Aviation Security: Transportation Security Administration Could Further Improve Officer Engagement
Fast Facts
TSA's nearly 50,000 officers play an important role in keeping potentially dangerous items off airplanes.
But TSA officers' engagement—their sense of purpose on the job—has historically ranked among the lowest across the federal government. Employees who feel engaged tend to be more innovative, productive, and committed in their jobs.
TSA has taken steps to address key drivers of officer dissatisfaction, such as by setting up programs to reward performance. However, it hasn't fully addressed those drivers, nor identified the root causes of officer dissatisfaction in areas like communication and work-life balance.
We recommended that TSA do so.
TSA Employee Engagement Index Scores, 2017–2023
Highlights
What GAO Found
Leadership of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has identified the need to improve employee engagement—their sense of purpose in their job—as central to the agency's security mission. According to the Office of Personnel Management, engaged employees are more innovative, productive, and committed in their jobs, and thus less likely to leave. GAO found that five key drivers affect the engagement of TSA's Transportation Security Officers (TSO), who comprise the majority of TSA employees.
TSA has taken actions to address all five key drivers. However, challenges related to each persist. For example, to address TSO concerns with managing and recognizing performance, TSA began requiring supervisors to take a 1-hour performance management course in 2018. In 2021, it set up two programs to reward top performance. However, these actions did not fully address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction—namely, inconsistent management of TSOs' performance. By identifying and implementing actions that fully address the root causes of the driver, TSA will be better able to improve engagement. Further, TSA has not identified root causes of TSO dissatisfaction for three other drivers—career development, work-life balance, and communication. Without doing so, TSA will have difficulty implementing effective corrective actions that address the specific challenges for each of the drivers.
Transportation Security Officers Gather for a Shift Briefing
For the final driver—demonstrating responsiveness to input—TSA has solicited TSO input on the root causes of low engagement at airports through a survey and other initiatives. However, TSA has not tracked follow-through on these initiatives. By tracking and monitoring follow-through on planned steps, TSA would be better able to ensure implementation and realize the desired effect of improving TSO engagement.
Why GAO Did This Study
TSA employs almost 50,000 TSOs who screen passengers and their baggage at U.S. airports. TSA employees' engagement has historically ranked among the lowest within the Department of Homeland Security and across the federal government.
GAO was asked to review the factors that affect TSO engagement and TSA's actions to improve it. This report examines (1) the key drivers that affect engagement and (2) the extent to which TSA has taken actions to address them.
GAO analyzed the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey results from 2020 through 2023, reviewed agency guidance and documentation on TSA's actions to improve engagement, and interviewed human capital officials. GAO interviewed a nongeneralizable sample of TSOs, their supervisors, and senior leaders at five airports selected to capture variation in levels of employee engagement. GAO also interviewed five employee groups, including the union that represents TSOs.
Recommendations
GAO is making nine recommendations, including that TSA analyze the root causes of key drivers of low TSO engagement, such as opportunities for career development and work-life balance, and identify and implement actions to address them. DHS concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should identify and implement actions, as appropriate, to address the underlying root causes of TSO dissatisfaction the agency has identified with how TSA manages and recognizes performance. (Recommendation 1) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and said in its comment letter that it would take steps to address it. In August 2024, TSA reported plans to solicit feedback on employees' perceptions of the quality of their performance discussions during the prior year's performance cycle, fiscal year 2024, and use this information to identify root causes of dissatisfaction. In addition, TSA said that it had updated a required training course in February 2024 that teaches supervisors how to provide feedback that is specific, objective, timely, and balanced. These planned steps could help TSA collect additional information on TSO dissatisfaction and enhance supervisory training. To fully address the recommendation, TSA will need to demonstrate that they have used the feedback collected, the training provided, or have taken other steps to address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should conduct an analysis to identify the underlying root causes of TSO dissatisfaction with their opportunities for career development. (Recommendation 2) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and has taken steps that partially address it. Specifically, in its most recent September 2025 analysis of Local Action Plans, TSA reported TSO responses separately from other employees, permitting better insight into TSO-specific issues. The analysis identified lack of career development opportunities and insufficient training resources for career development as key issues. It also identified potential causes of these issues including limited time to complete trainings and insufficient training offered on new equipment and standard operating procedures. This is clearer and more useful information than TSA's prior analyses. However, TSA has not yet addressed the limitation we reported that this analysis by design excludes any issues TSOs may have that are outside the control of airport leadership. To fully address this recommendation, TSA will need to address this limitation. Doing so will allow TSA to better ensure it is accurately identifying the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction with their opportunities for career development.