Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) Key Terms

FEVS Key Terms
Term Definition
Organization This is your IC, Division or Office (not NIH or HHS). Please respond to these survey items based on the level in your organization that is appropriate for the content of the question. Depending on how your IC is structured, this could be one or more levels above your own.

Work Unit

This is your immediate work unit (Office, Branch or Lab) headed by your immediate supervisor.
Non-supervisor Anyone who does not have supervisory responsibilities.
Team Lead Anyone who provides employees with day-to-day guidance on work projects, but does not have supervisory responsibilities or conduct performance appraisals.

Supervisor

First-line supervisors typically responsible for your performance appraisals and leave approval.

Managers

The individual your immediate supervisor reports to or one level above your supervisor in the organization.

Senior Leaders

This is your IC’s senior leadership in the organization. These are the heads of your IC and their immediate leadership team responsible for directing the policies and priorities of your IC, Division and/or Office. For example, your IC’s Top Five: Director, Deputy Director, Scientific Director, Scientific Executives, Executive Officer or OD leadership positions.
FEVS Categories
Category Definition

My Work Experience
(Items 1-14)

Rate survey items about your daily work assignments and function.

My Work Unit

(Items 15-34)

Rate survey items about your immediate work unit (Office, Branch or Lab) headed by your immediate supervisor.

My Organization
(Items 35-47)

Rate survey items about your specific IC or OD Office (not NIH or HHS).

My Supervisor
(Items 48-56)

Rate survey items about your immediate supervisor typically responsible for your performance appraisals and leave approval.

Leadership
(Items 57-66)

Items in this section will relate to senior leaders, managers, and supervisors (see definitions above). Rate survey items based on the level in your organization that is appropriate for the content of the question.

My Satisfaction
(Items 67-72)

Answer survey items with respect to your satisfaction about your job function, pay, recognition, training, management and senior leadership (see definitions above).

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
(Items 73-85)

Diversity: The practice of including the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, cultures, and beliefs of the American people, including underserved communities. (Source: Executive Order (EO) 14035)

Equity: The consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment. (Source: EO 14035)

Inclusion: The recognition, appreciation, and use of the talents and skills of employees of all backgrounds. (Source: EO 14035)

Accessibility: The design, construction, development, and maintenance of facilities, information and communication technology, programs, and services so that all people, including people with disabilities, can fully and independently use them. (Source: EO 14035)

Employee Experience
(Items 86-90)

Rate survey items about your experience with your work and organization.

Workplace Flexibilities
(Item 91)

Rate survey items with respect to your telework or remote work arrangements.

Telework: a work flexibility arrangement under which an employee performs the duties and responsibilities of such employee's position, and other authorized activities, from an approved worksite other than the location from which the employee would otherwise work. In practice, telework is a work arrangement that allows employees to have regularly scheduled days on which they telework and regularly scheduled days when they work in their agency worksite.

Remote work: an arrangement in which an employee, under a written remote work agreement, is scheduled to perform their work at an alternative worksite and is not expected to perform work at an agency worksite on a regular and recurring basis. A remote worker’s official worksite may be within or outside the local commuting area of an agency worksite.