[1]

Report of the 2020

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey
[2]

Table of Contents 

FEVS Background..............................................................................................3

Changes to the 2020 FEVS................................................................................3

Results Overview..............................................................................................4

FSIS Combined Response Rates........................................................................5

FEVS Highlights.................................................................................................5

 Strengths...............................................................................................5

 Challenges.............................................................................................6

 Participants Demographic Overview.....................................................6

Average Ratings of Key Categories...................................................................8

OPM Indices.....................................................................................................9

Telework..........................................................................................................9

Identifying Areas of Focus..............................................................................10

 Identifying Strengths, Neutral and Challenges Findings........................10

 Identifying Increases and Decreases........................................................10

 Key to Understanding the Table..........................................................11

Appendix – FEVS Survey Content...................................................................14
[3]

FEVS Background

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) is 

conducted as a government-wide survey annually by the OPM to measure employee perception 

of whether, and to what extent, conditions characterizing successful organizations are present 

in their agencies. 

The 2020 OPM FEVS report is designed to provide an overview of survey results, enabling 

agencies to easily identify issues and take action for improvement. The FEVS results are helpful 

in providing a starting point for conducting analysis before drilling down into specific 

components of the agency for a more in-depth analysis. This report also highlights important 

agency successes and challenges, which the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) wants to 

acknowledge.

The results are a snapshot in time of employee opinions on topics ranging from work 

environments to job satisfaction. The report is a valuable tool to help leaders understand how 

employees feel about their jobs, their ability to advance, their training opportunities, and their 

sense of empowerment in the workplace. The FSIS electronic-based 2020 FEVS was

administered as a census – meaning all FSIS employeeswith computer access received an 

invitation to participate. OPM also administered a paper-based survey to a random selection of 

FSIS employees who did not have access to electronic systems. Additionally, FEVS results are 

used by the Partnership for Public Service in producing their annual Best Places to Work in 

Government rankings. 

Who Participates in the Survey?

The Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is administered to 

full-time and part-time, permanent, non-seasonal employees of Departments and/large 

agencies and the small/independent agencies that accept an invitation to participate in the 

survey.

Changes to the 2020 Survey

The OPM FEVS looked a little different this year. In prior years, the survey included 71 standard 

core items, but this number was reduced to 38 in 2020 for several reasons. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, many agencies asked OPM to substantially shorten the 2020 survey to ease 

administrative burden and demonstrate sensitivity to employee situations. Congress and 

numerous agencies also asked OPM to include COVID-19-related items to be responsive to 

changing conditions that might impact the needs of employees and agencies.

 

The 2020 survey reflects OPM’s responsivenessto the needs of employees and agencies in this 

unprecedented pandemic. OPM added sections to assessthe workforce consequences of the 

COVID-19 pandemic, including 18 individual items (e.g., “During the COVID-19 pandemic, on 

average what percentage of your work time have you been physically present at your agency 

worksite...?”) and sets of questions (e.g., a list of separate policies and actions implemented by 

organizations to support employee work during the pandemic). Content related to COVID-19

generally covered where and how employees have worked (e.g., telework, leave), workplace 
[4]

supports for safeguarding employee health, safety, and productivity, and indicators tied to 

individual and work group performance during the pandemic.

FSIS Results Overview

This analysis is an overview of the FSIS combined results of the OPM electronic and paperbased FEVS. OPM collects the results from the completed electronic and paper-based surveys 

then aggregates the responses to develop combined results for each question. OPM also uses 

the combined results to calculate the combined response rate and other indices, such as the 

Global Satisfaction and Employee Engagement Indices. The results include response 

percentages for each survey item. The definitions for the Positive, Neutral, and Negative 

response percentages vary in the following ways across the three primary response scales used 

in the survey: 

 Positive: "Strongly Agree and Agree" or "Very Satisfied and Satisfied" or "Very Good and 

Good" 

 Neutral: "Neither Agree nor Disagree" or "Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied" or "Fair" 

 Negative: "Disagree and Strongly Disagree" or "Dissatisfied and Very Dissatisfied" or 

"Poor and Very Poor"

Positive, Neutral, and Negative percentages are based on the total number of responses that 

are in these three categories. 
[5]

Combined Response Rates 2018-2020

FSIS FEVS Highlights

Top 10 Strengths

89.0%

87.0%

84.0%

81.0%

78.0%

78.0%

77.0%

77.0%

75.0%

75.0%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

I know how my work relates to the agency's goals.

I know what is expected of me on the job.

My supervisor treats me with respect.

My supervisor listens to what I have to say.

The people I work with cooperate to get the job done.

My work unit has the job-relevant knowledge and skills necessary

to accomplish organizational goals.

