US nuclear workers happiest federal employees: poll

Posted 06 6 2009 3:59AM

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Workers in the US nuclear and space agencies are the happiest federal employees compared to their counterparts in the transport and archives departments, a new study said Wednesday.

The study, carried out by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS), looked at working conditions in 278 federal agencies and bodies, evaluating the satisfaction levels of some 212,000 US government employees.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission emerged a clear winner scoring 80.7 percent in ratings for employee satisfaction, up from 76.2 percent last year.

The agency's mission is given as "to ensure the safe handling of nuclear materials and to oversee nuclear facilities."

It was followed by the Government Accountability Office, with a 76.6 percent rating, and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration in third place with 71.7 percent.

But in comparison the Transport Department trailed in last with 52.2 percent, lower than last year's 52.9 percent and behind the National Archives and Records Administration which only scored 56 percent.

"The whole idea of employee engagement is to make the workplace more productive," said Robert Tobias, director of American University?s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation.

"These rankings provide an incentive for agencies to focus on their employees, they give a roadmap for improvement, and they help Congress fulfill their oversight responsibilities."

One of PPS's vice presidents, John Palguta, told The Washington Post, that there were several factors explaining why overall employee satisfaction was up 2.4 percent, from 61.8 to 63.3.

Amid the economic downturn, many people were more appreciative of the fact that they have a job, many saw that they had a role to play in ending the crisis, and the arrival of a new administration had also boosted satisfaction levels.