Public Sector Workers Happier Than Those In Private Sector: Gallup

Recently in a survey, nearly one in three expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs. But according to the Gallup-Healthways survey, it's private-sector workers that are more likely to be discontent.

In a recently published index measuring worker well-being in 2010 in different economic sectors, Gallup surveyed 183,992 workers throughout the 2010 year. Gallup compiled data on each surveyed worker's health, habits and working environment.

What the index found was a higher level of well-being among both federal and local public sector workers than within the private sector. Public sector workers also tend to have a higher life evaluation as well as more healthy behaviors than private sector workers. Private sector workers, however, tend to respond that they work in a more trusting environment.

Part of what accounts for these finds may have to do with higher levels of job security afforded by the public sector.

In a study released in 2007 by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, it was shown that that job loss rate among those in the private sector -- at the time, 10 percent -- was more than twice as high as was the job loss rate among state and local public sector employees. A Rasmussen Poll released in March also found that 66 percent of Americans polled stated that they believed government workers had greater job security than private sector workers.

Since the start of the Great Recession, public sector employees have come under increasing scrutiny from conservatives policy makers, who say public sector workers are too costly, reports the Weekly Standard. This has led Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, along with other Republican governors, to push for legislation cracking down on public sector unions.

According to a 2010 USA Today study based on Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, average federal salaries exceeded average private-sector pay in 83 percent of comparable occupations.

Comments

[HealthwaysInc]

06:10 PM on 07/05/2011

A recent article published in Health Promotion Practitioner cited the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index and stated that if people score low in work environment 30% of them report being angry for most of the previous day.

To put that into perspective, that's on par with the 100 poorest counties in the US, as well as the troubled countries of Sierra Leone and Haiti. (YIKES!)

Read the full article >> http://scr.bi/r2S90u

[offshore4848]

07:26 PM on 07/04/2011

We should all quit our private sector jobs and go to work for the government, it worked so well in Cuba. Didn't it?

[Vantunow]

10:11 AM on 07/04/2011

Ofcourse they are happier.

Mostly they have fixed hours, and jobs are protected by Unions in most cases, generous holidays, great pensions, and don't have to kill yourself at work.

[dsand74693]

09:18 AM on 07/04/2011

The resentment comes from the waste and fraud that takes place in the public sector.. It is not the individual sanatation worker or the desk clerk or the cop on patrol.. It is the politicians, the unions and those who corrupt the process, They are the one's that impede progress and allow the agency to operate as it was originally intended.. As a result The public sector becomes highly political and mean spirited..Frankly, Unions have no place in the public sector and neither does politics.. If current public services where competively outsourced Cost of services would be less and the results would be much better..To support the public interest the private sector should be competing to fill those services and then we could get the politics out of the system.

[dbw53022]

10:00 AM on 07/04/2011

Not sure I buy the outsourcing is cheaper argument. Case in point - private military contractors cost 4x as much as military personnel.

[jwredd]

07:50 PM on 07/04/2011

Exactly what I was thinking.....

[1tenn]

11:12 AM on 07/05/2011

your figure doesn't include the va costs , disability costs , etc..

[CognitoErgoSum]

01:29 AM on 08/02/2011

Lots of conservatives like to bang the drum of public sector waste and fraud and yet never come up with any documentation or sources to support it. Unlike the private sector, the federal government has a fraud, waste and abuse hotline one can call to report such things, so there is some accountability, moreso than in the privates sector.

And for some reason certain people think there are unlimited efficiencies that can be discovered and never consider that at some point, you're cutting to the bone and the public good suffers for it in reduced services and crumbling infrastructure.

[Kai-HK]

01:44 AM on 07/04/2011

Wouldn’t a better title for this article read: ‘Entitled Public Sector Workers Happier Than Victimized Private Sector That Is Forced To Pay Their Rapacious Entitlements: Gallup’?

