High Marks for Civil Service Joh Satisfaction LETTERS

High Marks for Civil Service Joh Satisfaction LETTERS State (ISSN 0278-1859) (formerly the Department of State Newsletter) is published by the Shadel: a tribute From another retiree U.S. Department of State to acquaint its employees, at home and abroad, with developments that may affect Sequim, Wash. Southern Pines, N.C. operations or personnel. There are 11 monthly issues Dear Editor: Dear Editor: (none in August). Deadline for submitting material is in the first Regarding the obituary on Dr. Bill As a retiree who has lost contact with week of each month. Contributions (consisting of Shadel (see Page 58), we served with Bill some old colleagues, I would appreciate general information, feature articles, poems, and Tuyet in Nairobi in the mid-’TOs and having my name, address and phone photographs, drawings) are welcome. Double-space, continued our friendship for nearly two number in any listing you publish. I live spelling out job titles, names of offices and programs—acronyms are not acceptable. Send decades that included wildlife safaris to at 405 Hill Road, Southern Pines, N.C. contributions to State magazine, PER/ER/SMG, remote areas of Kenya and a birding 28337. My phone number is (919) SA-6, Room 433, Washington, DC. 20522-0602. expedition to Costa Rica with mutual 692-4931. Telephone: (703) 516-1667. Fax: (703) 516-1677. friends. Bill was a physician by vocation Yours truly, Contributions may also be dropped off in Room 3811 Main State. and an avid naturalist by avocation. Russell E. Olson □ Although intended for internal communication. Perhaps most important of all the things State is available to the public through the in life, he had a perennial sense of humor. Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Years after his retirement he continued to Not by the sea Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. entertain readers of the Nairobi Roar, the Washington Editor Sanford (Whitey) Watzman embassy’s news bulletin, with informative, Assistant editor Barbara Quirk but always hilarious, accounts of Kenya Dear Editor: Staff assistant Kim Banks □ safaris as “The Driving Doctor.” State Re the photo caption on Page 49 of readers who served in Nairobi in the ’80s the March issue: The capital of Chile is may remember the weekly episodes. not on the Pacific coast. By car, Santiago We last talked with Bill by phone is about 60 to 90 minutes’ driving time only three weeks before his death. Both from the ocean. we and he had known for some time that he was terminally ill. Even so, much of Sincerely, the phone conversation involved his hi¬ Patrick String larious account of the giant octopus he Bureau of Economic and had recently caught by accident in the Business Affairs ■ crab pot off the boat dock of his island home. Bill was a gentleman, a gentle man and a wonderful friend. Sincerely, Frank and Ruth Durfey □ Retiree checks in The grading was done by the U.S. Office of Personnel Fairfax Station, Va. Management. Lots of questions Dear Editor: were asked in this survey. See Regarding the letter of Jim Steeves in Page 2. the November issue re printing retiree home addresses, please include mine: 9716 Oak Bridge Place, Fairfax Station, Va. 22039-3400. Telephone: (703) 690-8112. Sincerely Joseph J. Kozlowski □ state News Stories Feature Stories 2 How Civil Service officers at 5 Hector Morales: banished to State feel about their jobs a box in the Asia bureau 4 Construction to begin for 6 Ambassador paddies to child care center in safety—wouldn’t you? Columbia Plaza 7 A tribute to the “lost 4 There’s no business like U.S. hero’’ of the Holocaust business: envoy is honored for singing this refrain 13 It’s rat-a-tat-tough for Americans in Tajikstan 10 White House announces choices for 8 bureau 28 A game that’s never been chieftans raided 12 It’s still Boswell for the 41 Navigating in German: Office of Foreign Missions when in doubt, repeat 21 Open season for American Family Member Associates Program Photo Stories 40 One-year management 30 Post of the Month: training for 4 Civil Service Tegucigalpa officers 58 Dr. Willard Shadel, former regional medical officer, dies of cancer NEWS HIGHLIGHT not included in the survey because they —57% (68%) of the respondents Job satisfaction have a separate pay plan. were married, with 78% of their spouses Questionnaires containing 184 sepa¬ being employed—45% (29%) of them by is scored high rate items were distributed to 57,000 the U.S. Government. employees selected at random, Govem- —Of the State Department house¬ in the Civil mentwide, with 56% replying. At State, holds, fewer—27% (41%)—had pre-tax more than 1,900 persons received the combined incomes between $26,000 and Service at State form, and 40% completed them. The $60,000 per year, but more—17% margin of error claimed for the State (10%)—were in the $76,000-to-$ 100,000 If you’re a white-collar Civil Service results was plus or minus 3.8% “at the bracket, and 14% (4%) had incomes employee at State, the odds are (outsiders 95% confidence level,” compared with exceeding $100,000. have documented this) that: 1.1% for the Government as a whole. —State had fewer full-time perma¬ —You’re happy with your job and The State Department respondents nent workers in the sample—83% (92%). you believe that the Government is “a included a higher proportion of females —As to education, 24% (22%) have great place to work.” (59% vs. 52%) than in the Government¬ bachelor’s degrees. But the State sample —You have confidence in your wide returns, fewer males (42% vs. 48%), showed a much higher proportion of bosses and you trust them. In fact, you fewer white employees (69% vs. 78%) persons—34% (21%)—who had gone regard them as skilled—as supervisors and more black employees (24% vs. beyond that. 10% (8%) had had some who are able to work well with people. 13%). In addition, those replying from graduate studies, 17% (10%) have mas¬ —You see State (much more so than State tended to be younger persons. Some ter’s degrees, 3% (1%) have law degrees your colleagues do as they view their own and 4% (2%) have doctorates. Only 34% agencies) as a place that attracts high- (43%) came to State from the private quality employees, including capable sector, while 23% (16%) arrived from a executives. college or university. —You’re better educated than your —33% (17%) had ascended to grades fellow workers in the other federal GS-13 through 15. agencies. —75% said they were satisfied with —You agree that the last perform¬ their jobs, with 70% adding they were ance rating you got was fair, but on the satisfied, too, with the balance they had other hand you’re not particularly moti¬ achieved between their work and family vated by the performance appraisal lives. Yet 82% (85%) said they generally system. lacked enough work to keep them busy, —You’re more interested than other even though three-fourths disagreed that Government workers in non-monetary their office could operate well with fewer forms of recognition and in getting special persons—and despite the fact that some assignments, though you would also like a two-thirds felt good use was being made promotion, an increase in base pay and an of their skills and abilities. 29% (21%) “outstanding” rating. said they spend too much time doing work —Training opportunities and paid 30% of them, as against 23% in the other below their grade level. 50% (44%) time off are not big priorities with you. agencies, were less than 35 years old. attached great value to the “use of my —You’re getting much less help from The report on the survey contained skills and abilities,” and 46% (39%) to the Department on childcare than the this caveat: “It is important to remember “challenging work.” employees at other agencies get, but—by than when data are reported on a Govem- —70% (63%) regarded their perform¬ a large margin—you’re satisfied with your mentwide and agencywide basis, results ance rating as fair and accurate, but nearly current childcare arrangements. can become deceiving. Data tend to two-thirds felt that some of their co¬ —You’re solving your childcare ‘regress to the mean’ when large organi¬ workers got higher ratings than they problems by relying more on schools and zations are surveyed. For example, if one deserved. 42% (48%) disagreed with the babysitters, and less on your wife or large component of (State) reports very statement that the appraisal system moti¬ husband, than is typical of Government high job satisfaction, but another large vated them to perform well. 54% (33%) workers. component reports very low job satisfac¬ had been given “outstanding” ratings in These are some of the findings that tion, the two get averaged when the their most recent appraisals. emerged from a survey of federal agency data are reported, and the results —One-third say they’re required to employees undertaken by the U.S. Office for the different components are lost.” get approval for decisions they could of Personnel Management a little more Here are some additional findings of make themselves. 61% (71%) saw their than a year ago. The breakout of the the survey, with percentages given first jobs as challenging. replies received from the State for the employees at State, followed by —When they found themselves re¬ Department—and how they compare with the Governmentwide percentages in paren¬ working something they had done, 44% attitudes expressed by the rest of the theses, where there appears to be a (35%) attributed this to suggestions for federal workforce—has just been made significant or otherwise interesting dif¬ improvements that had come from their available.

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