Study Reveals More Than Half of Public Sector Employees Engaged

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adp logo  A survey by ADP and the International Public Management Association for Human Resources  (IPMA-HR) showed that out of the more than 2,200 workers polled,  58 percent of public sector employees were fully engaged in their jobs. The survey measured levels of employee engagement among public sector employees at the state and local levels. The data also revealed that 38 percent of public sector workers reported feeling somewhat to very likely to leave their jobs if working conditions do not improve.

“With numerous studies pointing to a strong correlation between worker engagement and organizational productivity, performance and talent retention, it’s clear that employee engagement is one of the top issues confronting HR decision makers today,” said Terrence McCrossan, general manager, ADP Human Capital Management. “Just as in the private sector, public sector organizations can benefit from having a clearer understanding of what motivates and satisfies their workforce, and from having a system in place to track whether their engagement levels are trending upward or not.”

“As numerous studies have shown, there is a direct correlation between employee engagement and high performance in the workplace, as well as talent retention,” said Neil Reichenberg, executive director, IPMA-HR. “Opportunities exist now for public sector HR professionals to better understand what motivates and inspires workers, and then formulate strategies for enhancing engagement at all levels.”

Additional findings included:

• 98 percent of public sector employees consider “serving the public with integrity” as the most distinguishing of engagement factors.

• Employees 34 years old or younger were below average in citing “making a difference” as a primary engagement component.

• Public sector employees identified as fully engaged are twice as likely to remain in their jobs, 2.5 times more likely to feel they are “making a difference,” 2.5 times more likely to recommend their workplace to others and three times more likely to be “very satisfied” with their jobs.

By Joshua Bjerke