Managing the Demographic Shift:
Retention and Recruitment of the Public Servant

Melony Forster

Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree of
Master of
Business Administration

VNIVERSITY of NORTHERN
BRITISH COLUMBIA
LffiRARy

The University ofNorthem British Columbia
May 2009
©Melony Forster, 2009

Prince George, B.c.

2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents

2

Acknowledgement

3

Abstract

4

Introduction

5

Literature Review
Determinants of Job Satisfaction
Connecting Job Satisfaction and Turnover
Motivating & Hygiene Factors as they relate to Job Satisfaction

9
9
12
12

Motivators and Job Satisfaction
Achievement
Recognition of Achievement
Work Itself
Responsibility
Advancement or Promotion
Growth

13
13
13
14
15
16
17

Hygiene: Job Dissatisfaction

17

Organization Policies and Administration
Supervision
Interpersonal Relations
Working Conditions
Salary
Security

17
18
19
19
20
21

Methodology

22

Results

30

Discussion

38

Conclusion

50

References

52

3
Acknowledgment

I would like to thank all of my family, friends and instructors for their support during this
chapter of my life. Most importantly I would like to dedicate this to my grandma Leona
Hiebert for everything she has done for me. You will never know unless you try.

4

Abstract
The Public Service will be experiencing a shortage of workers with the demographic shift
as baby boomers leave the workforce over the over the next 5-l 0 years. This study has been
conducted to investigate the determinants of job satisfaction and establish the importance of
job satisfaction in determining retention and recruitment of Public Servants. Hertzberg's two
factor theory will be used. According to Hertzberg's two factor theory, long term motivation
determinants of job satisfaction include achievement, recognition of achievement, the work
itself, responsibility, advancement or promotion and growth. Short-term factors or hygiene
factors include organization policies and administration, supervision, interpersonal relations,
working conditions, salary, status and security. The purpose of the study is to review whether
the Federal Government is meeting the satisfaction needs of its current employees and new
hires in order to retain and recruit them. The results of the data confirm that on average the
Public Servant employees are satisfied but there is significant room for improvement.
Key Words
Retention
Recruitment
Federal Public Servants
Job Satisfaction
Job Dissatisfaction

5
Introduction

The cradle to grave concept of employment has generally disappeared in the modem
workforce; there is an evolving social contract between employers and employees that will
test companies' human resources strategies against each other. The presence of a free agent
mindset available to the workforce has raised an interesting question as to why people would
choose to work in a specific environment and for how long. The value of the question for the
Canadian government has never been more important than now with the large demographic
shift that will change the historical trend of labor availability, labor composition and the tools
that managers will need to utilize to ensure retention and recruitment in the future "War for
Talent". According to Statistics Canada, in 2006 25.5 %of senior government managers and
officials were 55 years or older. There is a need for the Canadian Government to recruit new
talent and retain the talent it has within the organization in order for it to be in a position to
fill the vacancies caused by the retirement of current staff (Naczk 2007).
The demographic shift will take place when the largest age demographic, individuals born
between 1946 and 1964, begin to retire and leave the workforce. This age demographic is
the largest portion of employees in the workforce today and there is not the same amount of
new employees available to replace them when they retire. Please see Graph 1. This shifting
of available employees, for the purpose of this paper will be referred to as the demographic
shift and will have be a negative effect on retention and recruitment of employees as
employees will have more choices in his or her career paths as more jobs will be available to
them.

6

Graph 1
Source: Luigi Zanasi, Demographics of Canada October 2005

0

0

1.

U1

~

.....

?.....
l>

.....

\}1

.....

<D

~

?
~

~

\}1
~

<D

Vl
0

~

Vl

l>

\}1

0

<D

.!::.

Vl

1.

l>

U1

1.

<D

U1

?
]!:

U1

\}1
U1
<D

0>

?

~

0>
U1

0,

<D

---1

?

---1

.!::.

---1

\}1
---1
<D

(X)

?

