Nearly Half of Government Employees Say Favoritism, Political Coercion Tolerated -- Federal government is also far from operating on a merit-based system -- By Elizabeth Harrington, The Washington Free Beacon

The 2013 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) by the Office of Personnel Management, released earlier this month, found that 49 percent of government workers said their agency allows partiality and pressure to conform to partisan politics.

Only 51 percent of respondents agreed with the statement “arbitrary action, personal favoritism, and coercion for partisan political purposes are not tolerated.”

The federal government is also far from operating on a merit-based system, based on the answers to the 84-question survey.

Just 19 percent said pay raises are dependent on “how well employees perform their jobs,” and 28 percent said, “steps are taken to deal with a poor performer who cannot or will not improve” in their agency.

Only 32 percent said, “Promotions in my work unit are based on merit,” down two percentage points from a year ago.

Workplace awards are also not based on actual job performance, according to 38 percent of federal employees. Only 35 percent think creativity and innovation are rewarded.

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