Private sector workers are more likely to believe that their employer knows where it is going and to feel pride in what their organisation delivers to customers and clients than their public sector counterparts.
A survey of almost 1,000 UK workers, by Mori’s Social Research Institute and the Work Foundation, revealed that 69% of private sector staff felt senior management had a clear vision of where the organisation was going, compared with 61% of public sector workers.
The Workers’ Index – the start of an ongoing series to monitor trends in the workplace – showed that public sector workers were also more likely to be critical of their organisation to customers, friends and family than those in the private sector.
Fifteen per cent of public sector workers are critics of their organisation as an employer compared with just 10% in the private sector.
Overall, the index found that two in three employees (66%) think their senior managers provide clear leadership.
A similar proportion (65%) would speak highly of the services their organisation provides and slightly fewer (58%) would speak highly of their employer.
Alexandra Jones, associate director of the Work Foundation said: “Employee commitment to an organisation has an impact upon the services it provides.
“High-quality public services require the Government to ensure that the changes taking place across the public sector go hand in hand with initiatives to build worker morale and confidence,” she said.
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Gideon Skinner, research director at Mori, said: “Public service workers’ morale is a key issue, as we know that staff advocacy is an important driver of reputation.
“This raises the question: what are public sector workers telling their friends, family, and customers about the quality of the public services they provide?”
