Results of the latest annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey trended downward almost unanimously, which OPM called concerning but not surprising given that the survey was taken amid a continued freeze on pay rates, the sequestration-triggered furloughs, hiring freezes, cutbacks in training and other budgetary disruptions—although before the partial government shutdown of early October. For example, there were drops in all nine questions focusing on employee satisfaction, covering topics such as pay, recognition, policies of senior leaders and the organization in general; the measure of overall job satisfaction has dropped steadily, from 71.5 percent positive in 2010, to 70.7, 68 and 64.9 percent over the following years. More than nine-tenths of employees still believe the work they do is important, are willing to put in extra effort to get the job done and look for ways to do the job better, but they are growing increasingly negative about topics such as their workload, physical conditions in the workplace and having the resources needed to get the job done, and fewer of them would recommend the government as a place to work.
