Industry News

On March 2, 2023, the MissionSquare Research Institute released its survey report, State and Local Government Employees: Morale, Public Service Motivation, Financial Concerns, and Retention. The survey found that about 64% of public service workers are concerned about inflation and their ability to sustain the current cost of living. In addition, nearly 58% worry about inflation decreasing the value of their savings.

Other key findings include:

• Overall, respondents reported several factors that attracted them to public sector employment, such as job security (92%), job satisfaction (87%) and retirement benefits (86%).
• About 28% of respondents reported that they currently feel very or extremely financially secure.
• Among the 87% of respondents with one or more types of debt, about 77% report that their level of debt prevents them from saving more for retirement.
• 66% of respondents reported currently having positive morale regarding work, with 24% reporting very positive morale. However, 41% of respondents are considering changing jobs in the near future.
• Over 77% agreed that the increase in workers voluntarily leaving their jobs has increased their own workload, with 34% reporting a significant effect.
• To retain more employees, 74% of respondents recommended that their organization increase salaries, while 54% recommended that employers offer/increase bonuses and 45% recommended increasing employee appreciation and work recognition.

The results are based on a national online survey of over 1,000 state and local government employees conducted by Greenwald Research in October and November of 2022.

The report is available here.