Between the change in presidential administration and multiple pressing issues on the global and domestic front, the U.S. federal government has its hands full. New polling by Eagle Hill Consulting has found that federal workers are feeling the effects of their stressful workloads.
According to the 2020 Eagle Hill Consulting Federal Employee Experience survey, which polled 509 respondents from federal employees nationwide in December 2020, the majority of federal employees (57 percent) report feeling burnt out, with one in three citing COVID-19 circumstances as the culprit.
Supervisors and senior executives reported some of the highest levels of fatigue, with 70 percent reporting feeling burned out. Of that cohort, 43 percent attributed it to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Federal employees remain under immense pressure – from the COVID-19 pandemic, to a far-reaching data hack, to implementing a presidential transition," says David Witkowski, public service industry lead with Eagle Hill Consulting. "This level of burnout at all levels of the federal workforce is deeply troubling. Federal leaders have got to find a way to make workloads sustainable for employees and better equip managers to lead. Otherwise, agencies will struggle to retain talent and deliver on their mission."
Millennials, or those born roughly between 1980 and 1994, reported burnout in significantly higher numbers (64 percent). This tops Generation X (55 percent), and Baby Boomers (50 percent). Millennials were also more likely to report burnout resulting from the pandemic (41 percent) compared to other groups, where Gen X and Baby Boomers reported 26 percent and 19 percent, respectively.
"While younger workers make up about 24 percent of the federal workforce, the impact will grow as they move up the career ladder. Failure to address Millennials' burnout means these employees will either look for opportunities outside of the federal government or they won't be operating at peak performance," Witkowski says.
When Eagle Hill Consulting asked workers to get more specific about the cause of their burnout, the answers ran the gamut. Forty-four percent said their workload was the main cause, 40 percent cited lack of communication, feedback, and support. Thirty-three percent indicated their stress was largely due to time pressure, and 29 percent pointed to a lack of proper tools and technology needed to do their work. The smallest group, 27 percent, said the source of their burnout was from juggling personal and professional life.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.