The People Lab

Public Servant Pulse: results from a first-of-its-kind national survey of U.S. state and local government employees

Public Servant Pulse is an annual nationally representative survey of state and local government employees. A total of 4,792 public servants participated in the inaugural year, including 320 state, 1,621 county, and 2,851 city or other local government employees. Employees represent 857 unique cities, 475 unique counties, and all 50 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Results are weighted to reflect the national population of state and local public servants. Findings therefore reflect a sample of 3,976 respondents for whom we can construct survey weights (see Methodology for details).

Respondents from over 1,300 local governments shared their experiences

CitiesCounties

Why they serve

Government employees in our sample are mission-oriented and motivated by the opportunity to serve. Two-thirds of respondents believe that the public sector is the best place to make an impact, and 63% say they were motivated to join the public sector by a desire to serve the public or make a difference.

Continue: Workforce health at a glance

Chapter 01

Workforce health at a glance

Public Servant Pulse measures five key workforce health indicators: workplace satisfaction, employee engagement, organizational pride, burnout, and intent to leave. Together, these indicators capture different dimensions of employee wellbeing that are linked to organizational performance, employee retention, and governments’ ability to deliver services.

Select an indicator on the wheel to learn more or scroll on.

Workplace satisfaction Learn more Employee engagement Learn more Organizational pride Learn more Burnout Learn more Intent to leave Learn more
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Workforce health at a glance

Workplace satisfaction

National workplace satisfaction score:

70 out of 100

What’s behind this score?

Workplace satisfaction is measured through three questions, which are re-scaled and averaged to create a workplace satisfaction score. Overall, 69% of employees are at least somewhat satisfied, and 41% are highly satisfied with their workplace (see Methodology for details). Each of the three components reveals similar patterns:

Job satisfaction

At least somewhat satisfied 82%

Satisfied or very satisfied 60%

82% are at least somewhat satisfied with their job, while 60% are satisfied or very satisfied.

Organization satisfaction

At least somewhat satisfied 68%

Satisfied or very satisfied 43%

68% are at least somewhat satisfied with their organization as a whole, while 43% are satisfied or very satisfied.

Would recommend their workplace

At least somewhat agree 82%

Agree or strongly agree 62%

82% of employees at least somewhat agree that they would recommend their workplace, while 62% agree or strongly agree.

Who reports higher satisfaction?

Average workplace satisfaction is 13 points higher among city and county government employees, compared to state government employees (71 vs. 58). State government employees make up 6.5% of the sample (N=252), so comparisons involving this group should be interpreted cautiously.

Satisfaction tends to be higher among employees with higher incomes, as well as among employees with the fewest and most years of service, with a dip among those in the middle years of service.

Satisfaction is 2–8 points lower among Black employees compared to White, Hispanic, Asian, and other race or multiracial employees. Differences in workplace satisfaction by other characteristics – including gender, frontline status, and education – are smaller (3 or fewer points).

Data Explorer See workplace satisfaction in the data explorer
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Workforce health at a glance

Employee engagement

National employee engagement score:

76 out of 100

What’s behind this score?

Employee engagement is based on three questions, which are re-scaled and averaged to create an employee engagement score. Overall, 78% of employees are at least somewhat engaged, and 51% are highly engaged at work (see Methodology for details). Each of the three components reveals similar patterns:

Motivation

At least somewhat agree 84%

Agree or strongly agree 68%

84% at least somewhat agree they are motivated to do their best work, while 68% agree or strongly agree.

Extra effort

At least somewhat agree 84%

Agree or strongly agree 67%

84% at least somewhat agree they are willing to do extra work, while 67% agree or strongly agree.

Positive challenge

At least somewhat agree 80%

Agree or strongly agree 59%

80% at least somewhat agree that their work is a positive challenge, while 59% agree or strongly agree.

Who reports higher engagement?

Engagement is 8 points lower among state government employees than among city and county government employees (69 vs. 77). State government employees make up 6.5% of the sample (N=252), so comparisons involving this group should be interpreted cautiously.

Engagement tends to be higher among employees with higher incomes, more years of service, and postgraduate education, with differences ranging from 3 to 9 points.

Engagement is 3 to 7 points lower among Black employees than White, Hispanic, Asian, and other race or multiracial employees. Differences in employee engagement by gender and frontline status are smaller (2 or fewer points).

Data Explorer See employee engagement in the data explorer
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Workforce health at a glance

Organizational pride

National organizational pride:

80%

How many people express organizational pride?

