The Five WORST Places to Work in Government

Last week, the Partnership for Public Service released their annual list of the Best Places to Work in the federal government. The index, which measures the performance of agencies as related to employee satisfaction and commitment, showed the largest drop in employee satisfaction since the measurements began in 2003.

“The declining job satisfaction levels across the federal government come during turbulent times,” says the report, noting the decline in satisfaction correlates with hiring slowdowns, buyouts, increased retirements, budget constraints and a two-and-a-half year pay freeze that runs until the spring of 2013.

The results were broken down by three major categories:

• Large Agencies (those with 15,000+ employees)
• Mid-Size Agencies (those with 1,000 -14,999 employees)
• Small Agencies (those with 100 – 999 employees) 

Below are the five worst large, mid-size and small agencies to work for in the federal government, according to the 2012 Best Places to Work index. All scores are out of a possible 100.

(RELATED: The Five Best Places to Work in Government)

Worst Five Small Agencies

1. Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (32.7)
2. Federal Maritime Commission (34.7)
3. Federal Election Commission (46.5)
4. Federal Housing Finance Agency (49.6)
5. Millennium Challenge Corporation (53.8)

Worst Five Mid-Size Agencies

1. Broadcasting Board of Governors (46.8)
2. National Archives and Records Administration (47.4)
3. Department of Housing and Urban Development (54.0)
4. Securities and Exchange Commission (56.0)
5. Department of Education (56.8)

Worst Five Large Agencies

1. Department of Homeland Security (52.9)
2. Department of Veterans Affairs (56.7)
3. Department of Agriculture (tie) (57.4)
4. Department of Labor (tie) (57.4)
5. Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, Defense Agencies, and Department of Defense Field Activities (59.9)

Read more about the dip in employee satisfaction and visit bestplacestowork.org to see how your agency performed. 

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