Employee Attitudes within the Federal Aviation Administration

Abstract

Prompted by Congressional direction, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) instituted a means of assessing employee attitudes following the 1981 air traffic controllers' strike. As a result, the FAA first administered the Employee Attitude Survey (EAS) to its employees in 1984. The survey has been administered nine times since its inception, most recently in 2003. Approximately 48,900 surveys were mailed to all FAA employees. The 2003 EAS contained 129 items organized into three major sections: (1) Indicators of Satisfaction, (2) Management and Work Environment, and (3) Respondent Demographics. In addition, the survey invited respondents to provide comments. By December 2003, 22,720 valid surveys were returned, for a 46% response rate. Seventy-one percent of respondents indicated that they were somewhat or very satisfied with their jobs. Most FAA employees (81%) were committed to the FAA, largely satisfied with their compensation (65%), and satisfied with their immediate supervisors (61%). However, only 38% of respondents were satisfied with the recognition they received for doing a good job. Accountability for poor performance was also an issue. The majority of respondents indicated that corrective actions are not taken to deal with poorly performing nonsupervisory employees and managers. The survey showed that the FAA, by and large, has a committed workforce with a high level of job satisfaction. However, FAA employees do not believe that poor performers are held accountable. These areas will need to be reviewed by upper management to understand how best to link accountability, performance, and pay. Performance management is a common problem for many organizations. Follow-up discussions with employees around these issues could afford FAA policy makers with important feedback necessary to develop strategic interventions or modifications designed to address these concerns. The survey is appended.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA460092

Entities

People

  • Carla A. Hackworth
  • Crystal E. Cruz
  • Dan G. Jack
  • Paul Twohig
  • S. J. King
  • Scott Goldman

Organizations

  • Federal Aviation Administration

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accountability
  • Air Traffic
  • Business Administration
  • Employment
  • Equal Employment Opportunity
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Governments
  • Human Resources
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Management Personnel
  • Navigational Equipment
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Administration
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Training
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Business

Readers

  • Aviation Safety and Air Traffic Management
  • Gender and Food Studies
  • Government and Public Administration Law.