More federal public servants feeling stressed, emotionally drained: survey

A federal office tower in Ottawa. Aug. 2, 2021. (Jackie Perez / CTV News Ottawa)

More federal public servants are feeling emotionally drained at the end of the day and higher levels of stress on the job, while fewer federal employees have a sense of satisfaction from their work, according to a federal government survey.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat released the results of the 2024 Public Service Employee Survey on Monday, which measures federal employees’ opinions about their engagement, leadership, workforce, workplace, workplace well-being and compensation.

The response rate for the survey was 50.5 per cent, with 186,635 employees in 93 federal departments and agencies responding to the government survey.

Twenty-three per cent of respondents reported “high” or “very high” levels of work-related stress in 2024, up from 19 per cent in 2022. The survey found 35 per cent of respondents said they “always” or “often” feel emotionally drained at the end of their workday, up from 28 per cent in 2022.

Ten per cent of respondents rated their mental health as “excellent,” 25 per cent as “very good” and 36 per cent as “good,” down from 12 per cent who rated their mental health as “excellent,” 28 per cent “very good” and 36 per cent “good” in 2022.

When it comes to their work, 72 per cent of federal public servants said they get a sense of satisfaction from their work, down from 78 per cent in both 2020 and 2022. The number of public servants who disagreed with the statement “I get a sense of satisfaction from my work” dropped from 11 per cent in 2020 and 2022 to 15 per cent in 2024.

Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said they “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” they have the support at work to balance their job and personal life, down from 78 per cent in 2022.

The Treasury Board Secretariat conducted the survey from Oct. 28, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024, just months after the government required employees in the core public service to be in the office a minimum of three days a week.

Sixty-five per cent of public servants said their office is suitable for their job requirements, down from 80 per cent in 2022 and 78 per cent in 2020.

The survey found 67 per cent of public servants agreed they feel valued at work, down from 72 per cent in 2022.

Eighty-two per cent of respondents said they are proud of the work they do, down from 85 per cent in 2022. Seventy-seven per cent agreed with the statement, “Overall, I like my job” – down from 81 per cent in 2022 and 83 per cent in 2020.

The Public Service Employee Survey finds an increasing number of public servants do not have confidence in senior management in departments and agencies. Fifty-five per cent of respondents said they have confidence in senior management, down from 64 per cent in 2022 and 68 per cent in 2022.

The survey also found 65 per cent of respondents said their department or agency does a good job of communicating its vision, mission and goals.

Sixty-seven per cent of respondents said they would recommend their department or agency as a great place to work, down from 73 per cent in 2022.

A total of 36 per cent of respondents said they intend to leave their current position in the next two years.