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Washington, D.C.— Federal employees are as committed as ever to their jobs and the missions of their agencies, but recent attacks on pay, retirement and an uncertain political climate have led to declines in morale, a hazardous trend for our nation.

“Despite attacks on their pay, their retirement security and continued threats of government shutdowns, federal employees have done an outstanding job for our nation and this survey demonstrates the level of their commitment,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). “To maintain a strong federal workforce, the pay freeze and constant attacks on their jobs and retirement security must end.”

The annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This is the largest survey in a decade with more than 687,000 employees responding.

Survey findings reveal that federal employees are engaged and committed to their jobs, and the vast majority like the work that they do and believe their work is important; however, the results show concern among employees about having sufficient resources to do their jobs.

In addition, satisfaction with pay declined to the lowest level since 2004, decreasing by four percentage points to 59 percent.

“The 27-month pay freeze must end,” the NTEU leader said. “Federal employees have contributed $103 billion over a 10-year period to solving our country’s economic troubles through the pay freeze and increased retirement contributions for new hires. Clearly, federal workers have done more than any other group in the name of deficit reduction.”

The low pay scores contributed to a concerning drop in Global Satisfaction which measures employees’ satisfaction with their job, their pay and their organization, plus their willingness to recommend their organization as a good place to work, from a high of 67 percent in 2010 to 63 percent in 2012.

“The overall gains experienced between 2008 and 2011 have disappeared,” the OPM Executive Summary said.

According to the 2012 results, nearly all 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.

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