Stressed in the Public Sector

From the public sector’s perspective, there’s some good and not-so-good news to emerge from a recent Eagle Hill Consulting survey.

According to the Washington, D.C.-based consultancy’s poll of 1,001 U.S.-based workers, the level of job-related burnout among government employees is on the decline, if only slightly.

Among the 475 federal, state and local government workers taking part in the survey, 52% said they are burned out from their jobs, compared to 56% of public sector employees saying the same when Eagle Hill Consulting conducted a similar survey in 2022.

That said, public sector employees are still reporting work-related burnout at a “notably higher” rate than their counterparts in the public sector, according to Eagle Hill Consulting’s survey, which finds 46% of private sector workers saying they are burned out.

Among government workers, the poll sees burnout levels highest among women (59%), younger workers (57%) and lower-income government workers (54%).

Time to Start the Dialogue

What has public sector workers feeling so overwhelmed?

Melissa Jezior, Eagle Hill Consulting president and chief executive officer, sees a number of factors at play.

“Many public service jobs are inherently stressful and often have demanding workloads—firefighting, 911 dispatchers, emergency and disaster response, to name just a few,” Jezior told PSHRA.

Financial worries fuel burnout as well, “given that public service workers often have lower salaries than private sector employees with similar qualifications,” she continued. “Also, there is an unprecedented shortage of public service workers, in the wake of COVID-19 and the Great Resignation, which is a new wrinkle.”

Indeed, Eagle Hill’s survey found 43% of government employees saying that staffing shortages contribute to their burnout, second only to “workload,” which, at 48%, was the most frequently cited factor. Another 31% indicated that “time pressures” were a significant contributor to their work-related stress.

When asked how the aforementioned staff shortages were affecting their workloads, 84% of government workers experiencing burnout said covering for unfilled positions is making their jobs more stressful. Close to half (47%) said that helping others learn the job was creating more work for them, with 42% saying that training new hires was adding to their workload.

Many of these same stressed-out government workers (69%) feel strongly that increased flexibility would help reduce burnout, with another 66% suggesting that a shortened, four-day work week would help lighten their load. Others said the same about decreased workloads (65%), working from home (60%), better health and wellness benefits (61%), reducing administrative burdens (58%) and offering more on-site amenities (50%).

Most government workers would apparently be willing to discuss what’s got them stressed with their supervisors. The survey found 65% of burned-out government workers saying they are comfortable telling their manager or employer they feel that way. HR and other leaders in public sector organizations should be starting those conversations, said Jezior.

“We’ve seen that each jurisdiction and profession often have their own unique reasons for burnout. For example, the burnout situation for teachers is far different than it is for police officers. That means it’s important for HR leaders to really get to the specific root causes of burnout for their employees and then implement tailored solutions.”

In some situations, financial remedies such as bonuses and/or raises might help relieve employee stress, she said, while alleviating workloads or reworking schedules—a more complex task—might be appropriate in other instances.

“In other cases, aggressive action to fill open jobs might be the best approach. We’ve also even seen that expressing appreciation and recognition programs also can help, especially for public service workers who are mission-driven,” Jezior concluded.

“But the first step is to initiate honest conversations with workers about burnout levels and triggers. Most government employees who are experiencing burnout feel comfortable talking out it, so that is a bit of good news from our research.”