“Rather lean” to “very lean”
ECB boss Lagarde plays down criticism of her work
January 25, 2024, 6:07 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Around half of the employees at the European Central Bank are not satisfied with the work of their boss Christine Lagarde. This is the result of a workforce survey. But that is not the only criticism of your own employer.
ECB boss Christine Lagarde has downplayed the significance of a critical workforce survey by the central bank union IPSO. The ECB collects trustworthy surveys that show the overwhelming majority of staff are happy to work for the European Central Bank, she said. “What drives me are these answers,” emphasized the Frenchwoman, adding: “I am extremely proud of the ECB’s staff and I am very proud and honored to lead the institution.” In doing so, it puts itself at the service of the Europeans.
The ECB President received a poor record of good conduct in an employee survey conducted by the International and European Public Services Organization (IPSO). According to the survey results, a narrow majority of 50.6 percent of the 1,089 participants were of the opinion that Lagarde’s performance so far had been “rather poor” or “very poor”. A spokeswoman for the European Central Bank (ECB) criticized the survey as flawed.
The union considers the salary increase of around 4.07 percent planned for 2023 to be inadequate given inflation that was recently more than twice as high in the euro area. The survey results provide Lagarde and her management team with an unflattering report card at a time when the ECB is being challenged like never before in the fight against rampant inflation. “This is a serious matter for our institution as no one can properly run an organization without the trust of its employees,” the IPSO union had said.
Draghi was more popular
According to the survey, many employees are also concerned about the central bank’s ability to protect their purchasing power. In response to a corresponding question in the survey, 63 percent of 1,565 employees said they were worried. Only 24 percent were not. 13 percent answered that they could not specify this. An ECB spokeswoman did not directly address the survey results. She referred to the central bank’s own employee survey from last year, according to which 83 percent were proud to work for the ECB and 72 percent would recommend it.
A similar IPSO survey of ECB employees shortly before the departure of Lagarde’s predecessor Mario Draghi showed in 2019 that 54.5 percent of 735 employees rated his presidency as “very good” or “excellent”. Support for the monetary policy moves was even higher. But there was also plenty of criticism back then: ECB employees complained, among other things, about a lack of transparency in staffing positions and a culture of favoritism.