2021 EPA Employee Viewpoint Survey Summary
The Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey results are used to gauge the attitudes and perceptions of employees in key work experience areas driving satisfaction and commitment, with the goal of developing and implementing strategies to boost morale, productivity, and capacity for mission success. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency views EVS results as crucial and ongoing input to our broad human capital planning processes, directly supporting the agency’s mission to protect human health and the environment.
Methodology
OPM administered the 2021 EVS to eligible EPA employees from November 2, 2021, through December 3, 2021. To be eligible for the survey, EPA participants must be onboarded as of April 2021 and in a permanent and temporary position. Of the 13,622 surveys administered, 6,684 were completed, resulting in a 48.9% response rate.
Interpretation
OPM included three indices in the 2021 results reporting – two were carried over from previous survey years and one was a new index. The agency had positive response increases from 2020 in both the Employee Engagement and Global Satisfaction indices and very positive results for the new index. The table below shows the EVS index results for 2021.
2021 EVS Index Percentage Positive Responses
| Index Type | Percentage | Percentage Increase |
|---|---|---|
| Employee Engagement Index | 78% | 5% Increase |
| Global Satisfaction Index | 74% | 4% increase |
| Performance Confidence Index* | 91% | New |
*The Performance Confidence Index is a combination of five items assessing employees’ perception of their work unit’s ability to achieve goals and produce work at a high level. Though the individual items have appeared in previous surveys, 2021 was the first year reported as an index score to the
2021 Increases
The 2021 EVS core item results show positive changes in how employees view senior leaders and the agency’s work to accomplish its mission. The core items with the largest increases in positive responses (Strongly Agree and Agree on a 5-point Likert scale) from 2020 to 2021 include:
| EVS Item | 2021 Positive Score | Change from 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| My organization's senior leaders maintain high standards of honestly and integrity. | 70% | +20% |
| My agency is successful at accomplishing its mission. | 81% | +20% |
| I have a high level of respect for my organization's senior leaders. | 67% | +18% |
| In my organization, senior leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce. | 58% | +15% |
| Senior leaders demonstrate support for Work-Life programs. | 75% | +12% |
2021 Strengths
OPM defines strengths as those EVS items with a positive response score of 65% or higher (Strongly Agree and Agree on a 5-point Likert scale). EPA results identified 37 strengths for this year’s EVS. The top five EPA strengths are listed below:
- Employees in my work unit contribute positively to my Agency's Performance. (93%)
- Employees in my work unit produce high-quality work. (92%)
- Employees in my work unity meet the needs of our customers. (92%)
- My supervisor treats me with respect. (91%)
- My supervisor supports my need to balance work and other live issues. (91%)
2021 Decreases
Positive responses decreased at least somewhat for 13 core EVS items. It is not unusual for items to move from year-to-year; typically, any changes under 3% are expected. The four items with more than a 3% decline are shown below. Please note even with the decreases, these areas are still considered strengths for EPA.
| EVS Item | 2021 Positive Score | Change from 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Employees in my work unit adapt to changing priorities. | 87% | -6% |
| Employees in my work unit successfully collaborate. | 85% | -5% |
| Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your pay? | 71% | -4% |
| Employees in my work unit produce high-quality work. | 92% | -3% |
2021 Challenges
OPM defines EVS challenges as those items with a negative response score (Strongly Disagree or Disagree on a 5-point Likert scale) of 35% or higher. The agency identified no EVS items with a negative response score of 35% or higher in 2021. The highest negative score was “My workload is reasonable” with a 27% negative response. All other items were less than 25% negative.
EPA-Specific Items
EPA has included eight agency-specific items in the EVS since 2016. The following table shows the agency-specific items, their respective positive scores (Strongly Agree and Agree on a 5-point Likert scale) for 2021, and the percentage point change from 2020. Please note, there is one question, highlighted below, which a low score is a positive indication.
| Agency-Specific EVS Items | 2021 Positive Score | Change from 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Managers in my office make effectively managing their people a priority. | 67% | -4% |
| My office's top-level management team is aware of the challenges that can affect my work. | 58% | -3% |
| In my organization, employee feedback is incorporated into supervisor' annual performance reviews. | 37% | -1% |
| Senior leaders in my organization actively work to eliminate barriers to productively that I face in my daily job. | 44% | +3% |
| In our work culture, people feel free to raise dissenting opinions without it having a negative impact on their careers. | 54% | +7% |
| My office's processes have a negative impact on my work output. | 28% | +1% |
| I have access to the technology I need to do my job effectively. | 78% | -1% |
| My supervisor supports my career planning and advancement. | 78% | +1% |
Pandemic Items
Similar to 2020, the EVS included a set of items aimed at better understanding the challenges and changes participants may have faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because some items were repeated between survey years, trends emerged for a subset of the questions as shown in the table below.
| Pandemic Employee Support Items | 2020 Needed & available to me | 2021 Needed & available to me | Change from 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expanded work schedule flexibilities | 61% | 76% | +15% |
| Expanded leave policies | 33% | 53% | +20% |
| Timely communication about possible covid-19 exposure at my agency worksite | 59% | 75% | +16% |
| Encourage use of personal protective equipment (PPE) or other safety equipment in my agency worksite | 40% | 51% | +11% |
Other Key Findings
Other key results of the pandemic items in the 2021 EVS include
- Highly positive views of supervisor concern for and support of employee health and safety
- 75% of employees responding positively (Strongly Agree and Agree on a 5-point Likert scale) to the agency’s leadership updates employees about return to office planning
- A 15% increase in employees’ belief EPA will be able to respond to future emergencies effectively based on its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic (total of 77% positive responses)