Public Versus Private Job Satisfaction. Is there a Trade-off between Wages and Stability?

This paper examines the differences in job satisfaction in the public and private sector using the Spanish Survey of Life Quality at Work throughout the period 2006–2010. We use several dimensions of job satisfaction perception (remuneration, promotion policy, time schedule, working hours, flexibility, breaks and holidays). Our results show that, at an aggregate level, public sector workers are observed to be more satisfied than those in the private sector in terms of aggregate level of job satisfaction, stability, time flexibility and holidays but not in terms of wages, work organization, independence and decision-making.