The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released its governmentwide results of the 2023 OPM Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) today, showing an increase in Federal employees’ overall engagement.
The OPM FEVS governmentwide employee engagement index increased one percentage point to 72 percent compared to last year’s survey, and tying the five-year high set in 2020.
“The increase is notable – the equivalent of approximately 6,300 respondents, or roughly a medium-sized agency, sharing more positive opinions in this year’s survey,” the agency said.
Specifically, the employee engagement index score, which increased to 72 percent positive overall, saw two factors improve. Employees’ perception of the integrity of leadership increased two percentage points to 61 percent. Additionally, Feds’ feelings of motivation and competency in the workplace increased one percentage point to 74 percent.
The factor measuring trust, respect, and support between employees and their supervisors remained steady at a high of 80 percent positive.
Satisfaction with pay also increased one percentage point compared to the 2022 FEVS – up to 57 percent. However that figure is still down 10 percentage points from the 2020 FEVS, when 67 percent of Feds noted satisfaction with their pay.
The 2023 FEVS was the second year OPM included the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) index, which showed 71 percent of respondents reporting positive perceptions of agency practices related to DEIA, an increase of two percentage points from the DEIA score of 69 percent in baseline year 2022.
“This year’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey highlights that federal employees remain remarkably resilient, increasingly engaged, and value diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja. “These encouraging results provide opportunities for agencies to build momentum and support their workforce to leverage workplace flexibilities, continue advancing DEIA, and remain motivated to continue delivering for the American people.”
The global satisfaction index, which scores satisfaction with agencies overall, noted increases from several 2022 results. Job satisfaction was up two percentage points at 68 percent; satisfaction with organization increased to 62 percent from 60 percent in 2022; and willingness to recommend their agencies to others increased to 67 percent.
The performance confidence index, which measures employees’ belief that their work unit can achieve goals and produce at a high level, remained consistent at a high of 84 percent.
The OPM FEVS is the largest annual survey of government employees in the world that tracks how federal employees view their current work environment, including workforce management, policies, and new initiatives.
This year, OPM FEVS was administered as a governmentwide survey to Federal employees who have been onboarded with their agency as of November 2022. A total of 625,568 employees completed the survey for a response rate of 39 percent.
The FEVS 2023 governmentwide results can be viewed on OPM’s new FEVS public dashboard, which was launched in May. This tool provides the public with an innovative way to access the governmentwide and agency-size survey results.
