The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday, April 28, published the 2021 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Results. The complete report can be found on the OPM website. The survey does not separate out employee responses of the National Park Service from the rest of the Department of the Interior. Overall, the responses from the employees of the Department of Interior align with the Federal government as a whole.
Interior employees reported slightly higher satisfaction with their personal work experiences. Specifically, responses to questions regarding opportunities to improve skills, developing new ways to do things, and feeling personal accomplishment all were higher than the government average and little changed from the 2020 responses.
| Strongly Agree and Agree | ||
| Interior | Government | |
| Q. 1 I am given a real opportunity to improve my skills in my organization. | 72.6 | 68 |
| Q. 2 I feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things. | 69.8 | 64 |
| Q. 3 My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment. | 75 | 71 |
For five of the six questions about organizational leadership, Interior scored lower than the governmentwide average, including on metrics such as senior leadership integrity, managerial communication, and respect for senior leadership. Again, there is little change from the 2020 responses.
| Strongly Agree and Agree | ||
| Interior | Government | |
| Q. 5 My workload is reasonable. | 54.7 | 62 |
| Q. 22 My agency is successful at accomplishing its mission. | 75.6 | 80 |
| Q. 32 In my organization, senior leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce. | 42.6 | 49 |
| Q. 33 My organization’s senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. |
55.3
|
60 |
| Q. 34 Managers communicate the goals of the organization. | 61 | 66 |
| Q. 35 Managers promote communication among different work units. | 55.4 | 59 |
| Q. 36 Overall, how good a job do you feel is being done by the manager directly above your immediate supervisor? | 62.6 | 66 |
| Q. 37 I have a high level of respect for my organization’s senior leaders. | 52.8 | 60 |
The Coalition recognizes that there are significant human resources concerns for the NPS. In a February letter to Director Sams, the Coalition identified several areas of concern and remains committed to supporting Director Sams’ efforts to improve NPS employee morale and advocate for legislative solutions that would support NPS’ efforts.