Department of Premier and Cabinet - 2018 State Service Employee Survey

Whole-of-Service Results

The Department of Premier and Cabinet’s (DPAC) State Service Management Office (SSMO) coordinates the State Service Employee Survey (the Survey) across all agencies. The Survey is provided by Orima Research Pty Ltd.

The Survey asks all Tasmanian State Service (TSS) employees and officers about their work and work environment. The Survey is conducted on a confidential and voluntary basis.

The Survey asks questions about a range of topics, including:

diversity;
employee engagement;
workplace health, safety and wellbeing;
job satisfaction; and
team work.

The Survey also provides TSS employees and officers with the opportunity to contribute their views about accountability, values and principles, work health and safety, as well as how behaviours such as fairness and respect are valued in their workplaces.

This year the Survey includes additional questions about workplace flexibility, development, diversity, and wellbeing. These areas were identified as whole-of-service workforce management priorities following the 2015 and 2016 Surveys.

The 2018 Survey was open to all employees and officers from 18 September to 8 October.

Responses to the Survey were collected and analysed to ensure confidentiality, as required under the State Service Act 2000 and Personal Information Protection Act 2004, and all agencies have now received their results reports. The results will be used by agencies to inform their workforce management practices and activities. The results also support agency and whole-of-service planning and reporting activities, including informing the reporting required under the State Service Act 2000.

Overview of 2018 results

A total of 8,675 people completed the Survey in 2018, or 29.92 per cent of the TSS, compared to 29.5 per cent who participated in 2016. A response rate of 30 per cent is considered to be representative.

Macquarie Point Development Corporation is our smallest agency and the largest agency is the Tasmanian Health Service (as at 30 June 2018). A total of 16 organisations achieved the minimum required response rate to receive reports, and 15 organisations achieved above a 30 per cent response rate.

The ‘engagement score’ for the whole of the State Service fell slightly this year to 65 per cent, from 67 per cent in 2016.

2018 Demographics

Gender

68 per cent of respondents identified as female, 30 per cent identified as male, no employees identified as 'other', and three per cent chose not to disclose their gender.
The results align with TSS workforce data from 30 June 2018, that shows 71 per cent of the TSS identify as female, and 29 per cent identify as male.

Employment category

84 per cent of respondents considered themselves to be permanent employees, 13 per cent identifying as fixed-term employees, and one per cent as senior executive officers.
2 per cent identified as casual employees.

Employment type

32 per cent of respondents identified as part-time employees and 68 per cent as full-time employees.

Age

The following table shows the percentage of each age group’s participation in the Survey (as a percentage of the total TSS workforce).

Age group	15-24	25-34	34-44	45-54	55-64	65-74	75+
%	3	14	23	33	25	2	0

Disability

6 per cent of respondents indicated that they had a disability, and 76 per cent of these employees had disclosed their disability to their agency.
43 per cent of the respondents who indicated that they had a disability stated that they required a workplace adjustment.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people

3 per cent of respondents indicated that they identified as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.
54 per cent of these employees said they had disclosed their status to their agency.

Language

8 per cent of respondents indicated that they spoke a language other than English.

Birth place

8 per cent of respondents indicated that they were born in an overseas country where English was the primary language, and five per cent of respondents indicated that they were born in a non-English-speaking country.

Work Location

21 per cent of respondents worked in the North of Tasmania.
16 per cent of respondents worked in the North-West.
1 per cent of respondents worked in the West.
4 per cent worked in the South-East.
the remainder of respondents (58 per cent) worked in the South.

Length of Service

The following table shows the percentage of respondents by their length of service in the TSS:

Length of service	2 years or less	2-5 years	6-10 years	11-20 years	21 years or more
State Service	12	17	18	30	22

Caring responsibilities

18 per cent of respondents had primary or daily caring responsibilities of a child or children, elderly or other person, a further 25 per cent said they shared the primary carer role.
11 per cent of respondents said that they cared for someone with a disability.

Work area/type

Respondents were asked to indicate their work type or work area. The table below provides the responses as a percentage:

Area/ type of work	Percentage
Administrative support/clerical	11
Corporate services	13
Exercising regulatory authority	5
Legal	1
Policy	4
Program/Project design and/or management	6
Research	1
Scientific/technical	7
Frontline service delivery (direct contact with the public)	48
Supporting service delivery (no direct contact with the public but supports the delivery of a service)	4
Other	1

Educational levels

The following table shows the percentage of respondents by their highest completed level of education:

Doctoral	Masters	Graduate Diploma/Certificate	Bachelor Degree (incl. honours)	Adv. Diploma/Diploma	Certificate (incl. trade)	Yr 12 (or equiv.)	Less than Yr 12 (or equiv.)
2	11	17	30	13	15	6	7

Overview of question group responses

This section includes information on how employees answered questions on topics such as management and senior leadership; conduct and behaviour; diversity; job satisfaction; workplace health and wellbeing; and learning and development.

