Gallup: Federal Worker Job Satisfaction Dropped Following 2025 Workforce Reductions

Federal workers reported lower job satisfaction and higher burnout after DOGE ushered in massive layoffs across the federal workforce in 2025, according to a Gallup analysis published on May 14, 2026. The study, drawn from Gallup surveys and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, found that federal employees were less likely than previously to trust their leaders.

They were also less likely to believe their workplace treats people with respect.

In Q2 2025, federal workers were 15 percentage points less likely than state and local government workers to report being very satisfied with their jobs. The number of federal workers looking for a new job spiked at the start of 2025. 3% in 2025, or about 238,000 workers.

Semafor reported that after DOGE ushered in massive layoffs across the federal workforce last year, fewer government employees reported being satisfied with their job and more reported high burnout. The results offer a glimpse into the impact of President Trump’s across-the-board cuts on the federal workforce.

DOGE ushered in massive layoffs across the federal workforce in 2025, prompting measurable shifts in employee sentiment.

The decline in workplace metrics followed the contraction that eliminated roughly 238,000 positions. Gallup’s analysis, released Thursday, combined its own polling with official labor data to track changes through the period of largest staff reductions.

The spike in workers seeking new employment coincided with the initial wave of cuts at the beginning of 2025. By the second quarter of last year the gap with state and local counterparts had widened to 15 percentage points on the question of strong job satisfaction. The data points to a workforce still adjusting to the scale of change initiated the prior year.