Federal employees in the U.S are more motivated, engaged and happier than their counterparts in the private sector, but at the same feel unappreciated by their immediate bosses, according to latest research.
The study by researcher Sirota found engagement levels among federal workers had improved from two years ago.
Federal workers were more likely to co-operate to get things done, felt they had more opportunities to improve their skills and enough information to do their jobs well.
But they were also dissatisfied with the level of recognition they got from their employers and from their supervisors.
They were less likely to feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things than private sector workers.
The study of 150,000 workers found employee engagement scores had improved in 75 per cent of the 250 federal employers polled.
Federal employees were more inclined to like the kind of work they did than private sector workers (83 per cent versus 75 per cent).
Yet they also more likely to feel disputes had not been resolved satisfactorily or fairly.
The study was now being fed back to employers to help them highlight their organisational strengths, weaknesses and trends and help them improve their workplace environments, said Sirota Survey Intelligence president Douglas Klein.
"Helping private and public sector leaders identify people issues, develop solutions and take action on survey results is our core competency," he added.
