Vacancies among appointees in U.S. federal agencies: Implications for employee attitudes and intentions
研究美国联邦机构高层任命职位空缺对员工工作满意度和离职意向的影响，发现空缺反而与员工满意度略高和离职意向降低相关。
Abstract Attention to vacancies in appointee positions subject to U.S. Senate confirmation has grown dramatically. Research regarding appointee vacancies commonly assumes negative consequences—loss of political control, promotion of second‐rate subordinates, undermined teamwork—for public agencies though little empirical work exists to confirm such expectations. This study tests whether vacancies at the top of U.S. federal agencies influence job satisfaction and turnover intention among upper‐level employees. Using vacancy data and multiple waves of the Federal Human Capital Survey/Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, we find that upper‐level employees report marginally higher levels of satisfaction when vacancies occur. Further, these vacancies have a negative association with individual‐level intent to leave an agency for another job in the federal government, signaling a higher likelihood that institutional knowledge is maintained.