Staff confidence in management at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has fallen sharply to well below government averages, and a growing number of workers are considering leaving the agency, according to the latest survey data from FDIC staff obtained by Reuters.
In 2023, 38% of FDIC staff planned to leave in the next 12 months, more than double the number in 2020, compared with just 33% government-wide, the data showed.
Just 39% of staff said FDIC leadership inspires strong “motivation and commitment,” down from 61% in 2020 and 11 percentage points below the government average, according to data obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
The survey was conducted for the FDIC from August 7 to September 29, 2023 by the Office of Personnel Management, a U.S. agency that supervises civil servants and conducts worker surveys each year.
A damning independent study of FDIC misconduct, released Tuesday, cites elements of data from the 2023 personnel survey. The agency has not released the full results of the investigation.
The data sheds light on the extent of declining morale and discontent among agency staff, whose high turnover potential could threaten their ability to supervise lenders while many are struggling due to high interest rates.
An FDIC spokesperson said the survey was an “important tool” for measuring staff attitudes, which helped inform the FDIC’s recruitment and retention efforts, which have improved over the years. from last year.
In two recent reports, the FDIC’s internal watchdog warned that recruiting remains below pre-pandemic levels and that high attrition rates could compromise “mission-critical” functions. Staff turnover contributed to lapses in the FDIC’s supervision of Signature Bank, which collapsed, an agency report showed.
“Higher attrition rates in 2021 and 2022 were directly related to pandemic-related issues and a robust labor market, and have since fallen back to more historic levels,” the FDIC statement said. Hiring of entry-level examiners last year was twice as high as in 2021, the release added.
Tuesday’s report, sparked by a Wall Street Journal revelation in November, exposed a culture that has tolerated sexual harassment, discrimination and other misconduct for years.
In recent years, the FDIC’s handling of its return-to-office policy has been one of the biggest drivers of discontent, said Vivian Hwa, president of the chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union representing headquarters workers. FDIC in Washington. She said the FDIC began walking back in 2022 on an agreement to allow workers to report to the office as needed.
Workers are often called into the office arbitrarily and without a clear business reason, said Doreen Greenwald, national president of the National Union of Treasury Employees.
More than 80% of employees who said they were considering leaving the company cited remote working conditions as a driving factor.
According to the sexual harassment study released Tuesday, the return to office policy is a “particular point of dissatisfaction” among staff.
“It’s the way it was handled, the fact that employees didn’t feel like they were consulted or had a say in the process,” Ms. Hwa said.
The proportion of employees believing that leaders involve them in decisions that affect their working lives fell to 39% in 2023, a drop of 17 points from 2020, the data showed.
The Journal article also validated many employees’ views that FDIC bosses had not adequately addressed misconduct, which likely contributed to the steady decline in ratings, Hwa said. .
“People have been aware of these problems for a long time. … Over time, actions and behaviors on the part of FDIC management led employees to believe that they were not accountable,” he said. said Ms. Hwa.
The share of FDIC staff who believe management maintains “high standards of honesty and integrity” fell to 56%, down from 74% in 2020. Only 52% of employees expressed a “high level of respect ” for the management of the FDIC, against 73% three years earlier.
For comparison, the government’s average for these two indicators remained around 60% during the same period.
