OPM Releases 2022 FEVS Results, New Diversity and Innovation Indexes
On Thursday, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released the government-wide results of the 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The survey asks employees their views on their current work environment, including management, policies, and new initiatives.
This year, the FEVS added questions about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 14035. The survey also asked new questions about changing workplace conditions such as telework. A total of 557,778 employees completed a survey for a response rate of 35 percent.
According to analysis of the survey results, federal employee’s global satisfaction slipped to 62 percent in the 2022 FEVS compared to 64 percent in 2021. The job satisfaction index also declined to 66 percent this year, from 67 percent in 2021, and 72 percent in 2020. Federal News Network reported that pay satisfaction saw a sharper decrease, at 56 percent for 2022, 5 percent below last year’s score of 61 percent.
OPM highlighted several data points from the survey in their release, according to OPM:
· The Performance Confidence Index, which measures employees’ view that their work unit can achieve goals and produce at a high level, remains high at 84 percent.
· The new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Index shows 69 percent of respondents report positive perceptions of agency practices related to DEIA.
· The newly included Innovation section measures to what extent leadership encourages and supports new ideas and innovative approaches. The survey scores show success and opportunities for innovation encouragement, with 64 percent of employees consistently looking for new ways to improve work and 56 percent noting that management encourages innovation.
According to the FEVS results, 14 percent of federal employees have remote work arrangements and 25 percent telework three or more days per week. According to Federal News Network, this is a decline from 2021 when 36 percent of FEVS respondents said they teleworked every day.
At very small agencies, telework was more common, with 48 percent of respondents from these agencies reporting to telework three or more days. Still, 74 percent of respondents said they would not consider leaving based on telework or remote work options.
On diversity issues, smaller agencies also had a higher perception of their agencies DEIA initiatives, with 76 percent having a positive perception. More than half of respondents also agreed that their agency was taking diverse employee needs and situations when building agency reentry plans.
“Amid unprecedented challenges, federal employees remain remarkably resilient, engaged, and committed to public service,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja in the release announcing the results. “Federal employees are finding creative solutions to stay connected to their teams, leverage workplace flexibilities, and remain motivated to continue doing the critical work on behalf of the American people.”