Only about half of federal supervisors, managers and senior executives believe they could successfully remove an employee who engaged in serious misconduct, but in most cases the barriers to success lie within the agency, not in the law, according to MSPB.
Those were among the findings of a survey MSPB conducted this year, summarized in a new report that comes at the end of a year in which Congress focused on potential changes to the federal disciplinary process out of a view held by some that it fails to hold employees accountable–a view also stated by the incoming Trump administration.
The greatest perceived barriers were the agency’s culture toward taking such actions, cited by 80 percent, the level of support given by managers and leaders, 77 percent, the quality of service provided by the HR office, 76 percent, and the perceived level of proof required by law, 74 percent.
Other challenges included how well the supervisor, manager or executive understands the process to take the action, by 64 percent, and the degree to which they are comfortable in taking away a person’s job, 45 percent.
On that latter point, MSPB noted that 88 percent of supervisors agreed with the statement, I think that some supervisors do not manage their employees’ conduct because the supervisors want to avoid conflict. “In other words, supervisors do not see their own discomfort with firing people as a major factor, but they believe other supervisors are hindered by a discomfort with conflict,” it said.
