Brigantia
24th March 2021, 12:52
I've got some insider info about this from someone on a temporary contract to work on it.
I worked on the 1991 and 2001 censuses and apart from the occasional stroppy householder, it was enjoyable. I attended one or two meetings beforehand, got my supplies and a map of my area, organised my time in accordance with deadlines and for that I was paid a lump sum.
This year, it's all digital and they're encouraging everyone to complete the census online. Census officers are paid by the hour, they have had 4 weeks of preparation that didn't merit a full-time weekly wage as it hadn't been clearly thought out, and was filled by endless Zoom meetings that were mainly waffle and pointless tasks.
This week they're out in the field to visit households that haven't completed it online. In the past you went out a couple of weeks before census day to deliver forms, so all the householders knew about it. This year, they sent letters through the post addressed to 'The Householder' with 'Important census information' on the envelope, and that contained your unique household code to access it online. From what has happened today it seems that many people just thought it was junk mail and tossed it out unread.
The census officers are not happy at all as they're given far too heavy a workload that averages 3 minutes per house. That's hard enough even if you're working in an urban area, walking up one street and down the next, but many areas are rural and the houses are spread out; in my experience finding some houses with house names rather than a number was a nightmare. I've been told that a lot of them have tried this Herculean task and found it impossible, and many have quit after the first day in the field. Many are retirees and would find it an impossible task to race from house to house.
They also have to do 60% of their work during 'unsocial hours', which is weekends and up to 8pm. Although it will be lighter next week after the clocks change it will still be dusk after 7pm, and even though it was still light I was once told off by someone for calling at his house at about 7.30. Some people feel vulnerable and don't like a knock on their door at that time.
So... four weeks of training has been paid to census officers out of public funds who have now quit as this has been so badly thought out and organised. I've been working right through the various lockdowns and paying taxes, and I am not happy about this money being wasted.
To use a WW1 quote, this country is peopled by lions led by donkeys.
I worked on the 1991 and 2001 censuses and apart from the occasional stroppy householder, it was enjoyable. I attended one or two meetings beforehand, got my supplies and a map of my area, organised my time in accordance with deadlines and for that I was paid a lump sum.
This year, it's all digital and they're encouraging everyone to complete the census online. Census officers are paid by the hour, they have had 4 weeks of preparation that didn't merit a full-time weekly wage as it hadn't been clearly thought out, and was filled by endless Zoom meetings that were mainly waffle and pointless tasks.
This week they're out in the field to visit households that haven't completed it online. In the past you went out a couple of weeks before census day to deliver forms, so all the householders knew about it. This year, they sent letters through the post addressed to 'The Householder' with 'Important census information' on the envelope, and that contained your unique household code to access it online. From what has happened today it seems that many people just thought it was junk mail and tossed it out unread.
The census officers are not happy at all as they're given far too heavy a workload that averages 3 minutes per house. That's hard enough even if you're working in an urban area, walking up one street and down the next, but many areas are rural and the houses are spread out; in my experience finding some houses with house names rather than a number was a nightmare. I've been told that a lot of them have tried this Herculean task and found it impossible, and many have quit after the first day in the field. Many are retirees and would find it an impossible task to race from house to house.
They also have to do 60% of their work during 'unsocial hours', which is weekends and up to 8pm. Although it will be lighter next week after the clocks change it will still be dusk after 7pm, and even though it was still light I was once told off by someone for calling at his house at about 7.30. Some people feel vulnerable and don't like a knock on their door at that time.
So... four weeks of training has been paid to census officers out of public funds who have now quit as this has been so badly thought out and organised. I've been working right through the various lockdowns and paying taxes, and I am not happy about this money being wasted.
To use a WW1 quote, this country is peopled by lions led by donkeys.