Employees who are fully engaged tend to work in offices that achieve better program results, call in sick less often and stay with their agencies longer, according to a new report by the Merit Systems Protection Board. This report is based on results from a 2005 survey of nearly 37,000 employees at 24 federal agencies, which found that despite dwindling resources and increased pressure to improve programs, agencies can thrive if managers connect with their employees. "Federal supervisors and managers have an important role to play in engaging employees," said MSPB Chairman Neil McPhie. "Those who are successful in engendering these attitudes will lead a more engaged workforce that will produce better outcomes for their agencies."
Executive Summary i
Engagement Background 1
Early Management Theory 1
What is Employee Engagement? 2
Engagement and Business Outcomes 3
Purpose of the Study 4
Measuring Federal Employee Engagement 7
Merit Principles Survey 7
MSPB Engagement Scale 7
Scoring Methodology 10
The Federal Work Force: Who is Engaged? 13
The Federal Work Force 13
Level of Organizational Responsibility 14
The Importance of First-Level Supervisors 16
Salary 19
Level of Education 19
Race/Ethnicity 20
Performance Management 21
Agency 23
Other Variables 25
The Importance of Federal Employee Engagement 27
Federal Agency Results 27
Intent to Leave 30
Sick Leave Use 32
Equal Employment Opportunity Complainants 33
Lost Time Case Rate 34
Measures Not Correlated to Engagement 35
Conclusions and Recommendations 37
Conclusions 37
Recommendations 39
Federal employees, their supervisors, agency management, union personnel, especially Human Capital officers and employees across the U.S. Federal Government may be interested in this report. Additionally, members of Congress, and Federal managers within the Office of Management and Budget, and Office of Personnel Management that is responsible for policy making authority may find this guide helpful as a reference with human resources and civil service matters. Additionally, students pursuing research for courses within these fields, especially public administration, human resources, employment law, organizational development, and industrial-organizational psychology may find this primary source document that deals with civil service issues helpful for assignments.
