ATTITUDES ABOUT HARD WORK: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE BELIEFS OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

摘要

Government workers are often criticized for holding views that are at odds with the mainstream. Few studies have empirically tested the congruency between attitudes held by government and private sector workers. Using data from the 2009 International Social Survey Programme that includes individual responses across 32 countries, we examine whether government employees' beliefs about opportunities in society systematically differ from those of private sector workers. We estimate the effect of sector (government/private) and position (supervisorlnon-supervisor), among workers in "helping professions," on perceptions of the role of hard work for getting ahead in society. We find that government supervisors and government/private non-supervisors are significantly less likely than private sector supervisors to emphasize the role of hard work for getting ahead. Private sector supervisors believe that hard work is essential/or getting ahead. Government workers are less likely to emphasize the importance of hard work and are more inclined to look beyond the individual for explanations of societal success and failure.