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should identify and implement actions, as appropriate, to address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction with their opportunities for career development. (Recommendation 3) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and said in its comment letter it would take steps to address it. Specifically, TSA reported plans to identify and implement actions to address the root causes of TSO satisfaction it identified, as appropriate. In August 2024, TSA also reported that it had made available to its workforce on-demand and e-learning classes related to career development and conducted a series of resume and interview development workshops in August 2023. To fully address the recommendation, TSA will need to demonstrate the training and workshops provided, or other actions it implements, address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should conduct an analysis to identify the underlying root causes of TSO dissatisfaction with TSA support for their work-life balance. (Recommendation 4) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and has taken steps that partially address it. Specifically, in its most recent September 2025 analysis of Local Action Plans, TSA reported TSO responses separately from other employees, permitting better insight into TSO-specific issues. The analysis identified work-life balance as a key issue for TSOs. It also identified several potential causes including short-notice schedule changes; lack of communication when schedules change; insufficient staffing leading to the need for overtime and an inability to take leave; and TSOs' limited roles in determining their schedules. This is clearer and more useful information than TSA's prior analyses. However, TSA has not yet addressed the limitation we reported that this analysis by design excludes any issues TSOs may have that are outside the control of airport leadership. To fully address this recommendation, TSA will need to address this limitation. Doing so will allow TSA to better ensure it is accurately identifying the causes of TSO dissatisfaction with TSA support for their work life balance.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should identify and implement actions, as appropriate, to address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction with TSA support for their work-life balance. (Recommendation 5) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and said in its comment letter it would take steps to address it. Specifically, TSA reported plans to identify and implement actions to address the root causes of TSO satisfaction it identified, as appropriate, while noting that TSA's mission limits its ability to provide its workforce with flexible schedules. In August 2024, TSA reported that a new collective bargaining agreement became effective in May 2024, which included benefits for bargaining unit employees such as enhanced shift trade options. However, this collective bargaining agreement was ended in March 2025. To fully address the recommendation, TSA will need to demonstrate that its actions address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should track and monitor airport leadership progress implementing the three actions identified in each airport Local Action Plan to ensure the plans are implemented. (Recommendation 6) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and has taken steps that partially address it. In July 2024, TSA officials provided documentation of a tracker and described the process it planned to use to monitor airports' Local Action Plan implementation. However, in April 2025, they told us that because of recent Executive Orders, the Office of Personnel Management's delay of the 2025 FEVS, and changes to senior TSA leadership, TSA would reevaluate its action planning process in January 2026. TSA's plans to track airport actions and require mid-year updates, if implemented as intended and sustained over time, could address the intent of our recommendation.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should track and monitor whether employees and supervisors discuss the results from Leadership for Engagement Surveys and use those results to inform the development and implementation of individual action plans. (Recommendation 7) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and has taken steps that partially address it. In June 2024, TSA developed a means to track the dates of these required leadership survey results discussions and in March 2025, TSA communicated to employees the requirements and process for using the new tracker. These actions, if implemented as intended and sustained over time, could address the intent of our recommendation. However, as of September 2025, TSA officials told us they did not plan to fund or conduct the leadership for engagement survey. We will continue to monitor TSA's actions with regard to this recommendation.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should conduct an analysis to identify the underlying root causes of TSO dissatisfaction with communication from management. (Recommendation 8) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and has taken steps that partially address it. Specifically, in its most recent September 2025 analysis of Local Action Plans, TSA reported TSO responses separately from other employees. This permits TSA better insight into TSO-specific issues. With regard to TSO dissatisfaction with communication from management, the analysis identified potential causes including the burden placed on leaders, inadequate manager training about what information to share, lack of communication between shifts, officers not feeling that their concerns are being heard by management, and management not soliciting feedback from the workforce. This is clearer and more useful information than TSA's prior analyses. However, TSA has not yet addressed the limitation we reported that this analysis by design excludes any issues TSOs may have that are outside the control of airport leadership. This limitation is particularly important on the issue of communication from management as TSA's 2023 Employee Engagement Action Plan noted that solutions to these challenges may be beyond the control of local leadership and therefore best addressed at the agency level. To fully address this recommendation, TSA will need to address this limitation. Doing so will allow TSA to better ensure it is accurately identifying the causes of TSO dissatisfaction with communication from management.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The TSA Administrator should identify and implement actions, as appropriate, to address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction with communication from management. (Recommendation 9) |
DHS concurred with this recommendation and said in its comment letter it would take steps to address it. Specifically, TSA reported plans to identify and implement actions to address the root causes of TSO satisfaction it identified, as appropriate. TSA reported that in May 2024 it participated in a DHS headquarters initiative, which included agency town halls. In addition, TSA hosted calls with Supervisory and Lead TSOs, and continues to hold biweekly engagement activities, according to TSA officials. To fully address the recommendation, TSA will need to demonstrate that these, or other actions it implements, address the root causes of TSO dissatisfaction.
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