Public Sector Work and Happiness: An Exploratory Study

A large body of research has investigated the determinants of life satisfaction as one form of happiness. Whilst these studies have investigated both work and non-work related determinants of life satisfaction, they have not studied the impact of public sector employment on life satisfaction. Hence I investigate the impact of work-related characteristics and human resource management practices in different public sector organizations on the life satisfaction of public sector employees. The analyses presented in this paper draw on two different datasets with the aim to generate first insights into the relation between public sector employment and happiness. Results partially support that institutional differences between the private and public sector matter for employee happiness.