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Each year, the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) gives federal employees a chance to voice their opinions on a range of workplace topics.
FEVS, administered by the Office of Personnel Management, asks employees for their views on their work, agencies, supervisors, senior leaders, job satisfaction and work-life programs. The survey also measures employee satisfaction across the government. Last week, OPM released the governmentwide results.
NTEU wants to highlight our top three data points from this year’s 45-page report:
Shutdowns Hurt in the Short and Long Term
Not surprisingly, FEVS results underscored the shutdown’s disastrous impact on managing workloads, productivity and customer service. Fifty-five percent of employees said their work was negatively impacted by the shutdown, and 22 percent characterized the impact as “very negative” or “extremely negative.” Two-thirds said it delayed work; 48 percent said it reduced customer service; 32 percent reported reduced work quality; 46 percent missed deadlines; and 21 percent lost work that is unrecoverable.
Telework Matters
For those eligible to participate, FEVS data show 60 percent of employees report satisfaction with their agency’s telework program. The majority of those employees report using the program mostly if an unexpected event arises, or participating one or two days a week. NTEU members have shared with us how critical telework is to their working lives, and the union is working to protect this important benefit at agencies where we represent employees.
Federal Employees Are Committed
Despite an especially challenging year punctuated by the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history, federal employees are passionate about their work. Around 96 percent said they’re willing to put in extra work to get the job done and 90 percent said the work they do is important.
This year, 615,295 employees—43 percent of the federal workforce—participated in FEVS. View the full results here. Yet to be released are the agency-specific results. NTEU is keeping an eye out for those so we can discuss ways your agencies can improve the workplace based on your input.