‘A never-ending nightmare’: Federal workers detail mental health toll of government downsizing

Since the start of the Trump administration, federal workers across the country have experienced mass layoffs as part of a broader effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce and cut spending. 

In the last six months, the Trump administration has employed a range of tactics to dismantle portions of the federal government. First, agencies laid off thousands of probationary employees. In February, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email to more than 2 million civilian employees offering them to voluntarily leave their jobs in exchange for eight months of pay — some federal agencies later offered another chance to voluntarily resign before they finalized their reduction-in-force (RIF) plans. Entire offices and some agencies have been shut down as a result of these workforce cuts. 

Amid a wave of changes and constant fear of potential job loss as layoffs loom, many federal workers found themselves struggling with high levels of anxiety, seeking therapy and medication for the first time in their lives, experiencing chronic insomnia, depression, aggressive outbursts, isolation and even self-harming thoughts, Federal News Network found in a new online survey. 

In June, we conducted an online survey of current and former federal employees to gauge how workforce changes implemented during the Trump administration have impacted their mental health. Survey respondents were self-selected, and they self-reported information to verify their status as current federal employees.

Out of 3,647 individuals who completed the survey, 3,294 were current federal employees, 175 individuals were federal employees who left federal service in the last six months, and 104 were contractors.

Of the survey respondents, 2,032 individuals, or about 95% of respondents, said they have experienced increased stress, anxiety and depression as a federal employee since Jan. 20.

“The impacts of the uncertainty and administration’s cruelty have been brutal,” wrote one respondent.

“It’s been overwhelmingly stressful. I already have anxiety from being a veteran so adding this to my life, I mean … I wake up having panic attacks at least four times a week. It’s affecting my entire life. Which means my family. My husband is trying to help but I cannot keep dumping everything on him. We also just had our oldest daughter graduate, our youngest just finished kindergarten. My stress has affected all of us and I hate myself for this,” another respondent wrote.

Other respondents said morale, productivity and effort are at the lowest levels they have ever seen.

Another respondent wrote, “I could get RIF’d at any moment. I am forced to compete for my job with my friend and co-worker. I never thought I’d like Mondays more than Fridays. Because the RIF notices go out on Friday afternoons.” 

Trump has publicly called federal employees “crooked” and “dishonest,” said they are “destroying this country,” and pledged to “hold them accountable” in a 2024 interview. Administration officials have indicated that creating a destabilizing, hostile and demoralizing environment for federal workers is intentional — Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said, “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected” in a recording published by ProPublica.

“When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want to put them in trauma,” Vought said.

Many survey respondents said they once felt deep pride in their roles as civil servants and a strong connection to their mission of public service. Now, for many, that mission feels increasingly unclear. In fact, many don’t even mention what they do anymore.

In an interview with Federal News Network, one Defense Department civilian employee, who has worked in government for 19 years following a 17-year career in the private sector, described their current position as “the best job ever.”

“A lot of people come into government, it’s not about the money, it’s about the service and the commitment and just the security,” the DoD civilian employee said. “I don’t think people really understand the significance of the federal government and why we do what we do.” 

But the stigma now attached to federal employment is unlike anything they have experienced before.

“I’ve just heard from other people saying, ‘Don’t let anybody know you work for the government.’ It is like we have a scarlet letter on us, making us feel bad because we work for the government. It’s scary,” they said. “And every time I’m thinking maybe things have calmed down, something will happen.” 

One survey respondent echoed the sentiment, saying, “The weaponization of words against us hardworking feds has been devastating. I am a proud civil servant, I used to proudly describe my job to those who ask. Now, if anyone asks, ‘What do you do?’ I do not talk about my job unless it is a high-level statement and then move on to a different topic.”

Another respondent described how the loss of purpose in their work has taken a toll on their mental health: “The lack of mission has made me depressed. I show up every day not knowing the mission of the agency anymore.” 

“The lack of respect for being a civil servant with this administration is stress alone. Never in my 36 years of service have I ever felt this disregard as an employee. To be made to feel like you don’t matter causes anxiety in anyone. The fact that we were forced to make a life-changing decision to take your chance and stay or take the [deferred resignation program] was the worst thing I have had to go through. Then you still have to sit here and do your job to the best of your ability with always in the back of your mind wondering if you will be RIF’d after all the dedication you have put into your career,” another respondent said.

Some federal agencies have scrambled to rehire employees they previously let go — only to terminate some of them again. In some cases, employee terminations have been temporarily paused by court orders, but recent Supreme Court rulings have allowed layoffs across federal agencies to resume. But the administration’s push to shrink the federal workforce has gone far beyond mass firings. A government-wide hiring freeze, in place since February, has deepened the strain. Employees hired into remote positions have been told to find an office to go to — even when their entire team is located elsewhere. 

“The changes are nonsensical and show a clear lack of understanding of the functions, workload, challenges, and capabilities,” one federal worker wrote. “The level of chaos and disrespect is astounding.”

“This has been a never-ending nightmare,” another respondent said.

In addition, out of more than 2,100 respondents, nearly 55% reported that mental health played a major role in federal employees’ decisions to leave or consider leaving their jobs. About 2.5% said it was the primary reason they left. 

Many said they want to leave their government job but not until they have another opportunity lined up.

“I love my job, but I am considering looking elsewhere,” one federal employee said. 

“I care about my job and don’t want to leave, but it’s painful to be forced out, defunded and told we don’t matter,” another federal worker wrote.

Meanwhile, some said they are staying in their job as an “act of resistance.”

“I currently describe myself as being fueled by spite. The administration’s goal is to make federal employees’ lives so miserable and ‘put us in trauma’ that we quit. And that makes me feel more resilient to not quit,” one federal employee said.