Overall, 80% of employees at least somewhat agree that they are proud to tell others where they work, while 65% agree or strongly agree.

Proud to tell others where they work

At least somewhat agree 80%

Agree or strongly agree 65%

“Being a public servant has been a gift. We don’t sell things to people that are bad for them. We don’t judge people based on where we assume they may be coming from. They bring us a problem; we turn our resources to helping.”
– City employee, Library

Who is more likely to express organizational pride?

City and county government employees are more likely to express organizational pride (82% and 80%, respectively) than state government employees (67%). State government employees make up 6.5% of the sample (N=252), so comparisons involving this group should be interpreted cautiously.

Employees with college or postgraduate degrees and higher incomes are also more likely to express organizational pride; differences by tenure, gender, and frontline status are small.

Hispanic employees (86%) and Asian employees (85%) are more likely to express organizational pride than White (79%), Black (78%), and other or multiracial employees (69%).

Data Explorer See organizational pride in the data explorer
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Workforce health at a glance

Burnout

Employees experiencing at least one symptom of burnout:

40%

What’s behind this measure?

Burnout is measured through three questions that capture distinct aspects of the employee experience. Overall, 40% of employees are experiencing one or more symptoms of burnout, but there is wide variation by dimension:

Emotional exhaustion

At least somewhat agree 34%

Agree or strongly agree 17%

34% at least somewhat agree that they feel exhausted at the thought of another day at work, while 17% agree or strongly agree.

Depersonalization

At least somewhat agree 18%

Agree or strongly agree 6%

18% at least somewhat agree that they feel disconnected from their work, while 6% agree or strongly agree.

Personal accomplishment

At least somewhat agree 5%

Agree or strongly agree 2%

Just 5% at least somewhat agree that they cannot manage the demands of their job well, and only 2% agree or strongly agree.

Who reports higher burnout?

Examining emotional exhaustion and depersonalization separately reveals a nuanced picture of who is experiencing burnout.

Depersonalization is nearly twice as high among state government employees as city government employees (30% vs. 17%). Emotional exhaustion is also higher among state employees (40% vs. 33%). State government employees make up 6.5% of the sample (N=252), so comparisons involving this group should be interpreted cautiously.

Emotional exhaustion is higher among employees who are in frontline roles, are female, have relatively less education, or have relatively fewer years of experience.

Depersonalization varies less by frontline status and gender, but is higher among Black and Hispanic employees, as well as employees with relatively fewer years of experience.

Data Explorer See burnout in the data explorer
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Workforce health at a glance

Intent to leave

National intent to leave:

27%

Why do employees intend to leave?

Overall, 27% of employees say they intend to leave their jobs in the next 12 months, 20% are unsure, and 53% do not intend to leave.

Among those who intend to leave:

Plan to retire 20%

Plan to take a job outside the public sector 20%

Plan to take a public-sector job elsewhere 23%

Plan to take another job within the same government 11%

Plan to leave for other reasons 26%

“I wish people understood the amount of invisible labor that goes into providing them with the things they regard as basic living standards, like well-maintained roads, thriving economic districts, attractive and safe parks and public spaces, clean water, well-constructed and safe buildings, police and fire that come when you call.”
– City employee, Human Resources

Who is more likely to say they intend to leave?

Intent to leave – both overall and for reasons other than retirement – is substantially higher among state government employees than among city and county employees: 38% of state employees say they intend to leave for any reason vs. 26% of city and county employees. State government employees make up 6.5% of the sample (N=252), so comparisons involving this group should be interpreted cautiously.

31% of employees with two or fewer years of service are considering leaving their role, compared to 25% of those with more than two years of service.

Differences by gender, education, and frontline status are small.

Data Explorer See intent to leave in the data explorer

Chapter 02

How do workplace experiences relate to workforce health?

What happens at work – from relationships with coworkers and supervisors to job and organizational conditions – is closely related to workforce health. Because Public Servant Pulse data are observational, we cannot determine whether employees’ workplace experiences cause differences in workforce health. But we can examine which experiences are most strongly associated with better or worse outcomes.

“I truly love my job, love my coworkers, love my leadership, my director, the creative opportunities and the community that I serve. I am just struggling to survive in the city that I serve.”
– City employee, Recreation
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1. Workplace relationships

Across measures of workplace relationships and team dynamics, employees who feel connected to and supported by the people around them report more favorable workforce health outcomes. Select a measure to see how it is associated with workforce health.

