Resh & Brown: With Morale at the Department of Education at a Dismal Low, the New Administration Faces a Daunting Task – The 74
With thousands of personnel decisions on presidential appointees to be made in just eight weeks, the transfer of power is a logistical nightmare in the best of circumstances. While public attention often focuses on Senate-confirmed cabinet secretaries and the like, over 3,000 personnel appointments at the lower executive and upper-management ranks happen without Senate confirmation. These employees are often key to ensuring successful transitions from one president to another.
For a beleaguered federal workforce under constant attack from the White House since President Donald Trump took office, his refusal to concede and to cooperate with the Biden-Harris transition is a grand insult added to four years of injuries. Morale is falling at numerous federal agencies, and new data show the Department of Education has the most demoralized workforce of all.
Since 2002, a representative survey of federal employees has asked about workforce issues that are key barometers of an agency’s relative health and morale. These data allow us observe patterns within and across agencies, and draw conclusions about how satisfied federal employees are about their working conditions. The findings are deeply and particularly worrisome for the DOE.
In the most recent survey, a larger percentage of DOE officials said they are ready to leave than at any other agency in the federal government. Nearly half (42 percent) indicated that they intend to soon retire or depart for some other job — the highest rate in 15 years. And though other agencies are expecting high turnover, none approaches the DOE.