Areas where mental health challenges are taking a toll 

Nearly 90% of federal employees who responded to the survey said mental health challenges have affected their personal health and wellness. The survey also found that 70% of participants said their willingness to go above and beyond at work had declined, while nearly half reported that their job performance had suffered. About 49% said their relationships with family and friends had been impacted, and 37% pointed to strained relationships with colleagues. 

Another respondent said, “Almost got divorced, became suicidal, child suffering with self-harm issues, work team in shambles over political differences, ineffective organizational leadership due to vacancies has left a power vacuum at the top and the sludge is being sucked upward.” 

Some workers said their motivation decreased significantly, while others simply stated, “I don’t care to go above and beyond anymore,” or “Why go above and beyond if we’re really ‘slackers?’”

“How can you perform well when you’ve dedicated your life to service of this country and are constantly being told you are inefficient bloat? How can you have good relationships with people when you know either of you may not last the week?” one respondent said.

Another respondent said, “Why would I want to put any extra effort into an employer who thinks I’m a money sucking liability rather than an investment for the agency? Employee moral is so low now, I think everyone has taken on this attitude. I could get fired at any time. I feel like I’m waiting around to get RIF’d. This keeps me up at night.”

Some federal workers said their willingness to go above and beyond has declined due to difficulty focusing, mental exhaustion and ethical concerns over newly assigned tasks.

Declining workplace culture

An overwhelming majority of federal employees — more than 80% — said their workplace culture has changed in ways that negatively impacted their mental health. Out of more than 2,100 respondents, just under 4% said the culture had changed for the better, while about 9% reported no change at all.

“There is no more workplace culture. Everything has been stripped away from us,” one respondent wrote. 

“Camaraderie among colleagues seems not existent. Mostly [in] survival mode now,” another respondent said.

For many federal employees, what was once a vibrant and collaborative environment has deteriorated into a workplace where people just shut their doors and keep their heads down, one respondent said. And there is a constant sense of loss.

“It feels like a funeral every day at work. There is no innovation going on anymore,” the respondent wrote.

“Lots of retirement parties for folks who took the DRP that put a false smile on folks cutting their careers short. I had to stop attending. Folks are generally demoralized and at a loss for how to respond,” another federal employee said.

‘We are all in the same boat’

Nearly half of federal employees who responded to the survey said they consistently feel supported by their immediate supervisors. The other half, however, reported a lack of support — 30% said they felt like they were only supported sometimes, while nearly 20% said the immediate supervisors rarely or never supported them.

Many reported losing most of their supervisors; some said their immediate supervisors are just as frustrated about the recent changes.

“I perform insider threat work and lost my manager, his manager and his manager to DRP. I continue to perform my job every day and refer my findings to other departments without supervision, but I also don’t have anyone advocating for me or my work. I help identify the bad people that [the Department of Government Efficiency] wants to eliminate but I don’t think they know I exist or that I’m helping accomplish some of their work. I wake up feeling dread every day that I will lose my job and my mission to help secure my agency will fail,” one federal employee said.

Another respondent said, “They’re just as stressed as I am. My commander literally told us that he couldn’t answer any of our questions and that we would probably find out via social media before he was told.” 

“The administration keeps them in the dark and has stripped most of their supervisory power and ability,” one federal worker said. 

Some federal employees, however, reported that their immediate supervisors were “looking after themselves first.”

“Less communication and guidance. Usually, ‘Look for guidance elsewhere, we cannot respond,’” one respondent said.

One federal employee wrote, “Lack of information and uncertainty is creating a distrust for management and leadership.” 

Meanwhile, over 62% of respondents reported feeling rarely or never supported by their agency leadership. Only 12% of respondents said they felt consistently supported by their agency leaders, while 26% said they felt supported by their agency leadership sometimes.

“New agency leadership has no desire to learn about the agency and employees. Their intention is destruction, not learning and leadership,” one federal employee said. 

Another respondent said, “The Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, is destroying the agency that manages our public lands, including the National Park Service. He is openly hostile to DOI employees. Meanwhile, he is delaying and obfuscating to Congress about the budget, claiming it’s because his office is understaffed. He doesn’t know what understaffed is until he’s scrubbing the toilets and manning visitors centers like we are.”

No trust in mental health resources offered by agencies

The survey also found that while most federal employees are aware of mental health or wellness resources offered by their agencies, very few are actually using them. Out of 2,110 respondents, almost 80% of respondents said they were aware of the resources but did not use them. Only 9.72% said they were aware and used the resources.

Many expressed distrust toward their agencies, saying they do not feel safe using internal resources. 

“I don’t need to give them an additional reason to DOGE me out of the government,” one worker wrote. 

Another federal employee said, “I assume that using any resource means it’s being tracked and monitored now.”

Many expressed frustration with their agency’s Employee Assistance Program, saying that it was ineffective.

“Our EAP system is garbage and not worth using,” one federal employee said. 

“They were always booked and there were no times I needed that were available,” another respondent said. “I tried to use my agency’s EAP but none of the counselors are accepting new clients.”

When asked about what they wanted the public and agency leaders to better understand about the current environment, many respondents spoke passionately about their commitment to public service and the toll recent changes have taken on their mental health. 

“We’re your neighbors, friends and family. We’re in it for the amazing missions of our agencies. There is a reason it is called the civil service. But there is only so much we can take. Check on us. Turning a blind eye to us is so demoralizing. We do these jobs in service of our country,” one respondent said. 

“Most federal employees are working very hard at jobs that directly serve the public. They’re doing so despite abuse from that same public and administration leadership. They typically make less money than they could in the private sector, and they’re broadly non-partisan public servants,” another federal employee said.

If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email anastasia.obis@federalnewsnetwork.com or reach out on Signal at (301) 830-2747.

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