Little Rock Pine Bluff, AR, October 21, 2026 —

A national survey of nearly 5,000 public employees across all 50 states found that many respondents were proud of their work and satisfied with their jobs, while also reporting concerns about burnout, harassment and plans to leave.

Forty percent of those surveyed reported experiencing burnout, and 35% reported workplace harassment. The survey also found that 27% intended to leave their jobs within the next year.

The study was conducted by The People Lab at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. Its summary describes the results as covering public employees across all 50 states, but does not provide the survey dates, the questions used, or details about how respondents were selected.

State employees generally reported less favorable conditions than employees working for city and county governments, according to the findings. The summary does not provide separate percentages for those groups or specify which workplace conditions accounted for the difference.

The results show a mix of positive views and reported workplace difficulties: most employees were described as proud of their work and satisfied with their jobs, while substantial shares reported burnout or harassment. The summary does not give exact proportions for pride or job satisfaction, so the scale of those positive responses cannot be compared directly with the reported figures for burnout and harassment.

Further details about the survey’s methodology, geographic distribution of respondents and definitions of burnout and harassment were not included in the information provided. The findings therefore offer a broad picture of reported experiences, but do not explain what may be driving them or establish why conditions differed among state, city and county employees.


Story summarized from the original created by Kevin Hardy on arkansasadvocate.com, see more information here.

Media gallery

About The Author
SignalNewsAI