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DH survey reveals plummeting morale among civil servants

By Christian Duffin

A Department of Health staff survey has revealed plummeting morale among civil servants who believe they are not involved in decisions about their work and have declining confidence in senior managers.

The survey, conducted in autumn 2010 and drew 1,700 responses, showed that satisfaction ratings had fallen in relation to the previous survey in many categories, on subjects such as ‘my work', ‘learning and development' and ‘leadership and managing change'.

Only 14% had a positive association with the statement ‘when changes are made in the department they are usually for the better', 11 percentage points down on the previous survey.

About 38% would recommend the DH as a ‘great place to work', down 12 points on last time. When asked to comment on the statement: ‘I have the opportunity to contribute my views before decisions are made that affect me, 29% showed a ‘positive' association, compared to 40% in the previous survey.

The survey is part of the annual Civil Service Survey, the second time a civil service-wide survey has been conducted. It is the largest of its kind in Britain, involving nearly 400,000 staff from across the Civil Service.

Morale has plunged at the DH