Berkeley Lab’s first-ever systematic workplace climate survey proved to be a huge success, with more than 1,700 employees expressing their views on everything from physical work conditions to diversity and work/life balance. Laboratory Director Steve Chu, who commissioned the survey, was pleased with the return, which represents more than one-third of the entire Lab population and 60 percent of all career employees.

“I was very impressed with the response. The results will provide guidance to us as we consider best practices for creating a great place to work,” Chu said. “It builds upon our current understanding of workplace issues and further opens the lines of communication between Lab employees and Lab management. Only through a thorough understanding of the problems can we develop effective solutions.”

The survey was offered on-line between June 7 and July 20 to all career, term, and faculty employees, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate student research assistants. Almost 40 percent of all career employee respondents were scientists and engineers, 20 percent were professional technical and administrative employees,15 percent were managers, and 5 percent were administrative support staff. In addition, the percentages of men (61%) and women (31%) corresponded with the gender mix of the lab as a whole.

The number of Asian respondents (272), at 16 percent of the total, also was comparable to lab demographics. But the participation of African Americans (71) and Hispanics (62) was disproportionately lower than their representation in the lab population.

Respondents had both positive and negative comments to share. They were generally favorable toward how the Laboratory lives up to the principles it espouses, according to Ombudsman Harry Reed, who coordinated the survey. “Our mean values (on a scale of 1 to 6) in each category were 4 and 5, which suggests a generally positive evaluation of Lab employee experience.”

The Lab’s physical working conditions received the highest overall score among the respondents, with a mean rating of 5. Also scoring high were questions about personal commitment to the Lab, safety, direct supervision, competency of peers, work/life balance, and perception of Berkeley Lab as a good place to work.

Areas whose scores reflected less satisfaction included mentoring, career advancement opportunities, performance recognition, involvement in decision making, and how effectively the Lab is managed. Women respondents, in particular, cited the absence of their gender in upper management jobs (although women were recently hired by Director Chu and Chief Operating Officer David McGraw to manage Information Technology and Human Resources departments).

Chu said he plans further employee dialogue about the survey’s findings, in the form of town-hall meetings and possibly focus groups.

Reed in particular pointed to the job satisfaction category as an area that will receive special attention in subsequent actions. “Access to advancement opportunities was the lowest-rated item in this section,” he said. “People like their jobs, but they lack information and support for career development.”

He said the survey indicated overall support for the Lab as an institution, with strong sentiment expressed about its values and its contributions to society.

The idea of a survey grew from the Diversity Best Practices Council, which wanted to know whether the Laboratory’s recently published “Principles for a Diverse Community” were actually being accepted and honored.

This was the first systematic effort the Laboratory has ever undertaken to assess the degree to which the Lab climate is conducive to or reflects any cohesive set of principles or values behind which it stands. Director Chu endorsed the effort. “While I am pleased that the general feelings of Lab employees are positive, there are apparent differences in the ways that they experience their work and workplace,” Chu said. “We will further explore these responses with an eye toward improving the Laboratory environment so that all of our employees have a greater sense of satisfaction and value.”

The statistical data from the survey will be available soon through the Best Practices Diversity Council web site at http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/diversity/, along with a more thorough analysis of its findings.

Berkeley Lab’s Principles for a Diverse Community, signed by Director Chu, are as follows:

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is principally an institution of scientific research, committed to addressing the needs of society. A diverse workforce is an invaluable asset to innovation and research excellence. To this end, we must embody the following principles to successfully affect the Laboratory’s mission and embrace our diverse workplace community:

• We affirm the inherent dignity in all of us and strive to maintain an environment characterized by respect, fairness, and inclusion. Our valued community encompasses an array of races, creeds, and social circumstances. We recognize and cherish the richness contributed by our diversity.
  
  
• We accept open expression of our individuality and diversity within the bounds of courtesy, respect and sensitivity. We take pride in our collective achievements. We honor our differences.
  
  
• As mandated by law and reaffirmed here, we will not tolerate any manifestations of discrimination, including those based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, and status within the Laboratory.