Understanding pay satisfaction in public sector: evidence from Sri Lanka

Many studies about unethical behavior (evil behavior) in the workplace have underlying various research related to love of money and perception of corruption as in this research. One of the main ideas that emerged is “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” Timothy, 6:10. In most studies, there is a gap and lack of prior research involving the mechanism of indirect effect between the love of money behavior and unethical behavior in public sector institutions. In this research, we focus on the role of mediation between the perception of corruption and love of money toward unethical behavior. The researcher spread the questionnaire for obtained 149 respondents who are an employee from the public sector institution. Meanwhile, the research method that we use is a quantitative study, which allows for doing the study with a fast time and broad generalizability. We find that perception of corruption could partially mediate the effect between the love of money and unethical behavior in public sector employees. This study proves that employees who work in public sector institutions have a corruption perception that can trigger evil behavior. employees who have a strong orientation towards money are more likely to try to earn more money to enrich themselves, and then employees engage in unethical behavior.

Gender equity and workplace bias are critical factors influencing job satisfaction and career progression in healthcare. Despite global initiatives promoting equity, disparities persist within nursing, impacting organizational commitment and workforce retention. This study investigates registered nurses' perceptions of gender equity and workplace bias and their impact on job satisfaction at King Khaled Hospital, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional quantitative study design was employed, involving 246 randomly selected registered nurses. Data were collected using the gender equity in the Workplace Scale (GEWS), Workplace Gender Bias Scale (WGBS), and Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were conducted using SPSS to assess gender differences and relationships between perceptions of equity, bias, and job satisfaction. The study revealed moderate agreement regarding gender equity in promotions (48.8%) and compensation (52%), indicating room for improvement in implementing equality policies. Workplace bias was perceived notably in stereotyping (50.8%) and differential treatment (60%), with female nurses reporting higher levels of bias. Job satisfaction was moderate, with 60% of participants expressing overall satisfaction and only 42% satisfied with promotional opportunities. Perceptions of gender equity positively correlated with job satisfaction (r = 0.65, p < 0.001), while workplace bias was inversely correlated (r = -0.54, p < 0.001). Persistent gender inequities and workplace biases negatively affect job satisfaction and career progression in nursing. Addressing these disparities through equitable organizational policies, diversity training, and inclusive leadership can enhance job satisfaction, improve retention, and foster a supportive work environment. These findings highlight the need for systemic reforms to promote workplace equity and well-being in healthcare organizations.

While public service motivation theory suggests that public sector employees have higher levels of intrinsic motivation, average pay levels in the public sector are not lower, so public sector employees also value financial incentives. We investigate the relationship of financial incentives with effort (measured with unpaid overtime) for public versus private sector employees using a UK sample. Bonuses are used much less in the public sector, but their relationship with effort is not different between sectors. Public sector employees exert more effort when base pay is higher and do so to a somewhat higher extent than private sector employees. However, public sector employees increase effort more when effort is an important promotion criterion and when perceived job security is higher. Thus, implicit incentives resulting from being in a secure job and developing in that job are more effective for public sector employees than for private sector employees.

In this study, we developed a model of unethical behavior intentions, collected data from managers of the private (n = 208) and the public (n = 307) sectors in the Republic of Macedonia, and tested our model across these two sectors. Results sug- gested that for both sectors, unethical behavior inten- tions were not related to the love of money and corporate ethical values, whereas irritation was nega- tively related to life satisfaction. Moreover, corporate ethical values were related to life satisfaction for the private sector only, whereas the love of money and unethical behavior intentions were related to irritation for the public sector only. Managers in the private sector had higher corporate ethical values, lower unethical behavior intentions, lower irritation, and higher life satisfaction than those in the public sector. There was no difference in the love of money. There were more bad apples in the public sector (34.85%) than in the private sector (23.56%). The strongest factor of unethical behavior intentions in the private and the public sec- tors was theft and corruption, respectively. Finally, for the culture-free (etic) model, the love of money was positively related to irritation. Corporate ethical values had a positive ''double-whammy'' effect: reducing irritation and enhancing life satisfaction. Unethical behavior intentions were positively related to irritation

This study explores the relationship between Kuwaiti traditional culture and job satisfaction among Kuwaiti women employees in the Kuwaiti public government sector. The analysis is focused on the responses of the female employees to their own jobs as indicated by their level of job satisfaction. This study differs from previous investigations of job satisfaction in two principal ways: in dealing with the public sector (rather than the more common private sector in studies of the Middle East), in incorporating the environment as well as traditional culture in the public sector work setting. The major findings of this research indicate that a much broader approach towards increasing satisfaction than focusing on the job itself is required. The study shows that traditional culture is of substantial importance in predicting and affecting job satisfaction.

