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Washington D.C.—Despite a barrage of steady attacks on federal workers, a government-wide survey of employees shows the federal workforce to be committed and dedicated to its work—even as fewer than 50 percent of respondents believe they have the resources necessary to do their jobs effectively.

The annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which released the results.

“OPM’s survey shows that federal employees are positive about their jobs and the work they do but that Congress is not providing sufficient resources to provide necessary public services,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). “It is a tribute to the commitment of the federal workforce that, despite lacking resources, employees continue to enjoy their work and perform at a high level.”

According to the 2011 results, 92 percent of federal employees feel the work they do is important; and more than 80 percent like their work, know how their work relates to their agencies’ missions and feel their work unit does a quality job.

However, the survey also showed that only 48 percent believe they have sufficient resources to do their jobs—a decline of two percentage points from last year—and that barely 45 percent of respondents believe that creativity and innovation are rewarded.

“Members of Congress should take note of both the commitment of federal employees and their very real concerns about lacking the necessary resources to do what this country has asked of them,” the NTEU leader said. “Agencies need to be adequately funded so employees can provide the quality services that Americans deserve.”

As was the case in previous years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission—an NTEU-represented agency—led all agencies in four key survey categories identified by OPM: job satisfaction, leadership and knowledge management, results-oriented performance culture, and talent management.

Strongly improving from last year was another NTEU-represented agency, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which surged into the top agency rankings in three categories: job satisfaction, results-oriented performance culture, and talent management. NCUA also saw significant improvement in its overall ranking under the leadership and knowledge management category.

Overall, President Kelley found other troubling data in this year’s survey. For example, she noted that fewer than half of employees surveyed report having a feeling of personal empowerment with respect to work processes; and barely 53 percent reported being satisfied with their involvement in decision-making regarding their work.

The NTEU leader also was disappointed to see the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) again ranked among the lowest of government agencies in reported employee satisfaction. NTEU represents about 26,000 employees in Customs and Border Protection, a DHS component agency.

“Agencies succeed only when treating frontline workers with respect,” Kelley said, adding that DHS’s overall satisfaction ranking actually fell from last year. “Employee voices must be heard if agencies are to succeed in the long run.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.