“Workplace Glass Half-Full”

The results of a Washington State employee survey was on the front page January 25th  Olympian. “Despite downturn, survey finds more satisfaction than in 2007.” The story noted, “Workers in general were slightly more satisfied working for the state last year than in 2007, a year when some workers got double digit pay increases and government was adding thousands of jobs in the midst of an economic expansion.” The context today is different. While the federal government did send some stimulus money as a temporary life raft, Washington faces a $2.8 billion deficit for 2010 and it is hard to see how they will make cuts without cutting state employees.

 The statewide average score for the 2009 survey was 3.84. Based on a 1-5 scale, this is a good score. And it was indeed higher than 3.8 average in 2007, albeit a very slight improvement.

 But there is something that does not seem to make sense as this story is framed. In the face of job insecurity, why would scores be higher?  So we need to take a look at the details of what was measured and how this survey was conducted.

Read More: Washington Employee 2009 Survey