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The most satisfied employees in the federal government work for NASA,
according to results of the latest government wide employee satisfaction
survey.
Overall, 78 percent of NASA employees said they were satisfied with
their jobs in 1999, according to a summary of the best-performing
agencies in 32 categories obtained by GovExec.com. The National
Partnership for Reinventing Government and the Office of Personnel
Management, which administered the survey, have not yet officially
released the full survey results.
"NASA's an agency that has a really neat mission," said
Brian Welch, a NASA spokesman. "We explore the universe, we fly in
space, we advance the science of flying airplanes. We do things that are
cool."
In 1998, 62 percent of federal workers said they were satisfied with
their jobs, putting morale at NASA well above morale at most federal
agencies. Of the 32 issues on which employees were surveyed in 1999,
NASA scored highest on 14, including employees' ratings of their
immediate supervisors, the spirit of cooperation in their work units,
the agency's policies toward family and personal life responsibilities,
and the level of recognition they receive for doing a good job.
"I'm not at all surprised," said Keith Cowing, the editor
of NASA Watch,
an online news publication. "I used to work there. I loved my
job."
NASA employees also gave the space agency the highest score on
whether the agency "has made reinvention a priority."
Fifty-nine percent of NASA employees agreed with that statement.
But Donald Teague, president of the NASA Headquarters Professional
Association, said reinvention—in the form of downsizing and budget
cuts—has hurt morale at the agency. The NASA workforce has declined
from 24,000 employees at the end of 1993 to 18,000 at the end of 1999.
"I know a lot of NASA employees that are not satisfied,"
Teague said. "We're satisfied with the mission of NASA ... but I
don't know that we're all that satisfied with the current state of
NASA."
Welch agreed that downsizing has been tough on employees,
particularly at headquarters. But he added that senior managers,
including NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, have been working hard to
address employee morale. As an example, Welch pointed to the recent Mars
Polar Lander failure.
"At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, there are a lot of people who
are really hurting. The failure was very disappointing," Welch
said. "But the agency did not condemn those folks. Instead the
agency said there's nobody else that's better at this in the world, and
we're going to make mistakes. But we're also going to have
successes."
The survey also found pockets of success at other agencies. At the
Internal Revenue Service, for example, 90 percent of employees said the
agency has service goals aimed at meeting customer expectations.
The summary of the governmentwide survey results also suggests that
in some categories, even the best-performing agencies are not wowing
their employees. The Patent and Trademark Office, for example, scored
the highest marks of any agency in dealing with poor performers and
basing recognition and rewards on merit. But in both categories, only
about 50 percent of employees agreed that the agency does a good job in
those areas.
The Census Bureau got the highest percentage of positive responses to
the question, "Has your organization streamlined the process for
hiring employees?" Thirty percent of Census employees said yes.
The full results of the governmentwide survey are scheduled for
release later this month.
Top-Ranked Agencies in 1999 Employee Survey
| Issue |
Top Agency |
Percent
Positive |
|
|
| 1. There are service goals aimed at meeting customer
expectations. |
Internal Revenue Service |
90 |
|
|
| 2. There are well-defined systems for linking
customers' feedback and complaints to employees who can
act on the information. |
Bureau of Consular Affairs (State) |
61 |
|
|
| 3. Managers communicate the organization’s
mission, vision and skills. |
NASA |
74 |
|
|
| 4. My immediate supervisor has organized our
work group effectively to get the work done. |
NASA |
67 |
|
|
| 5. At the place I work, my opinions seem
to count. |
NASA |
73 |
|
|
| 6. A spirit of cooperation and
teamwork exists in my immediate work
unit. |
NASA |
80 |
|
|
| 7. Teams are used to accomplish
organizational goals, when
appropriate. |
NASA |
83 |
|
|
| 8. Employees are rewarded for
working together in teams (for
example, performance ratings,
cash awards, certificates,
public recognition). |
Census Bureau |
63 |
|
|
| 9. Employees in different
work units participate in
cross-functional teams to
accomplish work objectives. |
NASA |
78 |
|
|
| 10. Recognition and
rewards are based on
merit. |
Patent and Trademark
Office |
53 |
|
|
| 11. Creativity and
innovation are
rewarded. |
National Oceanic
and Atmospheric
Administration |
56 |
|
|
| 12. Employees
receive training
and guidance in
providing
high-quality
customer
service. |
Patent and
Trademark Office |
61 |
|
|
| 13.
Employees
receive the
training
they need to
perform
their jobs
(for
example,
on-the-job
training,
conferences,
workshops). |
NASA |
75 |
|
|
| 14.
Differences
among
individuals
(for
example,
gender,
race,
national
origin,
religion,
age,
cultural
background,
disability)
are
respected
and
valued. |
NASA |
74 |
|
|
| 15.
Supervisors/team
leaders
understand
and
support
employees’
family/personal
life
responsibilities. |
NASA |
82 |
|
|
| 16.
My
organization
has
made
reinvention
a
priority. |
NASA |
59 |
|
|
| 17.
In
the
past
2
years,
the
productivity
of
my
owrk
unit
has
improved. |
General
Services
Administration |
59 |
|
|
| 18.
In
the
past
2
years,
I
have
been
given
more
flexibility
in
how
I
accomplish
my
work. |
General
Services
Administration |
63 |
|
|
| 19.
Employees
are
required
to
report
the
hours
they
work
on
a
daily
basis.
* |
Patent
and
Trademark
Office |
85 |
|
|
| 20.
Corrective
actions
are
taken
when
employees
do
not
meet
performance
standards. |
Patent
and
Trademark
Office |
51 |
|
|
| 21.
Management
and
the
union(s)
work
cooperatively
on
mutual
problems. |
Financial
Management
Service
(Treasury) |
70 |
|
|
| 22.
Has
your
organization
simplified
travel
regulations? |
General
Services
Administration |
52 |
|
|
| 23.
Has
your
organization
streamlined
the
process
for
hiring
employees? |
Census
Bureau |
30 |
|
|
| 24.
Has
the
use
of
government
credit
cards
for
small
office
purchases
been
implemented
in
your
organization? |
General
Services
Administration |
81 |
|
|
| 25.
Are
you
clear
about
how
"good
performance"
is
defined
in
your
organization? |
Patent
and
Trademark
Office |
48 |
|
|
| 26.
Do
you
have
electronic
access
to
information
needed
to
do
your
job? |
NASA |
85 |
|
|
| 27.
Is
the
use
of
plain
language
writing
being
emphasized
in
your
workplace? |
Office
of
Personnel
Management |
52 |
|
|
| 28.
Considering
everything,
how
satisfied
are
you
with
your
job? |
NASA |
78 |
|
|
| 29.
How
satisfied
are
you
with
your
involvement
in
decisions
that
affect
your
work? |
NASA |
68 |
|
|
| 30.
How
satisfied
are
you
with
the
recognition
you
receive
for
doing
a
good
job? |
NASA |
62 |
|
|
| 31.
Overall,
how
good
a
job
do
you
feel
is
being
done
by
your
immediate
supervisor/team
leader? |
National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration |
71 |
|
|
| 32.
How
would
you
rate
the
overall
quality
of
work
being
done
in
your
work
group? |
Office
of
Personnel
Management |
84 |
*
Question
19
is
designed
to
see
if
agencies
have
stopped
requiring
employees
to
use
time
and
attendance
sheets.
PTO's
quota
system
for
processing
applications
requires
that
employees
track
their
time.