How the Private Sector Compares

For some of the questions, OPM presented comparisons with similar survey questions of private sector employees. There was an insignificant difference on certain questions, such as cooperation in the workplace, opportunity to improve skills, sufficiency of information to do the job, feelings of accomplishment, and involvement in decisions that affect work. However, there were some more substantial differences: only 47 percent of federal employees were satisfied with the information they receive from management regarding what’s going on in the organization versus 60 percent in the private sector; 66 percent were satisfied with the job being done by their immediate supervisor versus 74 percent; 54 percent were satisfied with the training they received versus 61 percent; 60 percent believe they are encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things versus 67 percent; and 56 percent were satisfied with their organization overall versus 63 percent. In contrast, 83 percent of federal employees like the kind of work they do versus 76 percent in the private sector.