Federal employee satisfaction, engagement show steep drop under Biden

By Eric Yoder
July 13, 2022 at 12:05 a.m. EDT

When President Biden took office, one of his key pillars was a pledge to begin “strengthening and empowering the federal workforce.” ... Yet in 2021, federal workers were broadly less satisfied and less engaged with their work under the avowedly pro-employee Biden administration than they were in their final year under President Donald Trump, according to a study released Wednesday.

An index of job satisfaction and engagement across the federal government fell from 69 percent positive to 64.5 percent in the latest annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government assessment by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. ...“It’s a big drop, and we saw that drop across most of the government,” with scores down or flat in two-thirds of agencies, said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership.

Stier added in an interview: “President Biden is the first recent president that came out on Day 1 that said, ‘I value public servants, we care about you, what you do is really important.’ And still, we have a government that is just being crushed.” ... Officials pointed toward two possible contributing factors behind the plunge: continued turmoil in the federal workforce over the pandemic, and dissatisfaction with appointed leaders — many of whom have yet to be confirmed by Congress.

The assessment is based on an annual poll of federal employees, called the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. During the survey period last fall, there was a resurgence in coronavirus infections, plus uncertainty about returning teleworkers to their regular worksites and about a newly issued Biden order generally requiring federal employees to be vaccinated against the virus. (That order has not been enforced due to court challenges.)

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By Eric Yoder
Eric Yoder is a National reporter at The Washington Post. He has reported for The Post since 2000, concentrating on federal employee issues, the budget and government management policies. Twitter https://twitter.com/EricYoderWP