Public administrators' level of satisfaction in the workplace
The article by Tobias Bach, Jarle Trondal, and Jacob Aars provides a summary of some preliminary findings in the first wave of the Norwegian Panel of Public Administrators.
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Published in Stat & Styring, this article details why Norwegian public administrators report a high level of satisfaction in their workplace. The panel was fielded for the first time in the autumn of 2020 and spring of 2021. In total, there were 2279 respondents in these first two waves. This accounts for about 10 % of employees in the central Norwegian government, across ministries, directorates, and supervising bodies.
To determine satisfaction with one’s workplace, Bach, Trondal, and Aars look at the respondents reported level of satisfaction, how often they report to search for a new job, and their level of seniority. More than 60 % of the respondents agreed that they wish to work in their current organisation for the rest of their career. In terms of job searching, 65 % reported to never or rarely do this. While 10 % of administrators search for a new job somewhat often or very often. Seniority, as an indicator for satisfaction, was evident. This is especially prominent in the directorates, where close to 40 % of respondents have been working in the same directorate for 20 years or more. The researchers propose further in-depth analysis to explain these findings.
