Following is an analysis done by OPM of data from the recently released 2012 federal employee survey on the linkage between employee engagement at work and the employee intentions to leave their jobs.
Employee Engagement Index
Engaged employees are passionate and dedicated to their job and organization. They are immersed in their work and energized to spend extra effort to do their jobs well. The 2012 FEVS does not contain direct measurements of employee engagement. However, the survey does cover most, if not all, of the conditions likely to lead to employee engagement (for example, effective leadership, work which provides meaning to employees, the opportunity for employees to learn/grow on the job, etc.).
The FEVS Employee Engagement Index is an overarching model comprised of three subfactors: Leaders Lead, Supervisors, and Intrinsic Work Experiences. Employee Engagement scores are relatively consistent with the 2010 levels. Approximately two out of three employees report positive conditions for engagement still exist in their agencies. The individual subfactors that make up the Employee Engagement Index have also remained consistent over time. The Leaders Lead subfactor score (54 percent) is 17 percentage points lower than the Supervisors and the Intrinsic Work Experiences subfactors (71 percent), respectively. Engagement scores across agencies ranged from a high of 76 percent to a low of 56 percent. The 2012 range is slightly lower than the high and low scores for 2011. Table 5 shows the agencies with engagement scores over 70 percent.
Since 2010, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Federal Trade Commission have been the three highest scoring agencies for engagement. However, Office of Management and Budget and National Credit Union Administration had the largest one and two year increases in overall engagement. Over the last year, Office of Management and Budget and National Credit Union Administration scores increased 10 and five percentage points respectively, and both had seven percentage point increases since 2010.
Impact of satisfaction and engagement on employees’ leaving intentions
Individually, Global Satisfaction and Employee Engagement do not provide the entire picture. The components of Employee Engagement – Leaders Lead, Supervisors, and Intrinsic Work Experiences – and Global Satisfaction combine to create a dynamic relationship that drives results.
Our analysis of the interaction between Employee Engagement and Global Satisfaction indicates that 42 percent of employees are highly engaged and highly satisfied. Another 31 percent of employees are classified as moderately engaged, with high satisfaction. The moderately engaged and low satisfied group of respondents makeup 21 percent of the Employee Engagement/satisfaction continuum.
When examining employee intentions to leave in relation to their levels of engagement and satisfaction an interesting picture emerges. Employees classified as moderately engaged with high satisfaction are twice as likely as highly engaged with high satisfaction employees to report they are considering leaving their organization within the next year, for reasons other than retirement. The moderately engaged with low satisfaction group is five times more likely than the highly engaged with high satisfaction group to consider leaving their organization.
