The most-improved places to work (and those falling fast)

A look at the agency components where employee satisfaction shifted the farthest.

Governmentwide, federal employee job satisfaction declined slightly this year to a new low of 56.9 percent, while some agencies bucked the trend overall and improved by a few points.

Down at the agency component level, however, the swings in the 2014 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Rankings were much wider -- several components saw scores rise or fall by 10 or more points compared to 2013.

The chart below shows the "biggest movers" of 2014 -- the 10 components that notched that biggest improvements since the 2013 survey, and the 10 where employee satisfaction fell most sharply. (For the specific scores of all 314 components that the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte included in the survey, please see the full rankings.)

Agency Component
(Rank among 314)
Decrease Increase
Economic Development Administration, Commerce (#312)  
 
  11.8
Air Force District of Washington, Air Force (#169)  
 
  9.2
Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), DOD (#170)  
 
  9.2
Office of the Inspector General, DOJ (#88)  
 
  8.9
Office of the Chief Information Officer, ED (#163)  
 
  8.4
Mine Saftey and Health Administration (MSHA), DOL (#176)  
 
  8.3
Maritime Administration, DOT (#51)  
 
  8.0
Office of the General Counsel, FERC (#1)  
 
  7.9
Employment and Training Administration (#272)  
 
  7.7
Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD (#263)  
 
  7.3
Civil Engineering Center, Air Force (#225) -9.8 
 
 
Office of Government-wide Policy (#215) -9.9 
 
 
Region 10 - Seattle, EPA (#286) -10.3 
 
 
Food Nutrition and Consumer Services, USDA (#134) -10.5 
 
 
Office of the Inspector General, GSA (#46) -10.5 
 
 
Air Force Personnel Office, Air Force (#299) -10.9 
 
 
Office of the Inspector General, OPM (#60) -10.9 
 
 
Office of the Inspector General, EPA (#261) -13.3 
 
 
Office for Civil Rights, ED (#283) -15.1 
 
 
Office of Cuba Broadcasting, BBG (#287) -16.7