This paper examines the changes over time in public sector wages and employment relative to private sector wages and employment using data from surveys of establishments and individuals. The paper finds that:(1) The pay of public sector workers relative to private sector workers varies greatly over time. Contrary to the view that public sector payis inflexible, variations in relative pay are due as much to fluctuations in public pay as to fluctuations in private pay.(2) The relatively high paid public sector worker of the early 1970s has within the span of a decade lost much of his or her advantage over otherwise comparable private sector workers, seriously denting if not destroying the picture of the 'overpaid' public employee which developed in the early 1970s.The group of public sector workers who tend to be most highly paid in the U.S. relative to private sector workers are blacks and women, suggesting that the public sector discriminates less than does the private sector.(3) Differentials in public and private sector pay vary greatly depending on the nature of comparisons, with for example Current Populations Survey comparisons of individuals with similar broad human capital showing federal employees to be higher paid than private employees and Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys of wage rates in particular occupations showing federal workers to be lower paid.(4) Public sector employment follows a very different pattern of change than private sector employment. It has smaller annual variation, and moves counter cyclically rather than cyclically. In terms of demographic composition the public sector employs relatively more blacks and women than the private sector.

This study explores the relationship between age and job satisfaction among Kuwaiti women employees in the Kuwaiti public government sector. The analysis is focused on the responses of the female employees to their own jobs as indicated by their level of job satisfaction. This study differs from previous investigations of job satisfaction in two principle ways: in dealing with the public sector (rather than the more common private in studies of the Middle East), in taking into account demographic variable such as age. The major findings of this research indicate that a much broader approach towards increasing satisfaction than focusing on the job itself is required.

PurposeBased on the situational approach for envy, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of two-dimensional workplace envy (being envied and envying others) on the task and contextual performance of employees working in either private or public sector organizations.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted on survey data collected from 988 private sector employees and 530 employees from the public sector employed in Istanbul. Following a quantitative empirical design, structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe study results revealed that envying-others dimension has a significant negative effect on both task performance and contextual performance. In addition, the findings indicate more envious feelings of private sector employees than public sector employees. For public sector employees, male participants were found to envy others more than females.Research limitations/implicationsIn addition to the contributions, this study has its limitations. First, although the study was carried out with a comprehensive sample, it is limited to the views of 1,518 employees in Istanbul and is a cross-sectional study. Also, employee performance is evaluated through self-reporting, which forms another limitation; it could have been more reliable for the supervisors to assess their subordinates' performance.Practical implicationsApart from scholars, our findings have implications for practitioners. Feelings such as envy that comes with a sense of competition can create an environment that stimulates people, motivates them to work, can make them productive and can also cause an ultimately destructive situation. This makes it critical to manage envy in the workplace. Though there may be facilitators behind it, one crucial factor that fuels envy in the workplace is the lack of fair human resources policies and systems. Still, human resources management is undeveloped in most public organizations. With effective human resources management, there may be some roadmaps for managers to dissolve conflicts arising from envy. First, it is imperative to have systems that will separate the employee from the others, which everyone will accept, strengthening the feelings of justice among employees. Envy often occurs following a social comparison. Management can implement an incentive system that supports employee collaboration and avoid nepotism. Especially in private organizations where the competition is more among employees, managers should give more attention to understand their subordinates' feelings. The managers' attention to expressing their feelings toward their subordinates could establish an equal distance within the workplace. In this sense, language selection is critical, and managers should be mindful of linguistic triggers. Managers should not avoid giving both positive and negative feedback to their employees. Unwarranted and unsystematic reward and/or punishment systems, made with the good intentions of increasing competition, can trigger envy. Finally, managers should implement an open-door policy and open communication that will encourage all team members to be transparent to each other.Originality/valueThe study was based on a rationale that envy has detrimental workplace outcomes that lead to low task and contextual performance. Although there exists a recent interest for examining the relation between workplace envy and employee performance, based on being envied and envying others dimensions, these studies are limited. This study focuses on these dimensions and performance relations, and it also provides a comparative outlook for public and private sector employees in Turkey in terms of workplace envy.

