In the 2022 version, an index of overall employee satisfaction fell from 64 to 62 percent positive. Image: LookerStudio/Shutterstock.com
The annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey will begin in early May with some 1.6 million federal employees to be contacted, OPM has told agencies, adding that questions introduced for the prior two surveys regarding the impact of higher levels of offsite work will continue – a practice coming under heightened scrutiny in Congress.
The survey is “one of the most powerful platforms for federal employees to have a voice in sharing their work experience, critical to achieving effective agencies and responsive public service in times of significant change and adaptation,” OPM said in a memo on chcoc.gov.
In the 2022 version, an index of overall employee satisfaction fell from 64 to 62 percent positive, the lowest level since 2018, while an employee engagement index held steady at 71 percent positive.
Core questions that go into those indexes that have been asked for many years, OPM said, as well as questions about the hybrid work environment—coming amid pressure from congressional Republicans for more employees to work onsite and for more often—and questions related to resilience, innovation, customer responsiveness and autonomy; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and information sharing.
Employee participation in the survey has slipped in recent years, however, down from 41 to 35 percent over 2018-2022. One commonly cited reason is skepticism that the results will be used to make the agency a better place to work; a question about that gets one of the lowest levels of positive response each year, just 43 percent in 2022.
Like prior announcements of the survey, the memo calls on agencies to encourage participation, which commonly includes for example allowing employees to fill it out during working hours. It adds that the value of the survey “is only fully realized when employees believe leadership at all levels of each agency value and engage in action on survey results.”
“Please share results with the workforce, both good and bad. Let employees know that they are heard, their input matters, and steps are being taken to both celebrate wins and improve aspects of work and workplaces with clear challenges,” it told agencies.
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