Federal workers say they don’t have much to celebrate these days. Furloughs began in April, exacerbating already low morale for many government agencies as budgets have tightened. Downsizing has meant more work for those who remain, and talk of further cuts has many worried about job security. This year is also the third that federal workers haven’t received a pay increase, contributing to discontent. Jenny Brown is in her 27th year as an examiner for the Internal Revenue Service, where she answers peoples’ tax questions. The IRS is a major employer in Ogden, Utah, where Brown works, but her co-workers are getting fed up and leaving — and they aren’t being replaced. “We keep being told things like, ‘Work smarter, not harder.’ Or, ‘Well, you’re just going to have to do more with less,’ ” Brown says. “And there’s only so much you can do.” As a result of understaffing, Brown says, wait times on the IRS hotline have quadrupled. And after more than an hour waiting on the phone, taxpayers get downright ornery.

“We hear, you know, ‘This is ridiculous. I don’t have all day to spend on this,’ ” Brown says.

Read More Furloughs Only The Latest Blow To Federal Worker Morale : NPR.