Think toiling in service of the government is its own reward? It depends on what you do. Those of you who dreamed of growing up to be astronauts were on to something; those who pictured themselves as one day becoming head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, not so much. According to an internal study released in 2004 by the Office of Personnel Management, the central HR department for the federal government, 67.6 percent of federal employees are satisfied with their jobs. This figure varies considerably, however, among individual departments: up to 73.3 percent satisfaction at NASA and down to 55.6 percent at the Department of Homeland Security.


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The 2004 Federal Human Capital Survey culled responses to 88 questions from over 147,000 government employees. Overall, government employees are satisfied with the health and retirement benefits they receive, and an impressive 90.1 percent agree that the work they do is important. Instead, the disparity seems to be rooted in departmental policies of recognition and reward. As former acting director Dan Blair writes in his introduction to the report, "there is a strong perception that excellent performance is not properly recognized and that action is not taken against poor performers."

At NASA, 62.8 percent of employees are satisfied with the recognition they receive for doing a good job, but only 35.9 percent of those at DHS feel the same way; a greater percentage (39.3 percent) report dissatisfaction with the level of recognition. And while 56.5 percent of employees at NASA feel "creativity and innovation are rewarded" in their workplace, 21.1 percent of DHS employees agree with that statement. Only 19.5 percent at the DHS believe that "personnel decisions are based on merit"; 46 percent disagree.

What sets NASA apart from other government departments? According to Natalie Saiz, director of human resources at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, her agency employs a wide variety of recognition tactics, including on-the-spot and length-of-service awards, which are often accompanied by formal presentations in front of peers. Asked what makes NASA such a motivating workplace, she replies, "The mission that we are working on the future has a lot of meaning to me. I think that really drives a lot of people. It's a lot of fun working at NASA." This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy