Federal Government Policy and Business

Perspective | Is Trump making the political environment for top civil servants worse?

The Washington Post: Uncle Sam can be a good boss in many ways, but his board of directors, a.k.a. Congress, and his chief executive, a.k.a. the president, can make life difficult for his staff, particularly those at the top of the civil service.

A recently released Office of Personnel Management survey shows that work environment issues are “the highest contributing factors” in the decision of federal senior executives to leave government. At the top of that list is the political environment, followed by the closely related organizational culture and senior leadership. The senior leadership, dominated by political appointees, strongly influences the culture.

Members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), whose members administer major federal programs, work closely with political appointees who provide policy direction. While the survey was done when Barack Obama was president, indications are that the political environment has become particularly toxic since President Trump took office.

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