Civilian defense employees have grown increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs, and many wouldn’t recommend their organization as a good place to work, according to the federal government’s 2014 personnel survey.

The agency’s approval ratings this year dropped in 47 out of 84 categories, suggesting an overall decline in morale.

Paige Hinkle-Bowles, the Pentagon’s head of civilian personnel policy, acknowledged in a memo to employees that the survey revealed “challenges,” but he said agency leadership is committed to addressing worker concerns through “action planning and ongoing process improvements.”

No federal agencies have publicized their survey results yet, but some, including the Defense Department, have posted them online. The federal Office of Personnel Management generally announces the annual results in November or December, and the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service uses them as the basis for its Best Places to Work in Federal Government rankings.



Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel responds to a question during a news conference at the Pentagon on Aug. 21. (EPA/Shawn Thew)

This year’s results show that the civilian defense workforce remains deeply unsatisfied with senior leadership and managers. More than 42 percent of respondents said managers do not communicate goals and priorities effectively, and barely more than half said they respect senior leadership. Both rates declined by more than 2 percentage points compared to 2013.

Problems have also persisted in the areas of training, career advancement, accountability, and openness to new ideas.

Fifty-two percent of employees indicated that they are not satisfactied with job training, and 69 percent said they are not content with career-advancement opportunities, suggesting workers feel ill-prepared and stuck in their jobs.

Federal training budgets have shrunk in recent years because of spending cuts. Democrats are likely to use the survey results to argue that Congress needs to be more generous with funding, while Republicans will likely respond that the Obama administration needs to prioritize training under existing limits.

Only 52 percent of respondents said senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity, representing a drop of about 4 percentage points compared to last year. Additionally, 63 percent of employees indicated they don’t believe innovation is rewarded, and 55 percent said they don’t feel empowered to affect work processes.

Among the lowest scores, only 18 percent of employees said pay raises are based on job performance and just 27 percent said they believe their agencies take steps to deal with poor work.

On a positive note, the vast majority of employees expressed satisfaction with work-life programs. Nearly 90 percent said they are pleased with “alternative work schedules” and 71 percent gave positive reviews to telework.

Hinkle-Bowles said the overall survey results show that employees “remain very positive about their work, jobs and mission, and appreciate the work/life programs.”