The Obama administration said Tuesday it will poll thousands of federal government workers about their work-life balance next year, and said it’s working to ensure those workers can “build their careers” but also “cultivate fulfilling lives outside the workplace.”
“The work-life needs assessment survey continues OPM’s support to develop and sustain an engaged, innovative and productive federal workforce,” Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Beth Cobert wrote in a memo to agencies.
Cobert said the first ever “Governmentwide Federal Work-Life Survey” will take place in early 2017, and said the goal is to ensure the federal government offers “workplace flexibilities” and “employee wellness.”
“We have an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the relationship between work-life programs and organizational benefits, and answer questions about how federal programs compare to similar private sector programs through this survey,” Cobert wrote. “The data collected will also help individual agencies understand their employees’ work-life needs and priorities, allowing senior leaders and managers to make evidence-based decisions about investments in these programs.”
“Furthermore, OPM will analyze the governmentwide results to identify and share high-performing programs, common barriers and recommendations to create a culture and work environment that supports the productive and efficient use of work-life programs,” she added.
Cobert’s memo asked agencies to provide a point of contact to OPM so it can prepare for the work-life survey next year. But the memo didn’t provide more specifics about when the survey would take place.
