While a majority of the public in the U.S. is distrustful of the federal government, their view is much more favorable regarding our nation\u2019s civil servants, the people working behind-the-scenes to carry out a wide array of federal programs and policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A nationwide public opinion poll<\/a> conducted by the Partnership for Public Service and Freedman Consulting found that only 4 in 10 Americans trust the federal government to do what is right at least some of the time. But 62% of the public has a positive view of the nation\u2019s 2 million public servants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The data also suggests a few other trends showing support for government workers. Most people believe in some \u201cgood\u201d motivations of those who choose to work for the federal government. And interestingly, the respondents who believe that federal government employees \u201chelp people like me\u201d are more likely to trust the government overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, the public agreed by a rate greater than two-to-one that federal employees are \u201cas competent as an average private sector employee,\u201d that they are \u201cdoing public service,\u201d \u201care hard workers\u201d and \u201ccompetent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked why people might choose a federal job, the top three reasons given by the poll respondents were benefits, job security and salary. While this may be positive for federal employee recruitment, perceived high benefits and salary for federal employees have made some private-sector workers feel more disaffected<\/a>. In addition, many respondents thought that government workers valued serving their communities (57%) and public service (47%). However, 40% of those surveyed said public servants chose their jobs for control and 37% said it was for power.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMotivations for public service<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n