A survey of Department of Homeland Security employees reveals that morale in the department is, well, very low.

At the Department of Homeland Security, only 12 percent of the more than 10,000 employees who returned a government questionnaire said they felt strongly that they are “encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things.”

In the agency, which has responsibility for protecting the country against terrorism and responding to natural disasters, only 3 percent of employees said they are confident that personnel decisions are “based on merit.”

Fewer than 18 percent said they feel strongly that they are “held accountable for achieving results.” And just 4 percent said they are sure that “creativity and innovation are rewarded.”

In each instance and many others, the responses of the Homeland Security employees were less favorable than those of all the other departments and agencies surveyed by the federal Office of Personnel Management, a new study by an outside research organization shows.

Experts in human resources said the morale problems indicated in the survey should be of serious concern to the top officials. — New York Times

The beatings will continue until morale improves.