Identifying employees' perceptions on organizational obligations : A comparison between the Greek public and private sector

Purpose – This study aims to identify the organizational obligations that are mostly valued by employees and potential variations in perceptions regarding the ideal psychological contract, between employees working in the public and the private sectors. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 1,145 employees, with 398 being employed in the public sector, participated in the study. The study took place in Greece, where the public sector's particularities provide excellent ground for comparisons with the private sector. Overall, 40 organizational obligations, drawn from existing literature, were adopted to measure employees' view of the desired psychological contract. A comparison based on sectors was made to check for differences. Findings – Overall ranking of the organizational obligations, based on employee perceptions, is provided. Next, statistical analysis through t ‐tests exposed significant variation in seven organizational obligations. In all cases, variations could be attributed to organizational and structural differences between organizations operating within the Greek public and private sectors. Research limitations/implications – The Greek public sector particularities may limit this study's findings' generalization across all organizations operating within the public sector around the world. Besides, national culture may have also affected the results. Finally, the sample is a convenient one, as no relevant database was available. Practical implications – According to this study's findings, employees working in the public and private sector have different view of the desired psychological contract. Theoretically, such a finding provides support to previous researchers' suggestions about organizational factors' impact on psychological contract formation. Practically, it seems that effective human resource management necessitates taking organizational factors into serious consideration. Originality/value – This paper provides information of both theoretical and practical significance with regard to employment relationships.