Exploring the Job Satisfaction of Public and Private Employees in Romania

Satisfaction at work is one of the most studied organizational variables and many studies show that it is extremely important for organizations. Closely related to work motivation and performance, satisfaction is an important factor for many attitudes such as absenteeism or intention to resign.The aims of the present study is to measure the degree of job satisfaction of public and private employees in Romania and to analyze the differences between the two sectors.In the present study participated a total of 120 full-time employees of various private enterprises and public organizations. The Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985) was used to collect data. The survey results indicate a moderate degree of work satisfaction of respondents across most analyzed dimensions of job satisfaction. Two of the analyzed dimensions, one intrinsic (nature of work) and one extrinsic (communication) registered a high score of job satisfaction in both sectors. Instead, the biggest differences are found on dimensions "supervision" and the "co-workers" (both extrinsic factors) private sector employees showing a higher degree of job satisfaction than those in the public sector.To enhance employee motivation, public-sector managers in Romania should improve their employees' extrinsic job satisfaction and help unsatisfied employees transfer to jobs they find more satisfying