Public and private sectors suffer from ‘sector envy’

News Article - 29 March 2011
Category: Business

A recent survey indicates attitudes of public sector employees towards the private sector have changed tenfold in the last year. The private sector is now seen as a more attractive area of work to state employees.

The study, conducted by IFF Research, highlights a 13 per cent increase of public sector staff who find the idea of working in the private sector attractive - up to 31 per cent from 18 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, private sector employees also feel increasingly secure in their positions, with just 18 per cent of workers envious of the job security of those in the public sector.

Jan Shury, joint managing director of IFF Research, said: "This is a substantial shift in attitudes in the course of a year. The formation of the Coalition Government and cuts to the public sector announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review could have played their part.

"It may also be that the private sector has seen the worst of cutbacks to recruitment and that staff there now have a more positive outlook. However it remains the case that more private sector workers find the idea of the public sector attractive, rather than the other way round. For example, private sector employees still feel that they are worse off for working hours, job flexibility and training opportunities."

Comparisons with last year's results show a considerable reduction in the perception of financial rewards and training opportunities by private sector employees. Although almost a quarter of private sector respondents felt they had fewer chances of career progression, this figure is greatly reduced from 33 per cent in 2010. Meanwhile the number of private sector employees frustrated by a lack of training opportunities had also reduced from 39 per cent to 32 per cent - suggesting improved business HR solutions had helped the private sector to focus on personal development.

Andy Robling, public services director at recruitment group Hays, believes that employees crossing the borders between public and private sector employment will become increasingly common in future years.

"It's going to be an increasingly mixed economy. If we get a Conservative government, everything in public services is going to be outsourced. If it's another Labour administration, it's going to be more around commissioning services than delivering them, whether it's a local authority or government department," said Robling.

Article keywords: IFF Research, public sector, private sector, Jan Shury, Coalition Government, Comprehensive Spending Review, Andy Robling, Hays

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