Kai

[jwredd]

07:55 PM on 07/04/2011

I think a more reasonable way to look at it would be that it shows more how awful workers in the private sector often have it as of late than it does how public workers are somehow over-privileged. Basically your attitude would call for more American workers to face an increasingly harsh work environment instead of working towards achieving some better standards for those in the private sector. Not a very positive step for the country, is it?

[Kai-HK]

01:48 AM on 07/05/2011

JWredd:

The Great Recession (a government manufactured economic disaster) aside, it has never been a better time to be an ‘educated and skilled’ American worker. Those that have the right skills are getting great pay packages, stock options, fantastic insurance, etc. Those that are unskilled and uneducated…well…they are enjoying the results of not having paid attention in school or picked up skills that count.

You are wrong. Basically my attitude gives the worker to decide, using his own free will, what he is willing to accept for his labor. And allow owners, using their own free will decide what they want to pay. Should labor feel the pay is too low, they can always start their own business and pay what they want, if they have that skillset.

Regardless, that has nothing to do with what the taxpayer has to fork out for a monopoly service provider. They are overpaid and they are rent seeking.

Kai

[TrollHunter365]

06:10 PM on 07/03/2011

i work for the governemtn and anyone else that does knows that about 50-60% of the people who you work with, should not be working for the government. i took my state job because i generally like helping others out. i work diligently and efficiently and do make a difference to a lot of people in the state of NY. i have since started my own business and will only be working for the state for about another 6 months. the true problem lies with hiring people who really have no interest in helping people, or do not understand the importance of the role they play. i hate listening to the complainers about wanting more money and more vacation time and all they do is file papers for 12.00 a hour. i wish there was an overhaul of the whole system. there needs to be a better way to judge a persons job performance within the state. probably wont happen anytime soon though, until im governor ;)

[alunsulen]

04:01 PM on 07/03/2011

Working for a monopoly, doing no work, getting raises & entitlements by robbing taxpayers - anybody would be happy doing that.

[snowpotato]

12:49 AM on 07/04/2011

Why do you hate the people who maintain your streets, clear the snow, put out fires, answer your 911 calls, deliver your mail and protect your city?

[Nobody78]

10:06 AM on 07/04/2011

Because that's what Fox News tells him to do.

[alunsulen]

10:16 AM on 07/04/2011

Because they do a $10 job for $20 and a one-man job with three. I am stuck with the bill in the form of ever-increasing taxes.

[Kai-HK]

01:44 AM on 07/04/2011

True that!

[Nobody78]

10:07 AM on 07/04/2011

True what?

[oilfield]

01:10 PM on 07/03/2011

i am sure there are overachievers in some government jobs....but for the most part i havent ever dealt with a govt employee that was overworked...maybe underpaid!

[CognitoErgoSum]

01:34 AM on 08/02/2011

Except those government workers we refer as military servicemembers...

[unohuu]

10:51 AM on 07/03/2011

It is painful to read the comments of average American citizens clawing and scrapping with each other over the "diminishing pie". There is enough here for us all and more. Most of the problems are within our grasp for resolution, but we have to do it together - all or none.

[Kai-HK]

01:47 AM on 07/04/2011

Unohuu:

I totally agree with you. The ability to get more of the pie is in you hands; you can start your own business and make your own pie. Then you could stop complaining about how people owe you a living. But then watch how all the other Americans who do not want to work for their own living, come seeking a piece of your pie.

Kai

[Tquin]

12:50 AM on 07/03/2011

Public employees have both Civil Service Laws and Unions to take care of them. They get pay increases during a depression and fight for their union rights. They get the best of all worlds. This makes them very happy.

[RCRod83]

08:00 AM on 07/03/2011

I'm a public employee and I do not have a union. In fact, only a few of my coworkers are backed by a union. The rest of us make more money by not being in a union as the fringe benefits to be in a union are higher. So by not being in a union, the organization saves money and passes some of those savings onto us in the form of better pay.

Secondly, we haven't received salary increases due to the pay increase freeze at the state and federal level.

[SJML]

07:21 PM on 07/03/2011

I too am a public worker and am not a union member. I haven't had a raise since 2007.

