Public sector workers say job satisfaction is falling

According to the right wing press and their storm trooper allies, the TaxPayers' Alliance, life in the public sector is easy. A recent survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), who could hardly be described as trade union allies, has shown job satisfaction in the public sector has hit a new low of +34% compared to +45% this time last year, with rising levels of job insecurity and an increase in work pressure likely to be the main culprits.

Nearly one in five (18%) of public sector workers now think it likely they could lose their job as result of the economic climate, compared with just 7% in April 2009. Almost four in ten (39%) public sector employees say their organisation is planning to make redundancies, up from 14% a year ago. And nearly two thirds (63%) of public sector workers think it would be difficult to get a new job in contrast to 56% a year ago.

Against this backdrop it is not surprising that public sector workers feel under increasing pressure, with one in four (23%) reporting they feel under excessive pressure at work every day compared to just 13% in spring 2009. The proportion of public sector workers reporting an increase in stress in their organisation has soared to 56% from 43% this time last year. And compared with a year ago, they are also less likely to say they are satisfied with their work-life balance (52% compared to 57% last year). The report can be downloaded from http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/general/_employee_outlook.htm

 

Those who criticise the public sector usually do with no experience whatsoever of what it is really like to work in the public sector. This survey illustrates the very real pressures public servants face.