Supporting the People

Who Serve Our Communities

Public servants carry heavy workloads, public scrutiny, and constant change while delivering services communities depend on every day. ThrivePath helps federal, state, and local government organizations care for their people and strengthen leadership through coaching, burnout prevention, workshops, and organizational consulting.

Why This Work Matters

The well-being of public employees shapes morale, retention, and the quality of service residents receive. Government leaders also need support as they manage tight budgets, political pressure, and reorganization while keeping teams focused on the mission.

Public Sector Burnout and Retention by the Numbers

0

in

0

government employees report feeling burned out very often or always. Gallup [4]

0%

of surveyed state and local employees were considering leaving their jobs. MissionSquare [7]

0%

of state and local governments report difficulty filling engineering roles. MissionSquare [5]

0%

of 911 centers report being understaffed. NENA [8]

How ThrivePath Can Help

Employee well-being

Offer coaching and practical workshops on stress, resilience, boundaries, and sustainable work habits for public servants in demanding and high-visibility roles.

Burnout prevention

Help teams recognize early signs of strain and examine workload, communication, and expectations that may contribute to it.

Leadership development

Help academic and administrative leaders communicate clearly, navigate change, manage competing demands, and build trust across roles and departments.

Executive coaching

Give leaders confidential space to think through challenges, strengthen self-awareness, and put new approaches into practice.

Organizational consulting and retreats

Identify barriers to healthy collaboration and create focused opportunities for reflection, shared learning, and action planning.

Retention and Measurable Improvement

Supporting public servants and strengthening leadership can help agencies keep experienced people and the institutional knowledge they carry. By tracking voluntary turnover, vacancies, unplanned absences, and replacement costs against a starting baseline, an agency can assess retention as a potential return on its investment.

Strong public services depend on supported employees and effective leadership.

Schedule a Consultation

Additional Research & Sources

  • Replacing a leader or manager can cost about 200% of annual salary; senior/executive turnover costs can reach up to 213% of salary. [1,2]
  • The career Senior Executive Service fell nearly 30%, from 8,127 members to 5,837 by January 2026. About 105,000 federal employees are projected to retire by the end of 2026. [3]
  • Government employees in fair or poor mental health average nearly 12 unplanned absences a year versus 2.5 for others. [4]
  • 66% of state and local governments report difficulty filling nursing and policing roles; workload or burnout appears in 20% of exit interviews. [5]
  • 35% of government managers report frequent burnout, compared with 23% of individual contributors. [4]
  • Government employees who feel supported by their manager are about 70% less likely to experience burnout. [4]
  • Gallup identifies five root causes of burnout in government: unfair treatment, unmanageable workload, unclear manager communication, lack of manager support, and unreasonable time pressure. [4]
  • 74% of surveyed emergency communications centers said staff burnout was a problem; more than 90% offer wellness services, but only 18% of staff use them. [8]
  • Agencies with higher employee engagement also earned higher customer service satisfaction scores. [9]
  • 8% of state and local governments report reducing or restructuring services to match available workforce. [5]
  • 83% of 911 centers handle high call volumes on multiple days each week. [8]

Sources: [1] Gallup, 42% of Employee Turnover Is Preventable but Often Ignored (2024). [2] Boushey & Glynn, Center for American Progress (2012). [3] Government Executive, For Federal Executives, Retirement Means Losing More Than a Job (2026). [4] Gallup, What Is Driving Federal Government Burnout? (2024). [5] MissionSquare Research Institute, 2025 State and Local Government Workforce Survey. [6] Gallup, What 2025 Federal Reforms Did to Worker Engagement (2026). [7] MissionSquare survey reported in Route Fifty (2022). [8] National Emergency Number Association, New Report Reveals 9-1-1 Profession Stressed and Stretched to Its Limits (2023). [9] Partnership for Public Service analysis reported in Federal News Network (2024).