Demographic Perspectives
While government-wide and organization-wide Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings can tell us a lot about employee views of the federal workplace, they do not provide a complete picture. To offer both federal leaders and job candidates a deeper perspective, the Partnership for Public Service provides Best Places to Work 2011 results across several demographic groups.
Gender, Age and Race
Looking at differences in scores across groups of employees may reveal potential areas for improvement. Previous iterations of the Best Places to Work rankings have identified gaps in employee job satisfaction along gender and age lines. In 2010, men were marginally more satisfied than women government-wide. This year's scores mark a reversal of that trend, showing that it is women who enjoyed a marginally higher satisfaction score of 67.1 compared to men, who registered a score of 66.4 on a scale of 100.
In 2011, federal workers under the age of 40 had a Best Places to Work index score of 67.8, a decrease of 1.5 percent from 2010. That was still 1.3 points higher than the index score for federal workers over 40, which also decreased, but by just 0.5 percent. The decline among these groups coincides with a decrease in the overall government-wide score that measures federal employee job satisfaction and commitment. The 2011 government-wide score was 64, down 1.5 percent from 2010.
Among racial and national origin groups, gaps remain. Employees who classify themselves as Asian were most satisfied (71.7), which is 7.7 points above the government-wide average of 64. They were followed by African-American employees (67.8), Hispanic or Latino (67.4), white (66.8), American Indian (61.2) and multi-racial (59.8). The biggest increase in the satisfaction score among racial groups was for multi-racial employees, whose index score was up by 7.1 percent.
Looking Closer at Individual Agencies
Even though women have a higher job satisfaction and commitment score overall, men expressed greater satisfaction at 18 of 30 large agencies for which demographic data was available. However, gender gaps decreased at most agencies, and only three had a gap larger than 4 points. The largest gender gap (6.1) occurred at the Department of Transportation, where women were more satisfied than men. The other two agencies with large gender gaps were the U.S. Agency for International Development (5.7) and the Department of Labor (4.8), with men scoring higher in job satisfaction. In 2010, four agencies had gender gaps larger than four points. Of those agencies, none had women scoring higher on satisfaction than men.
When considering age, the pattern at agencies reflects the government-wide results. Workers less than 40 years old tended to be more satisfied at most agencies. At 25 of 30 large agencies where data was available, those under 40 were more satisfied than the older colleagues. The General Services Administration (GSA) had the largest gap between younger and older workers for the second year in a row. In 2011, there was a 7.5 point gap favoring under-40 employees, and in 2010, it was slightly larger (8.6). Also for the second year in a row, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was the only agency where older employees were much more satisfied than their younger employees (a gap of 7.4 in 2011 and 6.3 in 2010).
An analysis of large agencies by race and ethnicity showed that Asians had the highest satisfaction index scores in 20 large agencies, Hispanics in six (Department of Education, GSA, Department of Homeland Security, NASA, Social Security Administration, Department of the Treasury), whites in three (Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, National Archives and Records Administration and the Office of Personnel Management), and African-Americans in one (Department of the Interior). Employees who designated themselves as multi-racial or American Indian did not have the highest index score at any large agency.
Model Agencies
Further agency-by-agency analysis reveals that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Government Accountability Office (GAO) set the standard for employee satisfaction across multiple demographic groups. The NRC scored number one among African-Americans, Asians, employees younger than 40, and multi-racial individuals. GAO was number one among employees 40 and older, women, men, whites, and Hispanics. GAO also participated in the support for diversity workplace category rankings for the first time and ranked top among large agencies. Large agencies not included in demographics rankings were the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Smithsonian, and the Intelligence Community. On a government-wide basis, the NRC ranked second in the Best Places to Work rankings while the GAO placed third overall.
The Best Places to Work rankings — the most comprehensive and authoritative rating of employee satisfaction and commitment in the federal government — are produced by the Partnership for Public Service.
