people are leaving. Fast.
In Britain, 15,000 to 23,000 doctors quit the NHS between September 2022 and 2023 alone. That’s roughly half the country’s new medical graduates walking out the door each year. The replacement bill? Up to 2.4 billion UK pounds annually. You could fund several small countries’ entire health budgets with that money.
It’s not just doctors. Teachers are fleeing too. France has more than 3,000 vacant teaching posts. The reason isn’t rocket science: French teachers earn roughly half what their German counterparts make.
Meanwhile, 92 per cent of public services employers report skills shortages. When government job postings get filled at barely 40 per cent—the worst rate among major economic sectors—you know something’s broken.
The trust deficit
But money isn’t the only problem. Europeans have grown deeply suspicious of the ‘revolving door’ between public and private sectors. When former EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes lobbied for Uber shortly after leaving office, it confirmed voters’ worst fears about cosy relationships between Brussels and big business.
EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly warns that revolving doors have a ‘corrosive effect’ on public trust, fuelling euroscepticism. Fair enough—except this suspicion now extends to any career movement between sectors, even when it might actually improve government.
The result? A vicious cycle where talented people avoid public service, making government less competent, which breeds more distrust, driving away even more talent.
Estonia breaks the mould
Then there’s Estonia. This Baltic nation of 1.3 million people has arguably cracked the code. Top talent flows freely between government and start-ups without anyone batting an eyelid. A software developer might spend three years building digital infrastructure for the state, then launch a fintech start-up, then return to government to work on blockchain voting systems.
The results speak for themselves. Estonia offers all of its public services online. Nearly everyone has digital ID. A third of votes are cast electronically. The government reckons its digital infrastructure saves two per cent of GDP annually—that’s real money, not consultant-speak.
How’d they pull it off? Three ingredients: a determination to modernise, small size enabling rapid change, and—crucially—treating public service as prestigious but temporary. As Estonia’s former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves put it: “You cannot bribe a computer”. Digital systems cut corruption opportunities dramatically.
Tallinn hosts thousands of start-ups. The New York Times has dubbed it Silicon Valley on the Baltic Sea. Not bad for a country that regained independence just over thirty years ago.
The non-monetary toolkit
Can’t match private sector salaries? There are workarounds.
Research shows 86 per cent of employees would leave their jobs for better development opportunities. Meanwhile, 94 per cent want more flexibility. Smart governments are taking note.
Professional development works because it’s genuinely win-win: employees grow their skills whilst employers get higher retention and job satisfaction. Some agencies now offer sabbaticals, mentorship programmes, or chances to work on projects impossible in the private sector. Where else can you redesign a country’s entire healthcare system or build digital democracy platforms?
The Nordic countries excel here. Despite their differences, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden share comprehensive workforce development and exceptionally low corruption. All four rank in the top 10 least corrupt countries globally in Transparency International’s annual survey.
High trust creates a virtuous circle: talented people join government because they believe it works, and their competence proves them right.
Embracing the revolving door
Maybe the solution isn’t stopping talent movement between sectors—it’s managing it better.
Cross-sector movement often brings benefits. Former private sector employees understand markets and technology in ways career civil servants don’t. Ex-government officials bring regulatory knowledge and public interest perspectives to companies.
Transparency experts suggest 12-18 month cooling-off periods to prevent obvious conflicts. Beyond that, governments should embrace ‘tour of duty’ models borrowed from military service. Talented people commit to specific projects for defined periods, then move on.
This appeals to ambitious professionals who’d never consider traditional lifelong civil service careers. It also brings fresh thinking to institutions that desperately need it.
Estonia gets this. Its government has remained “open to innovative solutions and cooperation with the private sector”. Result: Europe’s most digitally advanced society.
The digital multiplier
Here’s a radical thought: instead of hiring thousands more civil servants, why not make existing ones vastly more productive?
Estonia automated routine processes and created genuinely user-friendly online services. Citizens handle almost any bureaucratic task online, from filing taxes to registering companies in minutes, not days.
This approach transforms rather than eliminates the need for talent. You need fewer form-processors but more digital architects, user experience designers, and systems integrators. These roles often appeal to tech professionals who’d never consider traditional government jobs.
Reality check
The costs of getting this wrong are mounting fast. When half of France’s petrol stations ran dry in 2023 during public sector strikes over pension reforms, the economic damage was immediate and visible. When NHS waiting lists balloon because doctors emigrate to Australia for better pay and conditions, people die.
European governments face a choice. They can continue penny-pinching their way to institutional decay, or they can recognise that quality public services require quality people—and quality people have options.
Estonia’s small size and unique history provided advantages others lack. But its core insight applies everywhere: public and private sectors work best as partners, not rivals. Countries that embrace radical transparency and collaboration will build the civil services they need.
The rest will make do with what they can afford—and discover that in public services, as in most things, you get what you pay for.
Photo: Dreamstime.