Overall, how good a job do you feel is being done by your

immediate supervisor?

My supervisor supports my need to balance work and other life

issues.

My supervisor is committed to a workforce representative of all

segments of society.

My agency is successful at accomplishing its mission.

7 4 23 22 9 13 25 19 20 16

Question Number

Positive
[6]

Top 10 FSIS Challenges

In the FSIS 2020 FEVS results, no scores appeared as OPM’s threshold of 35% negative or higher 

to consider for identifying challenges. Because no questions were at or above the 35% negative 

score, FSIS is focusing its efforts on improving the areas with greater than 20% negative scores. 

Response Questions

FSIS Employee Demographic Snapshot 

30.0%

28.0%

28.0%

28.0%

26.0%

26.0%

24.0%

22.0%

22.0%

22.0%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

In my work unit, steps are taken to deal with a poor performer

who cannot or will not improve.

I believe the results of this survey will be used to make my

agency a better place to work.

In my organization, senior leaders generate high levels of

motivation and commitment in the workforce.

In my work unit, differences in performance are recognized in a

meaningful way.

Employees are recognized for providing high quality products

and services.

How satisfied are you with the recognition you receive for doing

a good job?

Employees are protected from health and safety hazards on the

job.

How satisfied are you with your involvement in decisions that

affect your work?

I feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of

doing things.

How satisfied are you with the information you receive from

management on what's going on in your organization?

10 18 26 12 14 35 15 33 2 34

Question Number

Negative
[7]

11%

87%

2%

HQ Field Full-time Telework

WHERE DO YOU WORK?

HQ Field Full-time Telework

1% 4%

17%

4%

73%

Senior Leader Manager Supervisor Team Leader Non-Supervisor

WHAT IS YOUR SUPERVISORY STATUS?

0% 1%

82%

15%

1% 0% 1%

Federal

Wage

System

GS 1 - 6 GS 7 - 12 GS 13 - 15 Senior

Executive

Service

Senior Level

(SL) or

Scientific or

Professional

(ST)

 Other

WHAT IS YOUR PAY CATEGORY/GRADE?
[8]

 

Average Ratings of Key Categories

The FEVS consist of questions across six key categories of focus to determine employees’ 

feelings about working at the organization. The table shows the percent of positive responses 

in each key category. 

Key Categories FEVS Q#’s Percentage

My Work Experience 1-8 71%

My Work Unit 9-13 60%

My Agency 14-18 59%

My Supervisor/Team Leader 19-25 77%

My Leadership 26-32 54%

My Satisfaction 33-38 58%

1%

10% 12%

15% 14%

17%

30%

Less than 1

year

1 to 3 years 4 to 5 years 6 to 10 years 11 to 14

years

15 to 20

years

More than

20 years

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH YOUR CURRENT 

AGENCY?

1% 2%

16%

23%

35%

24%

25 and under 26-29 years

old

30-39 years

old

40-49 years

old

50-59 years

old

60 years or

older

WHAT IS YOUR AGE?
[9]

OPM Indices 

OPM provides two indices that measure workplace conditions that support employee 

engagement. Each index is a composite of the responses to specific core questions which are 

present in all FEVS surveys. The OPM FEVS does not directly measure employee feelings of 

engagement such as passion, commitment, and involvement; however, it does assess the 

critical conditions conducive for employee engagement. These include effective leadership, 

work which provides meaning to employees, and the opportunity for employees to learn/grow 

on the job. 

The FEVS Employee Engagement Index (EEI) is a measure of the conditions conducive to 

engagement, that is the engagement potential of an agency’s work environment. The index is 

made up of three subfactors: Leaders Lead, Supervisors, and Intrinsic Work Experience. Each 

subfactor reflects a different aspect of an engaging work environment. 

Agency & Subagency 2020

EEI

2019

EEI Difference

Government-wide 72% 68% 4%

Department of Agriculture 69% 65% 4%

Food Safety and Inspection Service 69% 69% 0%

The Global Satisfaction Index (GSI) measures employee satisfaction about four aspects related 

to their work: their job, their pay, their organization, and whether they would recommend their 

organization as a good place to work. 

Agency & Subagency 2020

GSI

2019

GSI Difference

Government-wide 69% 65% 4%

Department of Agriculture 64% 60% 4%

Food Safety and Inspection Service 65% 66% -1%

Telework

The 2020 FEVS included COVID-19 pandemic-related questions (Q40, A-C); providing 

participants the opportunity to share their perceptions of how their organization supported 

employee’s telework needs during the pandemic.

Items addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic were added to the 2020 OPM FEVS to be responsive 

to the needs of agencies and to assess employee experiences and challenges before and during 

this unprecedented time. 
[10]

Identifying Areas of Focus

These charts provide a useful method to help identify potential areas of focus from the FEVS 

results.

