Recent survey data points to a sharp decline in federal employee morale, engagement, and confidence in leadership. But understanding the full picture requires a closer look at how this data was gathered and what’s missing.
The findings come from a survey conducted by the Partnership for Public Service, which stepped in after the federal government chose not to run its annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) in 2025. That decision marked the first time in more than two decades that the government did not field its primary workforce sentiment survey.
In place of FEVS, the Partnership launched its own version to fill the gap. More than 11,000 employees responded across dozens of agencies, but in the context of a roughly 2 million-person federal workforce, that represents a response rate of about 0.5%.
That low participation rate is important. While the results show steep declines in engagement, leadership trust, and perceptions of agency performance, the sample is far smaller and more self-selected than the traditional FEVS, which typically gathers hundreds of thousands of responses annually.
Not surprisingly, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) pushed back on the findings. Officials noted that the survey was not conducted through official government channels and relied on a voluntary, self-selected group of respondents, making direct comparisons to prior years difficult. They also emphasized that the FEVS was paused to revise questions and reduce costs, with plans for it to return in a future cycle.
Even with those caveats, the directional trends are hard to ignore. A majority of respondents reported declining engagement. Confidence in leadership, already a historically weak area, fell to strikingly low levels. At the same time, employees expressed less confidence in their agencies’ ability to effectively carry out their missions.
For federal employees, this environment of uncertainty can have real implications. Periods of organizational instability often lead individuals to reassess career timelines, retirement decisions, and financial priorities. Confidence in leadership and agency direction isn’t just a workplace issue; it can directly influence when and how employees choose to step away.
Ultimately, while the methodology may be debated, the message is consistent: sentiment across the federal workforce appears to be under pressure. And when that happens, planning, both professionally and financially, takes on a heightened level of importance.
