Public rates federal jobs poorly on pay, chances for innovation

Americans think government jobs offer good benefits and security and that's about it, according to survey results released Tuesday.

The public rates federal jobs far below those in the private sector in terms of salary (not including benefits), opportunities for promotion, impact on important causes, competitive environment, chances for innovation, work environment and the quality of co-workers, the Gallup Organization found in its first poll on attitudes toward government work.

But the good news for agencies that have to hire enough new workers to replace the nearly 50 percent of employees ready to retire over the next decade is that 34 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds still indicated that they were interested in federal work.

Gallup canvassed about 2,500 people in September and October for its poll.

Not every federal agency fared the same. Gallup surveyed Americans on their knowledge of specific agencies and how interested they would be to work for them. Agencies like the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration scored high for awareness, but low for interest in actually working there.

Seven agencies scored well on both counts: the CIA, NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Education, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security departments.

Gallup, which partnered with the nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government to conduct the poll, also zoomed in on people in three fields that are in high demand in government: science and engineering, law, and public policy and social services. Thirty percent of respondents in these areas expressed interest in working for the government.

Among all those surveyed, the ability to use education, be intellectually stimulated and be innovative were top factors in choosing a job. But innovation and creativity was the category where the government scored the lowest in comparison to the private sector.

Linda Springer, who leads the government's recruiting efforts as director of the Office of Personnel Management, said she was most surprised by Gallup's finding on the public's perception of opportunities for innovation. If Gallup surveyed actual federal employees, then the outcome would be different, Springer said at the headquarters of The Washington Post, where the groups unveiled the survey.

"I think you'd find that people feel they're doing a lot of innovative work," Springer said.

She said the high rate of interest in government jobs among young people is heartening.