Identifying Strengths, Challenges and Neutral Findings 

In accordance with the Office of Personnel Management, the following thresholds were used to 

evaluate the responses of the FEVS results.

 65% positive or higher is considered a strength.

 35% negative or higher is considered a challenge.

 neutral (30% or higher neutral responses) suggests uncertainty, presenting an 

opportunity for communication between managers and staff.

Identifying Increases and Decreases 

Movement up or down since the previous year is another important piece of information to 

consider when examining the results. Any increase or decrease in results can be important; 

however larger increases or decreases (generally 3 or more percentage points) may be a result 

of significant changes taking place within the agency and should be assessed. Increases 

indicate positive change that should continue to be reinforced. Decreases, especially in areas 

considered mission critical, may call for appropriate action to prevent further decline. 

Key to Understanding the Tables 

The following tables illustrate the positive, neutral, and negative responses according to the 

guidelines above (Identifying Strengths, Challenges and Neutral Findings). The positive, neutral,

and negative columns of results are displayed below: 
[11]

 A GREEN shaded cell designates questions with POSITIVE scores 65 percent or higher, 

indicating an area of strength. 

 A YELLOW shaded cell designates questions with NEUTRAL scores 30 percent or higher, 

indicating an area of improvement opportunity. 

The two columns on the left allow for comparison with FSIS’ 2020 percent positive with the 

Government-wide and USDA 2020 percent positive. 

2020 

Q# My Work Unit GOVT USDA FSIS 2020Positive

FSIS 2020

Neutral

FSIS 2020

Negative

9 The people I work with cooperate 

to get the job done. 84.1% 83.4% 78.0% 12.0% 9.0%

10

In my work unit, steps are taken to 

deal with a poor performer who 

cannot or will not improve. 

42.3% 39.0% 41.0% 30.0% 30.0%

2020 

Q# My Work Experience GOVT USDA

FSIS 2020

Positive

FSIS 2020

Neutral

FSIS 2020

Negative

1

I am given a real opportunity to 

improve my skills in my 

organization.

69.9% 67.5% 64.0% 20.0% 16.0%

2

I feel encouraged to come up with 

new and better ways of doing 

things.

66.6% 64.1% 54.0% 24.0% 22.0%

3 My work gives me a feeling of 

personal accomplishment. 74.6% 73.9% 73.0% 15.0% 13.0%

4 I know what is expected of me on 

the job. 83.5% 80.8% 87.0% 7.0% 6.0%

5 My workload is reasonable. 66.7% 56.7% 71.0% 14.0% 16.0%

6 My talents are used well in the 

workplace. 65.9% 64.2% 64.0% 19.0% 18.0%

7 I know how my work relates to the 

agency's goals. 87.1% 86.1% 89.0% 8.0% 4.0%

8

I can disclose a suspected violation 

of any law, rule or regulation 

without fear of reprisal.

68.5% 61.3% 68.0% 17.0% 16.0%
[12]

12

In my work unit, differences in 

performance are recognized in a 

meaningful way. 

50.9% 45.5% 44.0% 28.0% 28.0%

13

My work unit has the job-relevant 

knowledge and skills necessary to 

accomplish organizational goals. 

81.9% 80.4% 78.0% 14.0% 9.0%

2020 

Q# My Agency GOVT USDA FSIS 2020Positive

FSIS 2020

Neutral

FSIS 2020

Negative

14

Employees are recognized for 

providing high quality products and 

services.

64.3% 56.8% 50.0% 25.0% 26.0%

15

Employees are protected from 

health and safety hazards on the 

job. 

77.3% 74.7% 60.0% 17.0% 24.0%

16 My agency is successful at 

accomplishing its mission. 81.4% 76.2% 75.0% 18.0% 7.0%

17 I recommend my organization as a 

good place to work. 70.7% 66.5% 66.0% 20.0% 13.0%

18

I believe the results of this survey 

will be used to make my agency a 

better place to work.

42.9% 36.5% 43.0% 29.0% 28.0%

2020 

Q# My Supervisors/Team Leaders GOVT USDA

FSIS 2020

Positive

FSIS 

2020

Neutral

FSIS 2020

Negative

19 My supervisor supports my need to 

balance work and other life issues. 84.8% 85.4% 77.0% 12.0% 11.0%

20

My supervisor is committed to a 

workforce representative of all 

segments of society. 

78.9% 79.0% 75.0% 18.0% 8.0%

21 Supervisors in my work unit 

support employee development. 77.8% 78.5% 75.0% 15.0% 10.0%

22 My supervisor listens to what I 

have to say.

