Morale within the UK civil service saw a modest increase following the Labour Party’s return to power in 2024. According to the upcoming annual report from the Institute for Government (IfG), satisfaction levels particularly improved in the departments of health and energy, reflecting a renewed sense of optimism among civil servants.
The report reveals that the civil service employee engagement index rose from 60.7% to 61.2%. This index serves as a composite measure that captures civil servants’ sentiments regarding their work environment and their pride in serving their organization. Following a decade of improvement until 2020, the index had faced a decline over the past three years, prompting concerns about employee engagement in government roles.
Among the various departments, the Department of Health and Social Care, led by Wes Streeting, experienced a remarkable increase of 5 percentage points. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, under Ed Miliband, saw the largest rise, with morale improving by 7 percentage points. The Cabinet Office also reported a modest increase of 2 percentage points, continuing a recovery trend that began in 2023 after several years of decline.
Despite the overall rise in morale, four departments reported decreases in employee satisfaction. The Department for Transport experienced the most significant drop, falling by 3 percentage points. Notably, the transport department’s scores plummeted in key areas, including a 13-point decline in responses to questions about the effectiveness of organizational changes and opportunities for employee input in decision-making processes.
The report’s findings come after a tumultuous period in UK politics, characterized by frequent changes in leadership under former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. Experts had anticipated a rebound in civil service morale following Labour’s election victory, particularly given the challenges faced by government departments during the previous administrations.
The survey, conducted in autumn 2024, was completed before Keir Starmer‘s controversial remarks in December regarding some civil servants’ comfort in what he termed the “tepid bath of managed decline.” These comments raised concerns about potential setbacks in relations between government leadership and civil service employees.
The IfG’s previous reports had indicated that the decline in morale over the past three years was largely linked to negative perceptions of leadership and change management, particularly following the restructuring that created new departments focused on science, energy, and business.
As the civil service continues to navigate the challenges of governance, the increased morale in specific sectors signals a potential shift towards a more engaged and motivated workforce, which may benefit the functioning of government departments in the long run.
