The report cites a drop off in overall job satisfaction once employees have been in the federal government for three or more years and calls on agencies to determine why and address that change in attitude with targeted strategies.
At the VA, the Partnership found a 27-point dropoff between young, new employees and the workforce as a whole – from 90 to 64. Eleven other agencies had gaps in the double digits, the report said, calling for senior leaders to find ways to maintain high job satisfaction levels.
Again, the largest gaps in satisfaction at this stage have to do with effective leadership and employee views of supervisors and leaders, with employees growing less satisfied over time.
Younger employees tend to rate agency leaders and individual supervisors much higher than the mean – especially so at SSA where there is a 21-point higher score for leaders, and nearly as much at the VA and EPA.
Relationships with individual supervisors could play a big role in whether employees plan to stay, as does empowerment.
The opportunity to exercise personal initiative and be personally responsible keeps employees engaged and separates under 30 employees who plan to stay from those who plan to leave, the report said.
