Categories • Best Places to Work in the Federal Government

The Effective Leadership category measures the extent to which employees believe leadership at all levels of the organization generates motivation and commitment, encourages integrity and manages people fairly, while also promoting the professional development, creativity and empowerment of employees.

While this category has been included in every Best Places to Work cycle, it was changed in 2023 to include additional questions. For that reason, the current scores for Effective Leadership should not be compared with scores prior to 2023. However, scores for its individual subcategories (Senior Leadership and Supervisors) can still be compared with previous years.

The 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey included the following definitions:

Senior Leaders: The heads of departments or agencies and their immediate leadership team responsible for directing the policies and priorities of the department/agency. May hold either a political or career appointment and typically is a member of the Senior Executive Service or equivalent.
Managers: Those in management positions who typically supervise one or more supervisors.
Supervisors: First-line supervisors typically responsible for employees’ performance appraisals and leave approval.
Team Leaders:Individuals who provide employees with day-to-day guidance on projects but do not have supervisory responsibilities or conduct performance appraisals.
Non-Supervisor: Anyone who does not have supervisory responsibilities.

Supervisors in my work unit support employee development. (Q. 48)
My supervisor listens to what I have to say. (Q. 50)
My supervisor treats me with respect. (Q. 51)
I have trust and confidence in my supervisor. (Q. 52)
Overall, how good a job do you feel is being done by your immediate supervisor? (Q. 54)
In my organization, senior leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce. (Q. 57)
My organization’s senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. (Q. 58)
I have a high level of respect for my organization’s senior leaders. (Q. 62)
How satisfied are you with the information you receive from management on what’s going on in your organization? (Q. 68)

Effective Leadership: The senior leaders subcategory measures the level of respect employees have for senior leaders, their satisfaction with the amount of information provided by management and perceptions about senior leaders’ honesty, integrity and ability to motivate the workforce.

The 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey included the following definitions:

Senior Leaders: The heads of departments/agencies and their immediate leadership team responsible for directing the policies and priorities of the department/agency. May hold either a political or career appointment and typically is a member of the Senior Executive Service or equivalent.
Managers: Those in management positions who typically supervise one or more supervisors.
Supervisors: First-line supervisors typically responsible for employees’ performance appraisals and leave approval.
Team Leaders: Individuals who provide employees with day-to-today guidance on projects, but do not have supervisory responsibilities or conduct performance appraisals.
Non-Supervisor: Anyone who does not have supervisory responsibilities.

In my organization, senior leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce. (Q. 57) My organization’s senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. (Q. 58) I have a high level of respect for my organization’s senior leaders. (Q. 62) How satisfied are you with the information you receive from management on what’s going on in your organization? (Q. 68)

Effective Leadership: The supervisors subcategory measures employee opinions about their immediate supervisor’s job performance, the extent to which supervisors give employees the opportunity to demonstrate leadership skills and whether employees feel supervisors support employee development and provide worthwhile feedback about job performance.

While this category has been included in every Best Places to Work cycle, it was changed in 2020 to include additional leadership questions. For that reason, the current scores should not be compared with scores prior to 2020.

The 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey included the following definitions:

Senior Leaders: The heads of departments/agencies and their immediate leadership team responsible for directing the policies and priorities of the department/agency. May hold either a political or career appointment and typically is a member of the Senior Executive Service or equivalent.
Managers: Those in management positions who typically supervise one or more supervisors.
Supervisors: First-line supervisors typically responsible for employees’ performance appraisals and leave approval.
Team Leaders: Individuals who provide employees with day-to-day guidance on projects, do not have supervisory responsibilities or conduct performance appraisals.
Non-Supervisor: Anyone who does not have supervisory responsibilities.

Supervisors in my work unit support employee development. (Q. 48)
My supervisor listens to what I have to say. (Q. 50)
My supervisor treats me with respect. (Q. 51)
I have trust and confidence in my supervisor. (Q. 52)
Overall, how good a job do you feel is being done by your immediate supervisor? (Q. 54)

The Employee Input category measures the extent to which employees feel they can voice their opinions and influence decisions related to their work. This is the first year that Employee Input is a workplace category.

I can influence decisions in my work unit. (Q. 25)
Management involves employees in decisions that affect their work. (Q. 66)
How satisfied are you with your involvement in decisions that affect your work? (Q. 67)

The Mission Match category measures whether employees identify with the mission of their organization, believe their work is important and appreciated, and feel a sense of accomplishment from performing their job.

My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment. (Q. 3)
My job inspires me. (Q. 86)
The work I do gives me a sense of accomplishment. (Q. 87)
I feel a strong personal attachment to my organization. (Q. 88)
I identify with the mission of my organization. (Q. 89)
It is important to me that my work contributes to the common good. (Q. 90)

The Pay category measures how satisfied employees are with their compensation.

Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your pay? (Q. 71)

The Work–Life Balance category measures the extent to which employees consider their workloads to be reasonable, and that their peers and leaders support a balance between work and life responsibilities.

While this category has been included in every Best Places to Work cycle, it was changed in 2023 to include additional questions. For that reason, the current scores should not be compared with scores prior to 2023.

My workload is reasonable. (Q. 5)
Employees in my work unit support my needs to balance my work and personal responsibilities. (Q. 34)
My supervisor supports my need to balance work and other life issues. (Q. 49)
Senior leaders demonstrate support for Work-Life programs. (Q. 63)

The Recognition category measures the extent to which employees feel they are recognized for their performance and innovative contributions to their workplaces, as well as differences in performance being reflected in the use of recognition.

While this category has been included in every Best Places to Work cycle, it was changed in 2023 to include additional questions. For that reason, the current scores should not be compared with scores prior to 2023.

In my work unit, differences in performance are recognized in a meaningful way. (Q. 17)
Employees are recognized for providing high-quality products and services. (Q. 35)
How satisfied are you with the recognition you receive for doing a good job? (Q. 69)

The Professional Development category measures the extent to which employees feel their organization takes full advantage of the talents they bring to their job, and how well the organization invests in training and other opportunities to improve the skills of the employee so they are better prepared for work demands. This is the first year that Professional Development is a workplace category.

I am given a real opportunity to improve my skills in my organization. (Q. 1)
My talents are used well in the workplace. (Q. 8)
I receive the training I need to do my job well. (Q. 10)