Half of feds consider looking for jobs outside government

What: A survey conducted by Market Connections Inc. and FierceGovIT titled “Federal Employee Defection & Fallout.”

Why: The poll surveyed 370 government employees in civilian and defense agencies and found that half are looking for a job outside government. The three most common reasons cited were pay freezes, frustration with the political environment and higher salaries in the private sector. Federal employees with less than five years of service were significantly more likely (53 percent) to cite pay as their reason for searching for a job than those with more than five years under their belts (about 30 percent). Respondents with the longest tenure – those with more than 20 years in government service – were much more likely to consider a job change because of pay freezes.

Half of respondents working in civilian agencies cited political frustration as their main reason for looking for private-sector work, while half the respondents working in defense agencies cited the government shutdown and mandatory furloughs.

The majority of respondents believe a loss of federal employees to the private sector will directly affect mission success within government.

Verbatim: 76 percent of respondents agree that “a loss of institutional knowledge from retiring personnel will ultimately erode mission effectiveness.” Sixty-one percent say “there is not enough talent to ensure that federal operations are not affected as retirement of personnel continues to increase.”

Full report