Belonging

77%

of employees say they feel like they belong at work.

Supervisor relationship

81%

of employees report having an effective relationship with their supervisor.

Perceived social support

79%

of employees say they have someone they can talk to at work.

Team cooperation

83%

of employees report working on cooperative teams.

Psychological safety

60%

of employees say it is safe to take a risk on their team.

Feeling understood

68% and 72%

of employees feel understood by their supervisor and coworkers, respectively, but just 49% feel understood by their department leadership and only 20% feel understood by their government leadership.

Data Explorer See more detail on workplace relationships and workforce health in the data explorer
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2. Job conditions

Employees tend to report more favorable workforce health when they have greater autonomy and experience less conflict between the roles they are asked to play at work. Select a measure to see how it is associated with workforce health.

Autonomy

80%

of employees say they have autonomy in how they do their jobs.

Role conflict

36%

of employees report role conflict (i.e., being asked to play conflicting roles at work).

“The tone, structure, and priorities set by department and city leadership have a huge impact on the day-to-day experience of the job and the ability for individuals and the department as a whole to make a difference for constituents.”
– City employee, Permitting
Data Explorer See more detail on job conditions and workforce health in the data explorer
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3. Innovation and red tape

Employees who see their organizations as supportive of innovation, and who encounter fewer organizational constraints, report more favorable workforce health. Select a measure to see how it is associated with workforce health.

Innovation

59%

of employees say their organization encourages innovation, and 52% of employees say their organization commits resources to innovation.

Red tape

31%

of employees say there are too many rules and procedures – or too much “red tape” – to do their jobs well.

“I used to think that government wasn’t working well due to too much bureaucracy, but I now see that it’s that, combined with not enough people hired for the processes that are built.”
– County employee, Health and Human Services
Data Explorer See more detail on innovation, red tape, and workforce health in the data explorer
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4. Harassment is relatively common and strongly associated with worse workforce health.

Overall, over one-third of employees report experiencing harassment – defined as being bullied, threatened, attacked, or harassed – at work in the past 12 months. Select a measure to see how it is associated with workforce health.

Experiences of harassment

35%

of employees report experiencing harassment at work at least once in the past year; 29% experienced harassment at least a few times, and 9% monthly or more.

Sources of harassment

22%

report harassment from internal sources, such as coworkers or supervisors, while 17% report harassment from external sources, such as residents or the media. Employees could report harassment from both internal and external sources, so these categories are not mutually exclusive.

“Since COVID, it feels like there is a deep seeded anger — both towards government (however defined) and towards the community at large. My integrity as a public servant is almost always called into question, regularly there are assertions made that I am ‘paid off’, and it is always said with such disdain for public professionals. Trust has been lost, it feels, and I don’t know what government can do to regain this loss.”
– County employee, Zoning and Permitting

Who is most likely to report experiencing harassment?

Harassment is less common among state government employees than city and county government employees, which appears to be driven by much lower rates of external harassment: 6% of state employees report experiencing harassment from external sources compared to 17% and 19% of county and city employees, respectively.

Frontline employees are 16 percentage points more likely to report experiencing harassment than non-frontline employees. Internal harassment is similarly common across these groups, but external harassment is substantially higher among frontline employees.

Female – and especially non-binary or other gender – employees are much more likely to report experiencing harassment than male employees: 51% of non-binary or other gender employees and 39% of female employees, compared to 30% of male employees. The number of non-binary or other gender employees in our sample is small – just 68 – and so this finding should be interpreted with caution, but these differences are still striking.

Data Explorer See more detail on harassment in the data explorer

Chapter 03

How does workforce health relate to how employees view the people they serve?

How residents interact with and experience government may shape trust in public institutions, as well as critical policy outcomes such as take-up of social benefits, civic engagement, and co-production of services. But these interactions go both ways: employees’ perceptions of the people and communities they serve may also influence service delivery. Public Servant Pulse measures employees’ views of residents and service delivery directly and examines how they relate to five key indicators of workforce health. Select a measure to see how it is associated with workforce health.

Trust in residents

41%

of employees at least somewhat trust residents, but just 10% report high trust in residents.

Shared values and beliefs

48%

of employees believe that residents share their values and beliefs.

Rules and administrative burdens

51%

believe residents take advantage of ambiguous rules, and 20% agree that it is fair to require residents to make a significant effort to access public services – a measure of tolerance for administrative burden.

Data Explorer See more detail on how workforce health relates to views of residents in the data explorer

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