US Embassy Bern Happy But …

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Even places like Switzerland get inspected by the Office of the Inspector General. The inspection took place in Washington, DC, between January 5 and 27, 2009; in Bern, Switzerland, between March 2 and 12, 2009; in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 4, 2009; and in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 5, 2009. The report states in part:

Officers and their accompanying family members are happy to be working at Embassy Bern. Negative quality of life issues tend to be outside of the control of the Embassy and include issues with cold winter weather, the extraordinarily high cost of living, and the lack of employment opportunities for family members. The Embassy runs an active EFM program, and several such positions were in the process of being filled during the inspection. As more and more EFMs come with advanced degrees and extensive career experience, the kind of positions available, security escorts for example, falls short of expectations. […] Other expansions of the EFM program, if justified, would contribute to morale among EFMs at post, keeping in mind that the positions would best be structured to take into account the high level of education and experience that EFMs currently possess.

Excerpted from OIG Report No. ISP-I-09-31A, Inspection of Embassy Bern, Switzerland June 2009 | PDF