In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, Congress established a requirement for agencies to conduct an annual survey of their employees to assess employee satisfaction, as well as leadership and management practices that contribute to agency performance. The law requires OPM to prescribe survey questions all agencies must assess and report annually. OPM issued regulations at 5 CFR part 250, prescribing 45 survey questions all agencies must assess and report annually starting calendar year 2007. The items are in the Federal Register: August 24, 2008 (Volume 71, Number 164). OPM included 44 of the 45 items on the 2011 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.

This report contains weighted results for the 39 non-demographic questions included in the 2012 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey that provide systematic baseline measures. "# of respondents" is the actual number of respondents to each question. Reported percentages and the "# of respondents" for each question are based on all answers, not including "Do Not Know" and "No Basis to Judge." The "Positive Response" column includes the sum of percentages for positive responses (e.g., % Strongly Agree + % Agree).