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An exploratory sequential mixed methods single intrinsic case study: federal employees' perceptions of their opportunity for within unit merit promotion and how these perceptions impact their overall engagement
Dissertation   Open access

An exploratory sequential mixed methods single intrinsic case study: federal employees' perceptions of their opportunity for within unit merit promotion and how these perceptions impact their overall engagement

Shereese Harris
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Dec 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000204
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Abstract

Employee motivation Organizational behavior Organizational effectiveness--Research Management--Employee participation Employees--Promotions
For the last five years, over 60 percent (1.2 million) of federal workers have reported they are dissatisfied with their opportunity to promote in their organization (OPM, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). Despite these findings that advocate for further qualitative study, the literature focuses on the quantitative results of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) and not on what is causing federal employees to have these perceptions. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to gain a deeper understanding into the complexities embedded in employees' perceptions regarding their opportunity to promote within their work units and the overall influence this has on the organization and employee morale and overall engagement. Through a pragmatic conceptual framework, this study examined the perceptions of 10 former federal employees once employed at one federal agency in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, to gain a deeper understanding of what factors impact their perceptions about their opportunity to promote within their work units. This study focused on the following research questions: 1. How do federal employees perceive not having an opportunity to promote relates to their engagement? 2. How do the FEVS results compare with the perceptions of federal employees regarding lack of opportunity for promotion within unit? 3. What factors influence these perceptions of non-opportunity for promotion within their work unit and levels of engagement? 4. How do federal employees describe how lack of opportunity for promotion affects their engagement? Individual semi-structured interviews and observations were used for data collection. Data were analyzed for emergent themes, trends, and comparison with FEVS. The findings of the study revealed that there are no demographic predictors for perceptions on merit promotion or engagement levels, but there are factors that influence how an employee perceives their opportunity for promotion like leadership support, sponsorships, transparency, clear expectations, meaningful training, and less complex HR structures. The results confirm that negative perceptions regarding promotion exist for federal employees, and these perceptions do have a negative impact on their overall engagement. The study concluded that while there are no demographic predictors for how an employee perceives their opportunity for promotion or their levels of engagement, there are complex factors involved in how a federal employee views their opportunity for merit promotion and how these views impact their overall engagement. Some recommendations to address these complex factors are formal mentorship programs to support employees in their promotion pursuits and restructuring of Human Resources systems to be more transparent in the selection process. Key words: federal engagement, employee satisfaction, employee perceptions, merit promotion, opportunities for promotion, Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.

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