Psychological needs at work and job satisfaction: is there a divide between the public and private sectors?

Nicole Duerrenberger and Susanne Warning

Public Management Review, 2025, vol. 27, issue 5, 1269-1291

Abstract: This study examines how the psychological needs from Self-Determination Theory – the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness – differ for job satisfaction of public and private sector employees. Using representative data from Britain, we first find that the positive relationships between competence and job satisfaction and between relatedness and job satisfaction are stronger for private than for public sector employees. Autonomy, however, increases job satisfaction more for public than for private sector employees. Second, relatedness is most important for private and public sector employees’ job satisfaction. Feeling competent is the least important in both sectors.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2023.2283609

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