Guided by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, our study examines the age, period, and cohort effects of gender income inequality across China’s public and private sector employment by utilizing hierarchical age–period–cohort cross-classification random-effects models (HAPC-CCREMs) and repeated cross-sectional data from the Chinese General Social Survey from 2003 to 2021 (N = 29,367). The results demonstrate the following: (1) Age effects of gender income inequality diverge between public and private sector employment. In public sector employment, inequality undergoes a progressive decline over individuals’ career spans, as age is institutionalized as a sector-specific capital and compresses inequality through seniority-based accumulation. In private sector employment, inequality follows an inverted U-shaped trend as age is marketized as a proxy for labor productivity, producing steeper inequality in individuals’ early careers and sharp declines thereafter. (2) Period effects of gender income inequality manifest significant developing differences across public and private sector employment between 2003 and 2021. In public sector employment, the state redistributive mechanism maintains inequality at a consistently low and stable level. In private sector employment, inequality fluctuates with China’s post-transition economic restructuring, expanding during rapid market growth (2003–2008), contracting amid structural upgrading (2010–2013), and rising again under deeper market integration (2015–2021). (3) Cohort effects are negligible, reflecting that mechanisms sustaining gender income inequality exhibit intergenerational continuity. These results demonstrate that institutional segmentation structures gendered income dynamics throughout the life course via distinct resource allocation mechanisms. Our study extends life course approaches to social inequality, emphasizing the role of gender-equality-oriented governance, lifecycle-spanning support mechanisms, and cross-sectoral coordination in mitigating gender disparities.

The moderating effect of love of money on relationship between socioeconomic status and happiness

A comparison of the experiences of employees working in construction for a public sector organization and a private sector company was undertaken. Similarities and differences in work-family balance between these sectors have not previously been explored. A quantitative approach, utilizing online questionnaires, assessed employees’ perceptions, and work-family practices, including proactively blending work and family demands with flexible hours and positive organizational and supervisor support, were examined. Independent t-tests compared the public sector and private sector employees’ responses. Private sector employees reported higher levels of work interference with family life. They worked longer hours, had significantly less work-related flexibility, greater work-family conflict, and more difficulty managing family responsibilities than public sector employees. Recommendations are made from practices identified within the public sector to improve private sector employees’ ability to balance w...

Using a representative survey combined with register data on long-term labour market outcomes, this paper examines how personality traits predict sorting into public and private sector employment among prime working-age individuals. To gain deeper insights into the dynamic dimensions of the sorting process, we also study the role of personality traits in the decisions to enter or exit public sector work. Our robust results show that public sector workers are more social, while private sector workers exhibit more orderly behaviour. The link between orderliness and sectoral sorting is partly explained by the reduced entry of individuals with high levels of orderliness into public sector employment. High sociability is also financially better rewarded in the public sector, which may implicitly indicate a good fit between this trait and job performance in that sector.

Employees in the public and private sectors experience different working conditions and employment relationships. Therefore, it can be assumed that their attitudes toward their job and organizations, and relationships between them, are different. The existing literature has identified the relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction as interesting in this context. The present field study examines the satisfaction–commitment link with respect to differences between private and public sector employees. A sample of 617 Greek employees (257 from the private sector and 360 from the public sector) completed standardized questionnaires. Results confirmed the hypothesized relationship differences: Extrinsic satisfaction and intrinsic satisfaction are more strongly related to affective commitment and normative commitment for public sector employees than for private sector ones. The results are discussed, limitations are considered, and directions for future research are proposed.

This study examines how the psychological needs from Self-Determination Theory – the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness – differ for job satisfaction of public and private sector employees. Using representative data from Britain, we first find that the positive relationships between competence and job satisfaction and between relatedness and job satisfaction are stronger for private than for public sector employees. Autonomy, however, increases job satisfaction more for public than for private sector employees. Second, relatedness is most important for private and public sector employees’ job satisfaction. Feeling competent is the least important in both sectors.

To motivate employees and create conditions for their satisfaction is one of the most important tasks of management aiming to create a successful organization. Employee satisfaction can lead to greater support of employees in achieving goals of the organization and creating a wider and larger market of products and services and higher profits. The paper's objective was to examine key elements that influence satisfaction and motivation of the employees in public sector, i.e. in PE 'Post of Serbia'. Public and private companies are different in material incentives which they provide to their employees, in fact public companies do not provide them, but are replaced by other factors of motivation and satisfaction, such as security. The paper also analyses the interactions between demographic factors-level of qualifications, years of work experience and age, on perception of satisfaction and motivation of employees as well as the consequences of these relations. Perception of satisfaction and motivation of employees is analyzed by using the responses of employees on questions divided into six groups: material conditions, safety, acceptance and social component, respect and status, self-confirmation and loyalty. The research uses the questionnaire methodology to collect data and it includes 31 questions regarding the satisfaction and motivation of the employees and demographic questions. The statistical analysis of the survey results provides the information on this area's condition in Serbia, and first of all it points out the key elements of possible improvements. Instruments for collecting data used in this paper and data analysis gained in this way represent the very useful mechanism for helping the management to achieve better motivated and satisfied employees.