82.7% 81.9% 81.0% 11.0% 8.0%
[13]

23 My supervisor treats me with 

respect. 86.5% 85.7% 84.0% 9.0% 7.0%

24 I have trust and confidence in my 

supervisor. 76.0% 73.9% 73.0% 15.0% 13.0%

25

Overall, how good a job do you feel 

is being done by your immediate 

supervisor? 

78.1% 76.3% 77.0% 15.0% 9.0%

2020 

Q# My Leadership GOVT USDA FSIS 2020Positive

FSIS 2020

Neutral

FSIS 2020

Negative

26

In my organization, senior leaders 

generate high levels of motivation 

and commitment in the workforce. 

(2)

50.7% 41.7% 42.0% 30.0% 28.0%

27

My organization's senior leaders 

maintain high standards of honesty 

and integrity.

61.0% 52.2% 50.0% 30.0% 20.0%

28 Managers communicate the goals 

of the organization. (2) 67.6% 63.7% 64.0% 22.0% 15.0%

29

Managers promote communication 

among different work units (ex., 

about projects, goals, needed 

resources). 

60.1% 55.0% 52.0% 27.0% 20.0%

30

Overall, how good a job do you feel 

is being done by the manager 

directly above your immediate 

supervisor?

66.8% 62.4% 64.0% 21.0% 15.0%

31 I have a high level of respect for 

my organization's senior leaders. 61.8% 52.7% 58.0% 25.0% 17.0%

32 Senior leaders demonstrate 

support for Work/Life programs. 64.2% 59.3% 51.0% 31.0% 18.0%

2020 

Q# My Satisfaction GOVT USDA FSIS 2020Positive

FSIS 2020

Neutral

FSIS 2020

Negative

33

How satisfied are you with your 

involvement in decisions that 

affect your work? 

57.9% 52.6% 52.0% 26.0% 22.0%
[14]

34

How satisfied are you with the 

information you receive from 

mgmt. on what's going on in your 

organization? 

57.8% 51.3% 52.0% 25.0% 22.0%

35

How satisfied are you with the 

recognition you receive for doing a 

good job? 

58.7% 53.3% 50.0% 24.0% 26.0%

36 Considering everything, how 

satisfied are you with your job? 71.6% 68.1% 70.0% 17.0% 13.0%

37 Considering everything, how 

satisfied are you with your pay? 67.0% 63.0% 63.0% 18.0% 18.0%

38

Considering everything, how 

satisfied are you with your 

organization? 

65.6% 59.4% 61.0% 22.0% 17.0%

Appendix – FEVS Survey Content

The content of the 2020 FEVS was shortened by OPM compared to prior years. The 

adjustments were made with consideration to the pandemic and to ease administrative burden 

and demonstrate sensitivity to employee circumstances. Survey questions reflect the overall 

goal of measuring how effectively agencies are managing their workforces in the Federal 

Government. The FEVS focuses on employee perceptions regarding critical work life areas that 

drive employee satisfaction, engagement, and ultimately, retention in the workforce. The 

following topic areas were addressed: 

Personal Work Experience 

Questions 1–8 addressed employees’ personal work experiences and opinions. 

Work Unit 

Questions 9-13 addressed employees’ opinions regarding cooperation, recruitment, quality,

and performance management in their work unit. 

Agency 

Questions 14-18 covered agency policies and practices related to job performance, 

performance appraisals, workplace diversity and fairness, as well as perceptions of employees’ 

personal empowerment, safety, and preparedness. This section also addresses employees’ 

views of their agency. 

Supervisor 

Questions 19-25 addressed employees’ perceptions of their supervisor. For instance, this 

section asked whether supervisors support work life balance, provide opportunities to 

demonstrate leadership skills, and promote a workplace culture that supports staff 

development. 
[15]

Leadership 

Questions 26-32 asked about the effectiveness of the agency’s senior leaders and mangers 

overall, and in motivating employees, maintaining high ethical standards, communicating 

organizational policies, and generating respect. 

Satisfaction 

Questions 33-38 addressed employee satisfaction with various aspects of their jobs, including 

pay, job training, opportunities for advancement, recognition for work well done, and the 

policies and practices of senior leaders. 

Work/Life 

Questions 40A-C, and 58–64 asked employees about teleworking and if they are satisfied with 

various employment benefits and work/life programs with additional questions related to the 

pandemic. 

Demographics 

Questions covered employee information, such as location of employment (headquarters vs. 

field), supervisory status, gender, ethnicity/race, education, pay category/grade, Federal 

employment tenure, agency tenure, disability status, veteran status, and sexual orientation.

See pages 6 – 8 for a summary of these responses.

Report of the 2020

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey