Mixed Feelings Found on Pay for Performance

A final report by MSPB on a survey of federal employees it conducted in 2005 shows that employees have mixed views on the issue of pay for performance, and are less opposed to it than the overwhelmingly negative stance that employee organizations take on the issue would suggest. Virtually all respondents said that job performance should be a factor in determining pay raises and cash awards, followed by job-related skills and training, and work experience. Only 40 percent said that length of service should be a consideration. "These findings about personal control may help to explain why Federal employees’ satisfaction with pay is not higher than 60 percent. The salary progression for a majority of federal employees is determined by the general schedule, which largely relies on length of service, an uncontrollable factor, rather than individual performance," said the report.