WASHINGTON -- Most federal workers like their jobs and say pay and benefits are OK, but many also complain that management fails to reward good work or penalize poor employees.

And while most workers are happy, 35 percent of those responding to a federal questionnaire are thinking about leaving their jobs. More than 100,000 federal workers answered questionnaires from the Office of Personnel Management for the survey released Tuesday, the largest such sampling ever taken.

Kay Coles James, the federal office's director, said the survey is among tools being used to find ways to attract and retain quality workers.

"Our goal is for the federal government to be a world-class employer," James said. "To get there, we have to listen to our employees."

More than 200,000 surveys were sent out to workers in all areas of the government. A little more than half were returned, with 56 percent saying they were very pleased with their pay and 63 percent saying they were happy with benefits.

Lack of motivation

But fewer than half -- 41 percent -- said outstanding employees receive timely recognition, and only 27 percent said disciplinary steps are taken against workers who can't or won't do their jobs. As to whether agency leaders motivate workers, just 36 percent said their agencies' leaders are motivators.

The margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Paul Light, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and professor of public service at New York University, said pay, benefits and job security attract employees to the government, especially during an economic downturn.

Private employees' complaints, on the other hand, center around salaries and benefits, experts say. A 1998-99 Office of Personnel Management survey of private companies found just 44 percent of employees were satisfied with their pay.

"In any labor market, you're going to have a certain number of people who just don't cut it," Light said. "The problem is what you do with them. In the private sector, you either fire them or retrain them. In the federal government, you keep them for 20 years."

Diane Witiak, spokeswoman for the American Federation of Government Employees, said the Bush administration's interest in shifting many federal jobs to the private sector contributed to so many people saying they are considering leaving their jobs.

"Employees are leaving the federal government because it is perceived to be an employer that is determined to privatize as many services as possible, no matter the critical nature of the work or the ultimate higher costs to taxpayers," she said.

Last fall the Bush administration proposed rules to make it easier for private companies to bid on maintenance, construction, secretarial and other jobs. In addition, at the insistence of the White House, workers in the new Homeland Security Department were not given the same civil service protections as other federal employees. Officials said they needed flexibility to change assignments to respond to terror threats.

James said the survey did not look at whether efforts to shift government jobs to the private sector were causing some employees to consider quitting.

OPM officials pointed to survey findings that 66 percent felt their agencies could do as well as any private company, and 60 percent felt their agencies were good places to work.

The General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, estimated last fall that about 30 percent of the federal work force will retire by 2006, creating the potential for serious shortages in crucial areas. Bush has proposed legislation to make it easier for federal agencies to hire and manage employees.

An independent commission chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker recommended in January that federal departments should get more flexibility to hire, fire and promote workers, who in turn should have more autonomy and more responsibilities.

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On the Net

OPM report: http://www.fhcs.opm.gov

Government employees union: http://www.afge.org