In March, top Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the causes of federal employees’ low morale. The last few years have been challenging for federal employees and leadership. With a three-year freeze on basic federal pay rates, multiple government shutdowns, and unpaid furlough daysRead… Read more »
It’s not rocket science. When we feel like our work is appreciated, we work harder and give our best – but when we feel like no one notices our efforts, we start not to care too much about our jobs. As a manager, you have a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of this basic humanRead… Read more »
Especially in government, we constantly talk about doing more with less. But most often, those conversations focus on physical resources like office supplies, amenities, or space. And when we do think about the human element, it’s often in detached terms like ‘labor hours’ or ‘workforce supply’. However, if you manage an overburdened team, you areRead… Read more »
It’s well known that federal employee spirits are low, but how low? Record low? Seems like that could be the case.The Office of Personnel Management recently surveyed the 2.1 million workers across the government about their satisfaction at work and the results were troubling. The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Report foundRead… Read more »
How can you get your employees to give you the thumbs up? Improving morale is one place to start. “Budget cuts, restrictions, reduced resources, and shutdowns” could be the mantra of our times. Many public sector workers got into their field out of a love for service, but constant roadblocks can wear down even theRead… Read more »
We have all heard the phrase “Change is Good.” But is it? Change can be good; however, making a change without regard for those affected by it, is a recipe for trouble. When a leader tells employees about a change instead of involving them in the change, a team’s work quality, morale, and motivation suffers,Read… Read more »
Last week the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced the roll out of this year’s government-wide Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). However, did you know that over half of all feds disregarded the FEVS in 2013? That’s a paltry participation rate. Worse yet, some agencies had a shockingly low rate of under 30% of employeesRead… Read more »
“Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof Because I’m happy Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth Because I’m happy Clap along if you know what happiness is to you Because I’m happy Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do” – “Happy,” Pharrell WilliamsRead… Read more »
When Obama’s budget plan for fiscal 2015 was released, the plan had its fair share of supporters and naysayers. There are obviously many sections to the plan, but there is one specific portion that addresses the challenge that a plethora of articles have been written about and many agencies are challenged with lately…leadership, and specificallyRead… Read more »
A new Federal Employee Defection and Fallout PulsePoll found pay freezes, the current political environment and the prospect of a better salary in the private sector are driving 50% of federal employees to consider employment outside of government. 50%. One in two government employees is considering leaving, what can the government do to buck theRead… Read more »