[Nobody78]

10:10 AM on 07/04/2011

You and RCRod83 are the reason the economy collapsed, Fox News told me so!!

[Carl Caroli]

03:48 PM on 07/02/2011

It comes down to stress and pressure, which is much more intense in profit driven industry as opposed to service oriented municipal, state and gov't jobs. Stress and pressure sucks, for the most part and has a negative4 impact on the quality of life. Of course that doesn't mean anything to those animals at the top of the food chain, driving the slaves to exhaustion. They live rather nicely, with a minimum of stress.

[thefinalsay]

01:52 PM on 07/02/2011

they are happy because they work 37 hours a week, have a guaranteed pension, and can sleep in their office because they don't have to turn a profit. if they don't do their job well, they'll just extort more from the taxpayer to hire someone who will. in the real world, these people wouldn't have a job. those who can, do. those who can't, work for government.

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

10:35 PM on 07/02/2011

Nice collection of distorted facts, TFS...

[dawgspiel]

02:49 AM on 07/03/2011

What a crock.

I live with a retired speech pathologist who spent her career in public education. Every day for decades, I watched her get up at 5:45 am. She was out the door by 7 am to make her 7:30 curtain call at work and didn't return home until after 5 pm. Then, it was more work. During the peak spring season when she was preparing for annual meeting with parents, I watched her work night after night until 1-2 am and then get up at 5:45. Our weekends were spent with me doing stuff and her chained to her computer preparing those darned IEP's. 

DId you know most teachers have bladder problems because they can't find time to go to the bathroom?
Did you know that while you're out at lunch they're babysitting hundreds of rambunctious kids flinging food at one another in the school cafeteria?
Did you know that "all those summers off" consisted of continuing education classes to keep her certificates and licenses current?
And what my wife, with a masters degree from Vanderbilt University, earned working with all kinds of kids from near vegetables to all three of a doctor's near genius children who couldn't pronounce their r's, was a pittance compared to what she could have earned in the private sector. But she wanted to help kids and she dedicated her career to it and she was darned good at it. I've watched dozens of kids come up to her to thank her years later followed by a hug from their parents. 

You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

[thefinalsay]

05:32 AM on 07/03/2011

none of what you said in this statement is true. this is the most absurd thing that has ever been written in this history of the internet. I pity you, and may god have mercy on your soul. my mother, brother, and sister in-law are all teachers. their lives are vacations.

[SJML]

07:30 PM on 07/03/2011

dawgspiel, thank you for your post. I too know teachers like your wife and I also know teachers like "thefinalsay" relatives. Kudos to your wife's dedication, I truly believe the vast major of teachers work hard at a very difficult job. Jjust like every other profession their are good ones and bad ones.

[frank day]

12:20 PM on 07/02/2011

Does anybody really want to work for the Corporate Vampires???

[lifepanels]

11:19 AM on 07/02/2011

We shouldn't be condemning public sector workers for getting paid for the work they do. We should be working to get private sector jobs to pay better than they now pay.

More UNIONS for the private sector!

[Vic22]

10:27 AM on 07/02/2011

I'll bet they are also more satisfied because manic are public servents, not corporate stooges, sucking the life out of our economy so a few can get rich

[jagrmeister721]

03:39 PM on 07/02/2011

You think the private sector "sucks the life out of the economy"?  I hope you'll join reality sometime soon.

[Vic22]

05:05 PM on 07/02/2011

I work for a big corporation, which consults for another big corporation. Yes, I believe, in general, that corporations exploit their workers, while funneling most of the money to the top. That's why 88% of the income growth post recession has gone to corporations, and 1% to workers. This fight between public and private sector employees is exactly what the fat cats want to happen, so we're distracted while they collect hundreds of time what the average employee makes

[dawgspiel]

06:13 AM on 07/03/2011

I didn't say it was a good idea below. I simply said that it's possible.

[h23154]

06:36 PM on 07/02/2011

The private sector is the economy.

[dawgspiel]

02:56 AM on 07/03/2011

Then why is government economic activity counted as part of Gross Domestic Product?