A report showed that manipulation of hiring practices was the most commonly seen or experienced prohibited personnel practice. Image: Fida Olga/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffEleven percent of federal employees who responded to a 2021 MSPB survey agreed with the statement that “In my job, I am sometimes put under pressure to break the rules,” which the MSPB said, somewhat dryly, “is not in line with the intent of the principles that govern the civil service.”
MSPB included the data in a newsletter that delves into aspects of a recent survey on federal employee perceptions of “prohibited personnel practices,” or PPPs. MSPB said that some 15 percent had personally experienced one of those practices over the prior two years and another 14 percent said they had seen one. That report also showed that manipulation of hiring practices was the most commonly seen or experienced practice and that experiences varied by agency, with DHS and the State Department the highest and NASA, Commerce and SEC the lowest.
For its latest publication, the MSPB examined the relationship between “putting pressure on employees to behave unethically” and employees’ intention to leave their jobs. Also taken into account was a three-level score of employee engagement, based on responses to questions about job satisfaction and pride in their work.
It found that among “engaged” employees, feeling pressure to break the rules increases intentions of leaving from 12 percent to 38 percent; among those “somewhat engaged,” from 27 to 42 percent; and among those “not engaged” from 56 to 62 percent.
“Engaged employees appear to be more sensitive to pressure to break rules than those not engaged. This may be taken as a warning that such pressure appears to prompt engaged employees to consider quitting more so than those who are not engaged,” it said.
“The desire to leave one’s work unit in the face of pressure to behave unethically is unfortunate for the agency due to the potential loss of an engaged employee. It is also testament to the ethics of federal employees — particularly those who are engaged — many of whom report increased quit intentions when they feel pressure to behave unethically,” it said.
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