Assessing What Factors Affect a Federal Employees’

Perception that Change Is Possible at Work

Ali Hemyeri

Soc 680

Research Question

What factors lead to federal employees feeling change is possible at work?

Importance of Workers Believing that Change is Possible at Work

Private vs. Federal level

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

Literature Review

12 broad categories as to why people resist and/or think change is unlikely to occur at work.

The questionnaire I used had questions pertaining to only 7 of these categories, so I focused on only 7 of the categories found in the literature review.

18 IVs Relative to 7 Categories

Benefits and Rewards:

v4 (employees loose when changes are made), v14 (supervisors get few rewards for good work)

Trust:

v15 (can’t trust the organization), v33 (people do things behind your back)

Being Consulted:

v21 (employees have little influence), v55 (supervisors solicit input on procedures)

Demographics:

AGY (agency work for), Sex, Race, AGYYEARS (number of years work for agency), JOBYEARS (number of years in present job),

18 IVs Relative to 7 Categories (Cont.)

Job Satisfaction:

v1 (I like working here), v25 (I often think about quitting)

Authority:

v5 (supervisors take action against poor performance), v7 (not clear who has decision making authority)

Competence:

v16 (new employees well qualified), v17 (promotions linked to performance), v42 (have confidence in coworkers)

DV

v9 (whether change is possible at work).

Sample

The dataset I used was ICPSR 7804. Click Here

It was conducted by United States (U.S.) Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

OPM is an independent agency of the U.S. that manages the civil service of the federal government.

For the very first time in 1979, OPM mailed out a letter and hard copy questionnaire to federal employees to gather information on U.S. federal employee attitudes and perceptions of working conditions.

The survey was distributed to a stratified random sample of 20,000 federal civilian employees from over 20 federal departments and agencies.

Completion of the survey was highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Confidentiality was promised.

Sample (Cont.)

The survey had a sample size of 13,862 respondents.

To get a better sense of the sample frame, I ran the following variables in SPSS: sex, race, ethnicity, education, age, fedyears (number of years worked for federal government), privsect (number of years worked in private sector), super (position and length of time in the position), workschd (part-time versus full-time employment), and agy (agency work for).

Hypotheses

Benefits & Rewards

H11: The belief that employees loose when changes are made (v4) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H01: The belief that employees loose when changes are made (v4) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H12: The belief that supervisors get few rewards for good work (v14) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H02: The belief that supervisors get few rewards for good work (v14) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

Hypotheses (Cont.)

Trust

H13: The belief that the organization can’t be trusted (v15) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H03: The belief that the organization can’t be trusted (v15) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H14: The belief that people do things behind your back (v33) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H04: The belief that people do things behind your back (v33) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

Hypotheses (Cont.)

Being Consulted

H15: The belief that employees have little influence (v21) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H05: The belief that employees have little influence (v21) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H16: The belief that supervisors solicit input on procedures (v55) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H06: The belief that supervisors solicit input on procedures (v55) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

Hypotheses (Cont.)

Demographic

H17: The agency a federal employee works for (AGY) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H07: The agency a federal employee works for (AGY) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H18: The sex of a federal employee (SEX) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H08: The sex of a federal employee (SEX) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H19: The race of a federal employee (RACE) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H09: The race of a federal employee (RACE) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

Hypotheses (Cont.)

Demographic (cont)

H110: The number of years work for agency (AGYYEARS) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H010: The number of years work for agency (AGYYEARS) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H111: The number of years in present job (JOBYEARS) will affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

H011: The number of years in present job (JOBYEARS) will not affect whether a federal employee believes change is possible (v9).

Hypotheses (Cont.)

Job satisfaction

H112: Whether a federal employee likes working at job (v1) will affect whether he/she believes change is possible (v9).

H012: Whether a federal employee likes working at job (v1) will not affect whether he/she believes change is possible (v9).

H113: Whether a federal employee often thinks about quitting (v25) will affect whether he/she believes change is possible (v9).

H013: Whether a federal employee often thinks about quitting (v25) will not affect whether he/she believes change is possible (v9).

Hypotheses (Cont.)

Authority

H114: Federal employees that believe that supervisors take action against poor performance (v5) will affect his/her belief that change is possible (v9).

H014: Federal employees that believe that supervisors take action against poor performance (v5) will not affect his/her belief that change is possible (v9).

H115: Federal employees that believe that it is unclear who has decision making authority (v7) will affect his/her belief that change is possible (v9).

H015: Federal employees that believe that it is unclear who has decision making authority (v7) will not affect his/her belief that change is possible (v9).

Hypotheses (Cont.)

Competence

H116: The belief that new employees are well qualified (v16) will affect a federal employees belief that change is possible (v9).

H016: The belief that new employees are well qualified (v16) will not affect a federal employees belief that change is possible (v9).

H117: The belief that promotions are linked to performance (v17) will affect a federal employees belief that change is possible (v9).

H017: The belief that promotions are linked to performance (v17) will not affect a federal employees belief that change is possible (v9).

H118: The belief that coworkers are competent (v42) will affect a federal employees belief that change is possible (v9).

H018: The belief that coworkers are competent (v42) will not affect a federal employees belief that change is possible (v9).

Statistical Procedure: Binary Logistic Regression

My dependent variable, possibility of change (v9), was coded with a Likert scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 5 being “strongly agree.”

I recoded my dependent variable by grouping respondents who selected 1 though 2 into one group, group 1 (change is not possible), and respondents who selected 4 through 5 into another group, group 2 (change is possible).

