The morale of civil servants has experienced a modest increase following the Labour Party’s return to power in 2024. According to a forthcoming report from the Institute for Government (IfG), satisfaction levels within the civil service improved from 60.7% to 61.2% on the employee engagement index. This composite measure reflects civil servants’ sentiments regarding their workplace environment and their pride in their roles.
The annual Whitehall monitor report, set to be published this week, indicates that while various departments saw slight increases in morale, the most significant improvements occurred in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. These departments, led by Wes Streeting and Ed Miliband respectively, recorded increases of 5 and 7 percentage points.
The report highlights a decade-long trend of fluctuating morale within the civil service, peaking at 63.6% in 2020 before declining for three consecutive years. The engagement index, which captures various aspects of civil service workplace satisfaction, showed signs of recovery in 2024. Notably, the Cabinet Office also reported a 2 percentage point increase following a significant rise in the previous year.
Despite these positive trends, some departments faced challenges, with four reporting decreased morale. The Department for Transport experienced the largest decline, with a drop of 3 percentage points. This included notable declines in responses to questions regarding organizational change and the opportunity for civil servants to voice their opinions on decisions affecting them.
The IfG report suggests that the overall increase in morale could be attributed to a shift in government leadership, following years of instability during the tenures of former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. Experts had anticipated a rebound in civil service morale under Labour, considering the previous turmoil within government departments.
The survey, conducted in autumn 2024, took place before Keir Starmer made remarks in December about some civil servants being “too comfortable” in a state of “managed decline,” comments that potentially strained relationships between the government and civil service.
This year’s findings come after the IfG noted that the prior decline in morale was primarily linked to civil servants’ perceptions of leadership and the management of change, which coincided with the establishment of new departments focused on science, energy, and business. As the civil service moves forward, the challenge remains to maintain and improve morale among its workforce.
