Skip to content
PSHRA logo
  • Job Board
  • Store
  • Login Welcome, My AccountLog Out
  • Become a Member
  • Membership
    • Individual Membership
    • Agency Membership
    • Chapters
      • Establish a Chapter
      • Chapter Directory
    • Awards
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Community Forum
  • News & Resources
    • Public Eye Magazine
    • Public Eye Podcast
    • News
    • Research & Reports
    • Webinar Library
    • Assessments
  • Events & Engagements
    • Annual Conference
    • Event Calendar
  • Education & Certification
    • Certification
    • Courses
    • Webinars
    • Fellowships
  • Job Board
  • Store
  • Login Welcome, My AccountLog Out
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Youtube
  • Membership
    • Individual Membership
    • Agency Membership
    • Chapters
      • Establish a Chapter
      • Chapter Directory
    • Awards
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Community Forum
  • News & Resources
    • Public Eye Magazine
    • Public Eye Podcast
    • News
    • Research & Reports
    • Webinar Library
    • Assessments
  • Events & Engagements
    • Annual Conference
    • Event Calendar
  • Education & Certification
    • Certification
    • Courses
    • Webinars
    • Fellowships

December 2022

Federal Workers Less than Optimistic About Their Pay, Survey Says

Back to Posts
Placeholder image
Back to Posts
  1. Home
  2. Federal Workers Less than Optimistic About Their Pay, Survey Says
SHARE:

Compensation has always been and will always be a crucial component of employee satisfaction. So, it follows that an employee’s satisfaction—or dissatisfaction—with their pay is a key indicator of whether that worker might be considered a flight risk.  

Given this reality, findings from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) suggest there’s a significant number of federal workers who might be ready for takeoff to new career destinations.  

This year’s results see federal employees generally feeling less optimistic about their pay, compared to previous years. As FedSmith’s Ian Smith recently reported, government-wide satisfaction with pay was five percentage points lower in 2022 than in the past five years. (Last year’s FEVS saw a six point drop from 2020.)

As Smith noted, pay satisfaction falls within the category known as the Global Satisfaction Index in the FEVS survey, which saw more than 557,000 federal employees respond this year. The variables that factor into federal employees’ overall satisfaction are job satisfaction, organization satisfaction and employees’ likelihood of recommending their organization to others, in addition to pay.

Overall, job satisfaction fell two points this year, from 64% to 62%, with employees reporting less satisfaction in each of the aforementioned categories. For example, 66% said they were satisfied in their current jobs, compared to 67% saying the same in 2021.

The percentage of federal employees who would recommend working for their organization declined two points, while organization satisfaction dipped one point from 2021. The number of workers who are satisfied with their pay, however, decreased from 61% to 56%, representing the biggest drop among the four job satisfaction categories included in the 2022 FEVS.

What’s Driving Discontent with Compensation

So, why are some federal workers not completely happy with their compensation?

The OPM cites a number of factors. The agency attributes this year’s decline in pay satisfaction “to rapidly rising inflation that federal employees (and Americans as a whole) have had to deal with over the last couple of years,” wrote Smith, noting that the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts inflation over the past 12 months at 7.7%, and “much higher in some areas, food being among those.”

And, as Smith points out, the OPM also recently announced that 2023 premiums under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program are slated to increase an average of more than 7% overall, with the employees’ share of premiums going up by an average of 8.7% in 2023.

While federal employees watch these prices go up, however, they’re not seeing a corresponding increase in their pay.

“On top of all these rapidly rising costs, federal employees got a 2.7% average pay raise in 2022, and are most likely going to get a 4.6% pay raise in 2023,” wrote Smith. “Although the federal pay raise is not technically based on inflation, it has left many federal employees … frustrated that they are not getting a higher pay raise next year.”

That frustration seems to be more pronounced among workers at larger federal agencies. Consider that workers were happiest with their compensation at smaller organizations, with an average pay satisfaction score of 64 at “very small” agencies, 62 at “small” agencies” and 63 at “medium” agencies. Meanwhile, those scores were 57 and 55 at “large” and “very large” federal employers, respectively.

More to the Picture than Just Pay

Looking more broadly at the survey findings, though, it appears that federal employees’ discontent with their pay isn’t affecting overall employee engagement in a meaningful way.

(Gerome Q. Banks, Ed.D, MBA, analyzed the impact of pay and other factors on federal employees’ job satisfaction in a two-part series of articles, appearing in the September and October 2022 issues of HR News.) 

Overall, the 2022 average federal employee engagement score was 71, the same score seen in last year’s FEVS and just a one-point drop from 2020. (This year’s average employee engagement score actually represents a three-point increase from 2018.) And, again, these marks are higher among employees at smaller federal entities, where the average employee engagement score was 76 in 2022, compared to 72 and 70 at large and very large agencies.

Noting that federal employee engagement scores held steady while employee engagement is flagging in other sectors, OPM Director Kiran Ahuja points to this finding—along with the high scores that federal employees gave their supervisors and their agencies’ ability to meet customer needs, for instance—as signs that federal workers still maintain a positive view of their agencies’ overall performance over the past year.

“Amid unprecedented challenges, federal employees remain remarkably resilient, engaged and committed to public service,” said Ahuja said in a recent statement.

“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.”

PUBLISHED DATE

13 December 2022

AUTHOR

Category

HR News Article

Subscribe

Subscribe to the HR Bulletin
Subscribe

Related Posts

View more

September 2023

Elected Officials Press OMB to Increase Federal In-Office Requirements


Learn More

September 2023

Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition to Deliver Sign-On Letter to Congress


Learn More

September 2023

Research: Defense Community Struggling to Find Tech Talent


Learn More

Get started.

Public sector human resources is a challenging and essential profession. Don’t miss out on the knowledge, resources, and connections you need.

Contact Us
PSHRA logo

Public Sector HR Association
1617 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Phone: (703) 549-7100

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Youtube

About PSHRA

  • Leadership
  • Strategic Plan
  • Partner With Us
  • Press Releases

Support

  • Contact

Website

  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
© 2023 Public Sector HR Association
Scroll To Top
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Save & Accept