Around half of those surveyed said senior leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workplace. Image: Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThis year’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey again showed that employee views of leadership decline with each successively higher level of leader.
While OPM has not yet released an annual analytical report on the raw data, a newly updated dashboard shows comparative data for views about an immediate supervisor, the manager above that supervisor, and senior leaders (which are not specifically defined but which are generally taken to mean SES and political appointees above them).
While most questions regarding leadership are not directly comparable, many address similar themes and show that:
* Regarding immediate supervisors, positive views are: 78 percent regarding whether they support employee development; 84 percent regarding whether they support work-life balance; 82 percent regarding whether they listen to what an employee has to say; 86 percent regarding whether they treat the employee with respect; 77 percent regarding whether the employee has trust and confidence in the supervisor; and 78 percent regarding whether the supervisor is doing a good job.
* Regarding managers, positive views are: 66 percent regarding whether they communicate the goals of the organization; 60 percent regarding whether they promote communication among work units; 55 percent regarding how well they communicate what’s going on in the organization; and 66 percent regarding whether the manager is doing a good job.
* Regarding senior leaders, positive views are: 50 percent regarding whether they generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workplace; 62 percent regarding whether they maintain high levels of honesty and integrity; 63 percent regarding whether the respondent has a high level of respect for them; and 61 percent regarding whether they support work-life balance.
Most of those responses have changed by only a point or two over the 2019-2023 period, although over that time, trust and respect in the immediate supervisor rose from 72 to 77 percent positive and respect for senior leaders rose from 57 to 63 percent positive.
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