Three Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have asked GAO to study low morale among federal workers and the effect that is having on the government’s effectiveness.
The letter notes that federal employees have endured a three-year pay freeze, been furloughed and experienced a government shutdown amid cuts to pay and benefits amounting to nearly $140 billion. This has contributed to historic lows in worker satisfaction and commitment levels reflected in the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work Rankings.
They asked that GAO examine trends in employee morale and engagement (defined as “a heightened connection between employees and their work, their organization, or the people they work for or with”) by grade level, position and other demographic attributes and consider what’s driving that, and to study the impact of federal employee morale and engagement on recruitment and retention, employee performance and productivity, and achievement of agency mission, among other questions.