Partnership for Public Service Asks if Federal Employees Trust Their Employer
According to a recent survey of approximately 500 federal employees, the Partnership for Public Service in collaboration with Deloitte, suggests that civil servants' trust in government is closely linked to leadership performance, productivity, and retention.
“The evidence of correlation between familiarity and trust suggests that knowledge about civil service institutions is an important metric,” Paul Pietsch stated, Senior Manager at the Partnership, “Federal employees' trust in civil service institutions is shaped by their perceptions of how leaders understand, adhere to and enforce civil service rules.”
The findings come from an online survey conducted in December 2021 among 475 federal employees ranging from the GS-7 to the Senior Executive Service (SES) levels representing 35 agencies. The survey results also included 20 one-on-one interviews and two roundtable discussions conducted with past and present federal leaders.
The degree of trust in a fair and equitable working environment; career advancement paths that are clear; and supervisors' ability to address poor performance was moderate or just below. The level of trust in whistleblower protections, arbitrary action, and political coercion ranked close to the middle on a five-level scale, but the level of trust in protections against personal favoritism rated closer to the bottom of the scale.
Respondents indicated varying levels of familiarity with the agencies and structures tasked with maintaining employee protection. The report ranked the following entities in descending order from slight to moderate familiarity by respondents:
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC);
Inspectors General (IGs);
Office of Government Ethics (OGE);
Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB);
Office of Special Counsel (OSC); and,
Title 5 of the U.S. Code.
The Partnership found trust was also moderate regarding rules that require applicants to be treated fairly, employees to be paid equally for comparable work, and employees to be hired solely based on ability, knowledge, and skills. A correlation appears to exist between respondents’ relatively low familiarity with Title 5 employee protections and a moderate trust of the entities that enforce the protections.
“Survey respondents connected their concerns about leaders' bias or favoritism influencing hiring, performance management and promotions to their trust in civil service institutions. Furthermore, some respondents said they wouldn’t report a civil service violation—even if they know how to—citing lack of trust in leaders to prevent retribution or facilitate an effective investigation,” Pietsch continued.
With trust ratings barely reaching the average on a scale from one to five, Senior Executives Association (SEA) notes a correlation between diminishing trust in the federal government among the public and the perception within the government that agencies can be trusted to treat their employees appropriately.
“The findings of this study that federal employees largely do not understand the system of rules and laws governing their conduct within the federal workplace should be a wakeup call within the civil service. If the rules are too complicated to understand, they simply won’t be respected or followed. The Biden administration should work with Congress to rationalize the byzantine system of laws and rules governing the federal workforce,” said Jason Briefel, SEA Director of Policy & Outreach.
Last November, the White House launched the Biden Administration’s President’s Management Agenda Vision to address long-standing weaknesses in government operations, including its top priority: strengthening and empowering the federal workforce.
According to the management consulting firm Gallup, although the agenda is a longtime coming, it overlooks a key element in the federal government: managers are responsible for creating an environment where everyone feels valued and committed to achieving organizational goals.
A study by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) concluded federal managers need to be identified, selected, and developed in a way that will ensure effective leadership. OPM highlighted a core issue: in the private sector, managers are rewarded and recognized for the performance of their teams. OPM conducted this study over 20 years ago, but commissions, hearings, and studies on government operations continue to overlook the importance of middle management in virtually all discussions.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to remote working raised the issue of supervisory problems as well as the importance of maintaining team and organizational performance and changed the trajectory of the future of work. Developing new supervisory styles, providing new developmental opportunities, and implementing related appraisal and recognition practices are all vital for federal agencies, according to Gallup.
“While progress reports are beneficial for maintaining focus, significant change is unlikely without strong and sustained leadership,” concluded Briefel.
In May, the Partnership will publish the final report that will include recommendations on how to increase federal workers' trust in government. Until then, Pietsch suggests that efforts to increase trust in government should focus on improving the confidence of federal civil servants in their leaders.
