Veterans Affairs Cancels Annual Employee Satisfaction Survey

Veterans Affairs (VA) officials have announced the cancellation of their annual employee satisfaction survey for this year. The decision follows a statement from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which indicated that the 2025 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) would not proceed as planned. Typically conducted each spring, the survey serves as a vital tool for gauging employee satisfaction across federal agencies.

The announcement came late last week, with OPM communicating via email that revisions were underway to focus the survey on key workplace issues. This year’s survey aimed to emphasize critical topics while moving away from less relevant ones, such as diversity initiatives. Despite the cancellation, Veterans Affairs leaders expressed confidence in the overall happiness of their workforce regarding the department’s direction.

Implications of the Cancellation

VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz clarified that the department would align with OPM’s decision and confirmed that the VA All-Employee Survey would not take place this year. He sought to alleviate concerns about the absence of polling data, asserting, “VA employees are happy the department is fixing many of the problems left by the Biden administration and is making improvements across the agency.”

The VA All-Employee Survey has been a consistent annual effort since 2006. It has provided critical insights into employee morale within the department. In 2012, the survey results ranked the VA as the second-worst large federal agency to work for among 19 departments. By 2024, the ranking improved significantly, positioning the VA as the fifth-best agency. Approximately 72% of VA employees reported job satisfaction in 2024, a notable increase from about 55% a decade earlier.

Officials from the Joe Biden administration have often referenced these survey results as indicators of progress in workforce improvements at the VA. The cancellation of this year’s survey raises questions about whether ongoing changes and challenges within the department would have been reflected in the data.

Context of Workforce Changes

The decision to forgo the survey comes amid significant workforce reforms initiated during the administration of former President Donald Trump. Critics have voiced strong objections to these reforms, which reportedly included a reduction of nearly 30,000 positions within the department’s payroll since January 2023.

Earlier this month, VA Secretary Doug Collins announced plans to sever ties with most federal employee unions, effectively terminating their collective bargaining contracts. Currently, approximately 450,000 federal employees work across VA hospitals, benefits centers, and various offices. In previous years, participation in the employee surveys has typically been high, with nearly three-fourths of the workforce engaging in the feedback process.

The impact of the cancellation remains to be seen, as stakeholders and employees alike await further information on how the VA plans to measure workforce sentiment in the absence of the traditional survey.