For many federal employees, the current government shutdown is even less certain than past ones — in large part due to the Trump administration’s threats of mass layoffs, as well as insecurity around whether furloughed workers will receive back pay.
In an online survey Federal News Network conducted earlier this month, a significant majority — nearly 70% of federal employee respondents — said their current experience under the shutdown differs from how they have felt during past funding lapses.
Federal employees’ perspectives on current government shutdown. Source: Federal News Network October 2025 survey of 4,500 federal employees. The survey is a non-scientific survey of respondents who were self-selected.
Federal News Network received more than 4,500 responses to a non-scientific online survey conducted in early-to-mid-October, asking federal employees for their perspectives on the government shutdown. More than 90% of respondents self-reported that they are current federal employees. We also received some responses from those who self-identified as former federal employees, as well as current and former federal contractors.
Many respondents spoke of the high levels of uncertainty for federal employees, as the Trump administration threatens further layoffs and questions the legal guarantee of back pay for furloughed employees. Some survey takers described the situation as unpredictable, stressful and unstable.
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“This is the first shutdown where the administration has threatened federal workers,” one employee wrote. “Typically, we seem to be considered as afterthoughts, but this time we are being treated as pawns.”
Another employee said, “Previous shutdowns felt unrelated to federal employees, and some reassurance Congress would take care of furloughed employees afterwards. This round, they are specifically threatening to fire federal employees and defy law to withhold back pay.”
One other respondent wrote, “The continued threat to federal employees is highly unusual and not experienced in past shutdowns. This and the profound lack of the public’s understanding of government services and work is deeply concerning and depressing.”
Financial, personal impacts for feds
Now one month into the shutdown, about 1.4 million federal employees have already missed their first full paychecks. Hundreds of thousands are continuing to work without pay, while about 700,000 others have been furloughed.
The financial strains are hitting employees differently, depending on the individual situation. Many lower-paid federal employees are struggling to afford basic needs such as groceries and gas, as the shutdown drags on with little promise of an end in sight.
Many federal employees credited financial support from outside institutions that have helped keep them afloat during the shutdown. Some mentioned borrowing from their Thrift Savings Plan accounts, or taking out loans from credit unions.
Overall, about 30% of survey takers said they will feel a major impact on finances, while 36% said there would be “somewhat” of an impact as a result of the shutdown.
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But some said they were more fearful of the possibility of not getting back pay, after OMB called into question the details of a 2019 law meant to ensure retroactive compensation for both excepted and furloughed employees.
“While we have some cushion, it’s unsettling not knowing how long we will go without pay,” one respondent wrote. “Then adding on top of that uncertainty is the administration threatening to not give us back pay as required by law.”
Another respondent said their financial stability would depend on the length of the shutdown, and whether they ultimately receive back pay once the funding lapse ends.
“I have savings to cover expenses for several months, but if I don’t get back pay to replenish those savings once the shutdown ends, then I’m screwed,” the employee wrote.
“We’re already behind”
At the same time, some survey respondents said the Trump administration’s rhetoric leading up to and throughout the shutdown has only built on what employees have already been experiencing for the better part of the year.
“It was just getting to feel like we had our heads above water — now there is further chaos, confusion and uncertainty with no messaging from management,” one employee wrote.
More than 70% of survey respondents said morale has gotten worse as a result of the shutdown, while roughly 16% said morale hasn’t been impacted by the shutdown. Less than 2% said morale has improved, while about 12% were “unsure.”
Shutdown’s impact on federal employees’ morale. Source: Federal News Network October 2025 survey of 4,500 federal employees. The survey is a non-scientific survey of respondents who were self-selected.
Federal employees also expressed concerns about the effects the shutdown would have on their work going forward. About 45% of survey respondents said the shutdown will have a major impact on their work, while 35% said there will be “somewhat” of an impact.
Many respondents described what they expect will be backlogs and large workloads piling up, which for many employees can only be addressed once the shutdown ends. Some said similarly that the expected issues coming from the shutdown would add to challenges they are already seeing in their work this year.
