Why are officials and employees in the public sector called public servants? Because they are practically and figuratively servants. Simply put, those in government are there to serve and not be served.

In the language of service, this is so that the welfare of the public doing business with the government is advanced and they do get the kind of service they seek from said office, and life is made easy for them.

Those in government serve by discharging faithfully the functions of their office. By oneself, a single public servant may be insignificant; but taken together with all public positions within an office,
constitute a whole office, which becomes a critical part of the entire department.

The seemingly insignificant position then becomes an important cog in a bigger machinery that makes performing its functions possible. Add this machinery to similar machinery or offices, and eventually, you will have a government bureaucracy that is serving the public as it should.

How the different functionaries in a government office, just like in private offices, are organized so that methodical handling of the business at hand and thoroughness are accomplished can be gleaned in their organizational setup, whose apex is the chief of office who oversees the smooth workflow.

A friend once spoke of this one cog working in sync with other cogs in uncomplicated simple terms. He said, "if everyone in government did only what he is supposed to do per the job description of his office, then the government would function as it should, and ultimately this would result in a better country where everything works."

I call this the will to serve, and it is based on government functionaries making a conscious decision to be purposefully useful to the public whom they serve in accord with what is required of them by their job descriptions. One must always remind oneself that public officials and employees are not called public servants for nothing.

Why is it so difficult for those in government, especially in the higher echelons, to be virtual if not real servants? This is so because we are used to putting our officials on a pedestal and serving them on an everyday basis as if they were emperors or potentates.