Matters to note when reading the results:

Additional questions relating to the reporting of bullying and harassment were included in the 2018 Survey to help understand if employees choose to report incidences of bullying and harassment, and if not, why not.
The results have been reported below as the percentage of respondents who ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’.
If 50 per cent of people ‘agreed/strongly agreed’ to a question, the reader should not assume that the other 50 per cent were ‘disagree/strongly disagree’, as respondents may also have selected ‘don’t know’ or ‘neither agree nor disagree’.
Responses of 'neither agree no disagree' should be read in the context of the question. As they can be interpreted a number of ways and are not necessarily negative, they may also mean that the respondent:
- has no experience of the situation, and therefore no opinion: or
- does not feel strongly about the situation.
If you require more information about the results, please contact tss.surveys@dpac.tas.gov.au.

Workplace behaviours

You and your job

Question text	% agreement
I believe that the work I do is important.	93
I enjoy the work in my current job.	79
I get a sense of accomplishment from my work.	79
My job allows me to use my skills, knowledge and abilities.	83
I receive adequate recognition for my contributions and accomplishment.	52
I clearly understand what I am expected to do in this job.	84
My work performance is assessed against clear criteria.	56
In my agency, there are opportunities for me to develop my skills and knowledge.	66
I feel I make a contribution to achieving the organisation's objectives.	85

Your workgroup

Question text	% agreement
My workgroup strives to achieve client/customer satisfaction.	86
In my workgroup, work is undertaken using best practice approaches.	74
People in my workgroup treat each other with respect.	75
I receive help and support from other people in my workgroup.	82
I provide help and support to other people in my workgroup.	97
There is a good team spirit in my workgroup.	68

Your manager/supervisor

Question text	% agreement
My manager keeps me informed about what's going on.	67
I would be confident in approaching my manager to discuss concerns and grievances.	75
My manager encourages behaviours that are consistent with my agency's values.	79
My manager treats employees with dignity and respect.	78
My manager encourages people in my workgroup to monitor and improve the quality of what we do.	74
My manager expects a high standard of ethical behaviour.	85

Your senior managers

Question text	% agreement
Senior managers provide clear strategy and direction.	50
Senior managers model my agency's values.	54

Your agency

Question text	% agreement
In my agency, earning and sustaining a high level of public trust is seen as important.	81
My agency has policies in place to report improper conduct and behaviour.	75
Bullying is not tolerated in my agency.	60
In my agency, there are clear procedures and processes for resolving grievances.	63
I am confident that I would be protected from reprisal for reporting improper conduct.	47
In my agency, there are procedures and systems in place to assist employees in avoiding conflicts of interest.	67

Support for employee affected by family violence

Question text	% agreement
Do you agree that in your workplace, there are policies designed to support employees affected by family violence.	67
I am confident that I could sensitively communicate with colleagues affected by family violence.	83
If I was approached directly by a colleague affected by family violence, I am confident in my ability to provide appropriate levels of support.	78
If I was made aware (e.g. by other colleagues) that family violence was affecting an employee, I am confident that I could respond appropriately.	80

Workplace diversity

Diversity and inclusion

Question text	% agreement
In my agency all staff are treated fairly and with respect.	64
My agency fosters an inclusive environment.	73
My manager/supervisor has a positive attitude towards employees with diverse backgrounds.	78
The people in my workgroup and colleagues have a positive attitude towards employees with diverse backgrounds.	80
Gender is not a barrier to success in my agency.	72
Employees from different cultural backgrounds are welcomed and supported in my agency.	74
There is a positive attitude within my agency in relation to employees who identify as members of the LGBTIQ community.	60
Employees with disability are welcomed and supported in my agency.	55
Age is not a barrier to success in my agency.	66
Employees of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin are welcomed and supported in my agency.	65
My agency supports employees who have caring responsibilities.	73
There is a positive attitude in my agency in relation to employees who use flexible work practices or work part-time.	66

Engagement and job satisfaction

Engagement

In 2018, the 'engagement score' for the whole-of-service was 66 per cent. This compares to 67 per cent in 2016 (66 per cent in 2015). The engagement score is based on a statistical analysis of the five questions in the following table.