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“We’ve had so many delays in our work this year due to funding freezes and review processes,” one respondent wrote. “We’re already behind and this shutdown is delaying all our work even more.”
Limited, conflicting information leading up to shutdown
When asked how prepared their agencies seemed for the shutdown, results from federal employees who took the online survey were relatively mixed.
The most common survey answer was that agencies were “somewhat prepared,” with 35% of respondents selecting that option. About one-third of respondents said their agencies were “not at all prepared,” and another close to one-third said either “mostly” or “very” prepared.
Federal employees’ perspectives of agency preparedness for shutdown. Source: Federal News Network October 2025 survey of 4,500 federal employees. The survey is a non-scientific survey of respondents who were self-selected.
Of those who thought their agencies were less prepared, many respondents described what they saw as little, conflicting or delayed communications from their agency in the days leading up to the funding lapse deadline on Sept. 30.
“We were given contradictory information hour by hour — no one knew what was happening and it was left to rumor,” one respondent wrote.
Some respondents wrote that in past shutdowns, they would receive guidance from their agencies at least several days in advance of the funding lapse deadline. But this time around, some agency leaders seemed slower to inform employees of the contingency plans, according to survey respondents.
“The lack of information coming from upper management for this shutdown was surprising,” one employee wrote. “Nobody knew who would be excepted and who wouldn’t.”
In the past, the Office of Management and Budget has typically shared all agency contingency plans on the White House’s website, but for the current shutdown, the usual page hosting those plans has remained mostly blank. Instead, OMB said information would be available only on individual agency websites.
Federal News Network compiled a list of agency contingency plans, including information on how many employees are excepted or furloughed at each agency for the duration of the funding lapse.
Despite the lacking communications that some respondents described, most survey takers — about 70% — still said the shutdown has not changed their opinion of their agency. About one-quarter of respondents said they felt more negative about their agency due to the shutdown, while just about 3% felt more positive.
“I wouldn’t say that the shutdown changed my opinion about my agency itself, but more that it has increased my negative opinion about my agency’s upper leadership and their inability to get messaging out ahead of the shutdown,” one respondent wrote.
“The agency itself hasn’t changed — the decision-makers have,” another wrote.
In contrast, more respondents changed their opinions about the government overall as a result of the shutdown. About 59% of survey takers said they felt more negative about the government overall, while about 35% had no change in opinion, and 3% said they now feel more positive.
But most commonly, respondents wrote that blame for the shutdown should be on Congress and politicians, rather than on agencies or the government overall.
“Regardless of my personal political leanings, I do not appreciate being made a political tool while trying to simply serve the American public. Neither party represent my views at this time,” one respondent wrote.
Another said, “I feel frustrated at the threats to federal workers from our own leadership to the highest levels, but that sentiment has been growing since January. This shutdown has made it even more clear that the highest levels of federal leadership have nothing but contempt for the workers that carry out the day-to-day operations for the nation.”
Concerns about shutdown’s long-term impacts
The Trump administration’s push for further reductions-in-force (RIFs) is causing additional stress and apprehension for many. Some survey respondents said their teams are already short staffed, while others worried about the RIFs’ impact on their agencies’ overall mission.
“The administration has been gutting significant numbers of people without affording them time to pass on their institutional knowledge,” one respondent wrote. “The employees who remain feel as though we are constantly in a position where we are being threatened.”
Although the RIFs are currently on hold due to a court order, some respondents still feared longer-term consequences of the workforce overhauls. Some anticipated further layoffs would lead to further work constraints, uncertainty over their jobs and long legal battles over the administration’s actions.
On top of the shutdown-related RIFs, many respondents said the workforce overhauls for the better part of the year — including previously planned RIFs and exits due to the deferred resignation program — would lead to deteriorating agency services and worsening morale in the long run.
“Morale was bad prior to this shutdown because of the RIFs and the obvious hatred this administration has towards federal employees,” one employee wrote. “The threat of more RIFs is making this shutdown worse.”
If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email drew.friedman@federalnewsnetwork.com or reach out on Signal at drewfriedman.11
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