The Morale Morass

Morale in federal agencies continues to fall, according to a recent survey of federal managers and executives.

In its annual survey, sent out last October, the Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association asked senior executives and high-ranking managers to rate morale in their agencies over the past three years. Nearly 60 percent said morale was low in 1996, compared with 47 percent who said morale in 1995 was low. Just 40 percent of respondents said morale was low in 1994.

Meanwhile, respondents saying morale was high in their agencies declined from 27 percent for 1994 to 21 percent for 1996.

Downsizing was cited by 69 percent of respondents as a hindrance to good performance in their agencies. Another 48 percent said that the Clinton administration's reinvention initiatives get in the way of work effectiveness. Respondents split on their opinions of reinvention plans for their own agencies; 41 percent thought their agencies' plans were "sensible" and 39 percent said they weren't.

The government's central management agencies--the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration--all got low marks from managers and executives. Less than a third of respondents agreed that any of the three are effectively performing their oversight tasks.

The association surveyed 896 federal executives, managers and retirees.

As for their own careers, 60 percent of respondents said they were satisfied working for their agencies. Only 52 percent said the same thing about the federal government as a whole.

Slightly more than half said there were not enough opportunities for advancement for them in the federal government.

Fifty-five percent of those eligible to retire said they would keep working for the federal government for financial reasons. Just 27 percent said they would keep working because they liked their jobs and 8 percent said they would stay because they believe in public service.