Based on a survey taken mid-year, 72% of the staff at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board have a “high level of respect” for senior leaders, which is the best score on this question in about four years at the independent federal watchdog for Department of Energy nuclear weapon sites.
The figure reached 69% of Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) employees in both of the past two years, according to results of the annual survey posted online last week. That’s up from just 54% in 2020.
Meanwhile, 76% of respondents cited positive “global satisfaction” with the DNFSB. This is essentially a measure of the employees’ satisfaction with the agency overall. By contrast, the global satisfaction level was only 57% in 2020 before jumping to 76% in 2021 and dipping a bit to 69% in 2022.
In addition, 73% of survey respondents said they were satisfied with how DNFSB management shares information about what’s going on inside the agency. The 2020 score on this question was only 63% before jumping to 78% in 2021 and then dipping to 68% in 2022.
This year’s survey, which includes about 100 questions touching on issues such as pay, job satisfaction and diversity, was carried out over a two-month period. The survey was carried out starting May 16 and ending July 14. According to the data, 107 surveys were administered and 74, roughly 69%, were completed.
Only about 13% of the DNFSB workforce telecommute all the time thanks to a remote work agreement, which is way down from 82% in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was still raging. That said, most DNFSB employees have not returned to a Monday-through-Friday onsite schedule. According to the results, over half of those surveyed (56%) reported they telework three or four days per week.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Inspector General recently said the board still wrestles with a “sustainable organizational culture and climate.” A 2018 report by the National Academy of Public Administration found internal problems hurt the board’s effectiveness. The five-person board is now down to two members and lacks a quorum following the October retirement of Jessie Hill Roberson. The board is also working to fill a couple of high-level executive staff vacancies.
The DNFSB did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest employee survey results.