My dependent variable was categorical. My independent variables (click here1, click here2) were mostly categorical (with the exception of AGYYEARS and JOBYEARS, which were both quantitative).

Since the assumptions for logistical regressions are more relaxed, it is fine if one’s independent variables are categorical, quantitative, or mixed.

Statistical Procedure: Binary Logistic Regression (Cont.)

What is important to look at in a logistic regression is the distributions of the two categories of the dependent variables for they shouldn’t be too skewed. Looking at the classification table, 82.5% of respondents were in group 1 and 74.1% were in group 2, which shows that the distributions aren’t too skewed and thus we can proceed with the analysis.

Results

By examining the classification table, the independent variables correctly predict 78.9% of group membership in the categories of the dependent variable.

Results (Cont.)

According to the variables in the equation table (see Figure 1), the following independent variables are significant because their values are less than .05:

v4 (employees loose when changes are made) (.000 < .05)

v14 (supervisors get few rewards for good work) (.000 < .05)

v15 (can’t trust the organization) (.000 < .05)

v33 (people do things behind your back) (.000 < .05)

v21 (employees have little influence) (.000 < .05)

v55 (supervisors solicit input on procedures) (.000 < .05)

Results (Cont.)

Significant variables continued:

sex (.000 < .05)

AGYYEARS (number of years work for agency) (.000 < .05)

JOBYEARS (number of years in present job) (.000 < .05)

v1 (i like working here) (.000 < .05)

v25 (I often think about quitting) (.000 < .05)

v5 (supervisors take action against poor performance) (.001 < .05)

v7 (not clear who has decision making authority) (.000 < .05)

v17 (promotions linked to performance) (.000 < .05)

Results (Cont.)

Still looking at the variables in the equation table (see Figure 1), the following variables were not significant because their values were above .05:

AGY (number of years work for agency) (.497 > .05)

Race (.333 > .05)

v16 (new employees well qualified) (.579 > .05)

v42 (viewing coworkers as competent) (.352 > .05)

Results (Cont.)

Also in the variables in the equation table (see Figure 1) is the Exp (B) values for each independent variable.

The Exp (B) column tells us the odds ratio and thus from this value we can assess how strong the given independent variable is in affecting the dependent variable.

v21 (employees have little influence), 1.928, and v4 (employees loose when changes are made), 1.370, have the highest betas and thus are the strongest independent variables in effecting our dependent variable (v9, whether change is possible).

Figure 1 (Variables in the Equation Table)

Discussion

Since AGY, Race, v16 (new employees well qualified) and v42 (confidence in coworkers) are not significant, we fail to reject their respective null hypothesis, see below:

To see null hypothesis click on corresponding variable: AGY, RACE, v16, v42

Discussion (Cont.)

Since the following variables were significant, we reject their respective null hypothesis (To see each variable’s null hypothesis click corresponding link):

v4 (employees loose when changes are made)Click Here

v14 (supervisors get few rewards for good work) Click Here

v15 (can’t trust the organization) Click Here

v33 (people do things behind your back)Click Here

v21 (employees have little influence) Click Here

v55 (supervisors solicit input on procedures) Click Here

Discussion (Cont.)

Since the following variables were significant, we reject their respective null hypothesis (To see each variable’s null hypothesis click corresponding link):

AGYYEARS Click Here

JOBYEARS Click Here

Sex Click Here

v1 (I like working here) Click Here

v25 (I often think about quitting) Click Here

v5 (supervisors take action against poor performance) Click Here

v7 (not clear who has decision making authority) Click Here

v17 (promotions linked to performance) Click Here

Future Improvements

I would have liked to have seen more questions asked that are tied to other categories found in the literature.

Specifically, there were a lack of questions that had to do with the following categories: open communication, understanding the need for change, fear of unknown, and temporary fad.

I would also like to see other subcategories of job satisfaction to be asked in the questionnaire.

How does the degree of autonomy of the worker-- on a scale from micromanaged to self-reliant -- affect a worker’s perception of whether change is possible?

Future Improvements

The survey should also be paired down so that respondents don’t get fatigued. The survey already takes an estimated fifty minutes to complete and by shortening the survey’s length. It may be easier to have several smaller surveys administers as opposed to one long one.

Internet as opposed to mail survey.

Future Improvements

Tracker

longitudinal versus cross sectional

More Robust Analysis

Cluster Analysis (inductive) vs. logistic regression (deductive)

References

Armenakis, Achilles and Arthur G. Bedeian. 1999. Organizational change: A

review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of management,

25(3), 293-315.

 

Dent, Eric and Susan G. Goldberg. 1999. Challenging “resistance to change”.

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35(1), 25-41.

 

Ingraham, Patricia W. and Carolyn Ban. 1984. Legislating bureaucratic change:

The civil service reform act of 1978. SUNY Press.

References (Cont.)

 

Lewis, Amy and Mark Grosser. 2012. The Change Game An Experiential

Exercise Demonstrating Barriers to Change. Journal of Management

Education, 36(5), 669-697.

 

Mertler, Craig A. and Rachel A. Vannatta. 2002. Advanced and multivariate

statistical methods. Los Angeles: Pyrczak.

 

Pfeffer, Jeffrey. 1995. Competitive advantage through people: Unleashing the

power of the work force. Harvard Business Press.

 

3 Questions

1) What was the dependent variable?

2) What was the statistical test I ran?

3) What was one of the recommendations I give for future research?