Roughly a third of employees at federal offices gave their department a score of "D" or worse in 2023, according to a newly released analysis of the best and worst places to work in the federal government.
On Monday, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service released findings on employee morale at 532 federal agencies and agency components, revealing that while scores across the government had improved slightly since 2020, employees overall remained unhappy.
"The gains in federal employee engagement are promising and indicate that an intentional focus on the management of the workforce can make a difference," Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, said in a statement.
Of the 17 federal departments and large agencies in government, just six received a score of "C-" or better, while the 11 others were scored "D" or "F."
Across the government's 1 million civilian workers, the average approval score in general was 65.7%, up 2.3 points from 2022.
Employees who telework full time were the happiest workers and scored their workplaces an average of 75 out of 100 compared to workers at headquarters, 69 out of 100, and employees who worked in field offices, 61 out of 100.
As recently as last week, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) called for the federal government to continue to bring all federal workers back to the office following a protest by some Justice Department workers who refused to stop working remotely. Ernst did not respond to a request for comment on the new findings that remote workers were much happier than their in-office counterparts.
Age also played a significant role in general happiness at work. Employees over 60 scored highest compared to employees in their 30s, who ranked lowest.
The Boston Consulting Group worked with the PPS to examine data from employee surveys. Most of the polling results came from questionnaires issued in the Office of Personnel Management's 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.
Employees were asked three questions about whether they would recommend their office to others, were satisfied at work, and were satisfied with their organization. Overall satisfaction, effective leadership, recognition, work-life balance, pay, and support for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility were each considered in each organization's score.
Best places to work
NASA was the top place to work in the government, marking the 12th consecutive year it has topped the list.
Runners-up in the large agency category included the Department of Health and Human Services, the intelligence community, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Veterans Affairs —all of which had scores between 70 and 76.
Among midsize agencies, top performers were the Government Accountability Office, General Services Administration, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Environmental Protection Agency. All had scores between 77 and 89.
Atop the small agency list were the National Indian Gaming Commission, National Endowment for the Humanities, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, U.S. Office of Special Counsel, and Farm Credit Administration. Scores among the top five small agencies ranged from 83 to 94.
More than 450 offices were pit against one another in the final subcomponents category. The Office of Negotiations and Restructuring within the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation topped the list with the highest score in all of government: 96.7.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency at the Defense Department, Office of the Chief Financial Officer at the PBGC, Office of Governmentwide Policy at the General Services Administration, and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer at the National Credit Union Administration all filled out the top five with scores above 90.
Most improved places to work
Of the 17 large government agencies, the Department of Homeland Security was the most improved, with a nearly 6-percentage-point increase, though still finishing with a "D-" rating of 60.8.
The midsize Federal Trade Commission, small agency Consumer Product Safety Commission, and subcomponent Defense Technical Information Center were most improved in their respective categories. Increases ranged from 8 to 23 percentage points.
Worst places to work
Large agencies with failing ratings, or numbers below 60, include the Justice Department and Social Security Administration. The DHS and State Department both received scores of 60.8.
The DHS has weathered a historic border crisis since President Joe Biden took office in early 2021. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) told the Washington Examiner last Friday that he anticipates DHS agency U.S. Customs and Border Protection will have encountered more than 10 million migrants by September since Biden took office — more than any figure in two-term presidential administrations.
CBP was ranked No. 432 out of 459 in subcomponents, with a score of 55.
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The lowest-scoring midsize agencies in order of lowest to highest were the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the National Archives and Records Administration. Scores ranged from 57 to 66.
The FDIC saw a 6.5-percentage-point drop from 2022 to 2023 following a revelation of widespread sexual harassment within the agency.
