A number of top administration officials, starting with President Obama, took the opportunity this week — Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) — to recognize the value of government employees and praise them for their service.

The show of support represents an important acknowledgment that the good work by the vast majority of federal employees is not going unnoticed. I’ve decided to compile here a rundown of many of those words of thanks.

As a federal leader, you have an opportunity to let your employees know that you appreciate them and their work as we celebrate Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW), May 6 through 12.

It’s especially important this year to recognize your employees given the current climate — morale is down because of the recent government scandals and congressional efforts to cut employee compensation.

I’ve got some good and bad news for federal leaders.

On a positive note, federal employees’ views of their leaders have been on the upswing since 2003 based on an analysis of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings.

Regrettably, leadership remains one of the lowest ranked workplace categories in the survey, with employees giving leaders a government-wide score of only 54.9 out of 100 in 2011, according to an examination of Best Places data by the Partnership for Public Service.

The scandalous acts of a few government employees who wasted taxpayer dollars and abused the public trust are making headlines, but these cases are not representative of the nation’s 2.1 million federal workers. In fact, they are far from the norm.

The excessive spending by General Service Administration (GSA) employees on a lavish Las Vegas conference and the prostitution scandal involving Secret Service agents are rocking the government right now. Not only do these misguided actions reinforce the negative perceptions of government workers, but federal executives tell me that are taking a toll on employee morale.

The recent revelations of excessive and inappropriate spending for a General Services Administration (GSA) regional training conference in Las Vegas could not have come at a worse time given the fiscal constraints facing our government.

Now more than ever, federal managers must deliver value to the American public for every dollar spent. The good news is that the vast majority of federal managers and employees are doing their jobs. The bad news is that a few egregious examples of excess or poor management can easily undermine public confidence in government.