Assessing the factors influencing the job satisfaction of public service employees in Malta : a binary logit model

Abstract

The estimation of monetary returns to education has generated a broad range of literature in economics. Such studies only measure the monetary part of the returns to schooling, however non-monetary characteristics are also considered as a ‘return to education’. Given its subjective nature, job satisfaction has not been extensively researched by economists, yet empirical evidence shows that job satisfaction is a good predictor of job quits and is used as a proxy for measuring utility. This study surveys civil service employees and seeks to associate the level of education to job satisfaction in the public service in Malta. Hence, the primary objective is to analyse the relationship between job satisfaction, which is namely a ‘non-monetary benefit’, and other relevant independent variables, including educational attainment. The econometric methodology used for this study is a logistic regression. The results indicate that the majority of the employment-related variables exert significant influences over job satisfaction. In fact, a strong and positive relationship exists between the satisfaction derived from the duties of the individual and overall employment satisfaction. Conversely, the lack of opportunities for advancement in the public service was a determining factor for the respondent’s dissatisfaction. Another concluding result is that even though the level of education is not strongly significant, it was found to have a negative correlation to job satisfaction. This may seem rather controversial, however such relationship suggests that individuals with a higher level of educational attainment tend to be less satisfied with their job.