Question text	% agreement
I would recommend my agency as a good place to work.	63
I am proud to tell others I work for my agency.	69
I feel a strong personal attachment to my agency.	60
My agency motivates me to help achieve its objectives.	54
My agency inspires me to do the best in my job.	56

Job satisfaction

Question text	% agreement
Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your current job?	69
Considering everything, how would you rate your overall satisfaction with your agency as an employer?	64

Your experiences/organisational support

Work and wellbeing

Question Text	% agreement
My agency provides a safe work environment.	77
My agency encourages and supports employees to have a good work/life balance.	59
I am able to effectively manage my workload.	65
Work health and safety is discussed at regular workgroup meetings.	55
I have received instruction/training appropriate to my role to address WH&S hazards, incidents, and injuries in accordance with my agency's policies.	73
I have both the opportunities and resources at work to support my health and wellbeing.	60

Management/supervisory responsibilities

29 per cent of respondents said they currently had direct team managerial/supervisory responsibilities.

Question Text	% agreement
My agency provides me with appropriate training and guidance to manage employees.	54
My agency has good procedures in place to support managers/supervisors.	51

Engaging with members of the public

The following table shows the percentage of respondents who directly work or engage with members of the public as part of their role, and how often:

Regularity	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Less frequently
%	59	13	4	14

Support for working with the public

Question Text	% agreement
I have the ability and skills to deal with a wide range of people.	96
My agency provides me with appropriate training and guidance to work with members of the public.	56
My agency provides me with appropriate support to assist me in my work with members of the public.	61

Managing stress

57 per cent of respondents said they were able to manage their work and personal issues in a way that didn't impact on their stress levels.

Work/life balance

57 per cent of respondents agreed that they were satisfied with the work/life balance in their current job. and 59 per cent said their workgroup encouraged and supported employees to have a good work/life balance.

Workplace flexibility

36 per cent of respondents said they were currently using some kind of flexible working arrangements. The following table shows which arrangements were in use.

Question text	% agreement
Part-time hours.	45
Flexible hours of work.	49
Compressed work week.	5
Job sharing.	4
Working remotely/virtual team.	3
Working away from the office on a regular basis.	6
Working away from the office on an ad-hoc basis.	12
Purchasing additional leave.	7
Other	6

Managing workplace change

53 per cent of respondents said their current workgroup had been directly affected by significant change in the past 12 months. Significant change includes changed to Government policy, direction or practices, agency restructuring, and changes to technology. 26 per cent of respondents agreed that significant change was managed well in their agency.

Learning and development

Access to learning and development

Question text	% agreement
My manager encourages and supports my participation in learning and development opportunities.	70
Working in the agency provides me with the opportunity to maintain or increase my professional knowledge and skills.	66

In the 12 months leading up to the Survey, 81 per cent of respondents said they had discussed their learning and development needs with their manager/supervisor (whether informally or formally). 53 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the learning and development opportunities in their agency.

Performance

89 per cent of respondents said they had conversations about their performance with their manager/supervisor, and 68 per cent said the meetings were documented. 73 per cent said that the meetings helped them to identify their work priorities and training and development needs.

Workplace conduct and behaviour

Bullying and harassment

This section provides an overview of how Survey participants answered the questions about their experiences of bullying and/or sexual harassment in the workplace. An individual’s experience in these areas is another key determinant of their job satisfaction and engagement with their work, colleagues and the organisation.

In 2018, 23 per cent of Survey respondents said they had personally experienced workplace bullying in the previous 12 months. 39 per cent of these people said they reported the bullying.
2 per cent of respondents said they had personally experienced sexual harassment at work in the previous 12 months. 26 per cent of these people said they reported the sexual harassment.

In closing

In 2018 participants were asked to nominate what the three most rewarding things about working in their agency were, and the three areas where they would like to see improvements to support their workplace. Both of these questions were optional and the following results are aggregated to represent the top three areas nominated for the TSS.

The top three most rewarding things selected by respondents were:

Working in a good team environment.
Serving the Tasmanian community and making a difference to it.
Using the skills I have.

The top three areas for improvement nominated across the TSS were:

Training and development opportunities.
Management/leadership.
Focus on positive work behaviours/cultures.

Next steps

SSMO will continue to analyse the results over the coming year and incorporate findings into its business activities and for reporting purposes.

SSMO will also continue to work with agencies to help them to understand and action their results.

Further information

If you have any questions about these whole-of-service results for the Survey, please contact tss.surveys@dpac.tas.gov.au.

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2018 State Service Employee Survey