Federal workers say Trump-era climate makes careers less appealing

More than six in 10 federal workers said they would not choose a government career again, a warning sign for an already strained federal workforce that runs benefits offices, inspections and disaster response. In a July survey of active and retired government employees by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, 64% said it was unlikely they would enter federal service again. The main reasons were not disappointment in public service itself, but fear that job security and benefits were being worn down.

The findings point to a deeper capacity problem inside Washington. The U.S. Government Accountability Office said executive orders in 2025 were aimed at reducing the federal workforce and restricting hiring in many areas, and its later update found federal employment declined across all major agencies in 2025. NARFE has spent much of 2025 and 2026 warning Congress about threats to federal employee benefits, workforce reductions and changes to civil service rules, including a January 2025 push against using earned benefits cuts as budget offsets.

That pressure marks a sharp shift from the picture NARFE drew in 2023, when its summary of the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey said nearly 70% of federal workers reported job satisfaction. Even then, the survey had a thin participation base, with only 39% of eligible workers responding, leaving room for the later mood to worsen without much public notice.

The latest survey suggests the problem is less nostalgia than caution. Workers said their views were driven overwhelmingly by the current federal climate, including actions taken by the Trump administration, which they tied to a sense that the long-term bargain of federal employment was weakening. That matters far beyond morale: when experienced staff decide the career is no longer stable enough to stay in, agencies can lose the institutional knowledge that keeps retirement claims moving, safety rules enforced and emergency operations staffed during crises.

A March 2026 survey of 11,000 federal workers, described as a “layer cake of trauma,” captured how much strain has built up inside the civil service. If the trend continues, the cost will show up not just in recruiting numbers, but in slower service, thinner oversight and a government less able to absorb the loss of veteran expertise.