EPA scientists criticize agency management

A majority of scientists in the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development laboratories and centers do not trust their supervisors, do not believe that management considers their interests and do not think managers are competent to deal with difficult situations, an internal survey shows.

The results of the survey were obtained by the Washington-based advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility after it filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the agency in March.

"These survey results are the early warning signs of a scientific organization drifting toward dysfunction," PEER Program Director Rebecca Roose said. "Thus far, ORD has chosen to mask problems by initiating an aggressive PR campaign."

"EPA is proud of the work of its scientists, many of whom are nationally recognized experts in their fields," agency officials said in a statement on the survey. "The agency does first-class research and is at the forefront on many emerging issues…."

The survey, conducted online, consisted of 38 multiple-choice questions, 12 demographic questions and seven narrative questions. It was distributed to 2,043 research and development employees; 1,351 completed the survey--a 66 percent response rate.

Employing about 2,000 scientists, EPA's Office of Research and Development consists of three national laboratories, four national centers and two offices.

The survey concluded that "overall job satisfaction and commitment remains high" in the organization, but "some aspects of communication and trust continue to pose challenges for ORD." Fifty-six percent of the employees agreed with the office's direction, the survey stated.

But the survey also found that only 24 percent of employees in the organization's laboratories said they received feedback from managers, 20 percent believed managers took their interests into account when making decisions, 27 percent felt management followed through on their commitments and 30 percent said they thought managers competently addressed challenging situations.

The responses showed a perception gap between managers and staff members. For example, 45 percent of managers said they thought staff members trusted management, while 23 percent of nonmanagers indicated such trust.

"The problem with ORD is that management cuts off the legs of the scientists below the knee and then asks them to run faster," one survey respondent wrote, according to a collection of PEER-selected essays from the survey.

Another charged that management had moved scientists away from their fields of expertise, hurting the organization's productivity and reputation.