~

(X)

U1

+

1 Males 1 Females

The concept of a career in the public service developed only late in the 19th century, and
the growth of federal government employment is largely a 20th century phenomenon. It was
the military and social mobilization of the 20th century that produced an increase in federal
government employees. At the century' s end in America nearly one of every seven workers
was employed by government. Today, the federal Public Service is the largest enterprise in
Canada with 250,000 people employed in 20 departments, 180 regulatory and administrative
agencies, the members of the Canadian Forces (64,000 plus 25,000 reservists), the RCMP

7

(some 20,000 regular and civilian members) and Crown corporations (for example,
employees of CBC, VIA Rail and Canada Post) (Public Service Commission 2008).
Although the Canadian Public Service has grown, the interest in working as a Public Servant
has decreased.
In the waning decades of the 20 1h century, there has been a growing dissatisfaction with
government and public servants around the world. Polls show similar trends in most
developed societies, including ones with strong state traditions like France and Japan and the
polls are echoed in changes of people wanting to work for the government (Donahue and Nye
2003). According to Donahue and Nye (2003), educated young people, including graduates
of schools of public policy and administration, are becoming less likely to enter government
service due to the negative perception of the organization from scandals reported in the news.
In addition, there is a perception that public service generates less satisfaction than working
in the private sector. These perceptions could cause problems in recruiting government
employees who have the right skills (Norris 2004).
According to a study by Duxbury, Dyke and Lam (1998) there is a portion of public
servants who intend to leave the Public Service. Twenty percent of Public Servants who were
interviewed indicated that their ultimate career aspirations were to work outside the
government sector and 21% of those intending to leave indicated that they were thinking of
leaving within the next year. Women in all work sectors and both male and female executives
and scientists were most likely to have thought about leaving the Public Service.
In the past Public Service discussions about improving the human resources management
system, particularly staffing and recruitment, have focused on issues of speed, flexibility,

8

affordability and access (Public Service Commission of Canada, 2008). With the potential
need for new recruits, there will have to be a significant human resources shift to develop a
long term plan that identifies and implements these factors that will keep employees with the
organization. This plan will need to identify what causes satisfaction in employees and how
to increase satisfaction in order to respond to the growing pressure of escalating retirements,
the potential return to a boom economy and the resulting increase in competition for
knowledge workers and the diminishing supply of younger people in the labor market (Public
Service Commission of Canada 2008).
It is people, coordinated by institutions, who deliver public service so they are the

lifeblood of the organization. Planning for the future means managing their satisfaction today
(United Nations, 2005). The paper will discuss retention and the need to identify the
satisfaction determinants that cause Public Servants to stay within the organization. The
paper will also discuss recruitment and the need to identify how new hires are best recruited
and how to retain them once they are employees. The purpose of this study is to investigate
the determinates of job satisfaction and establish the importance of job satisfaction in
determining recruitment and retention of Public Servants.

9
Literature Review
Determinants of Job Satisfaction
There are many studies and papers that discuss job satisfaction and the elements related to
achieving a state of satisfaction at work. Job satisfaction is one's positive affective
attachment to the job viewed either in its entirety (global satisfaction) or with regard to
particular aspects (factor satisfaction) (Tett and Meyer, 1993).
There are several theories that define this relationship between employees' satisfaction
with their employer and job and the elements or aspects that influence their satisfaction. One
such theory is Fredrick Herzberg' s two-factor theory. Fredrick Herzberg's theory states that
people's satisfaction or dissatisfaction at work is influenced by motivating and hygiene
factors which will lead to employees intent to stay or quit with an organization (Nelson and
Quick, 2003). Motivating factors also attract an individual to an organization. The two-factor
division of satisfaction determinants is made between psychological and physical aspects.

!

~

L-

[\"""
f1.,

fl

.

.

., ~

'"

~ ~

~... w

•

~

•

\

~

~~

.._.

.
~~

~

..

'

~

~ .. .b !l<

"'

~

~

~

~~~

'

~

..

.

_,.

~ &l.:J

~~~ :t?

~

I

~ ~ ~

~

,

.

10

Factors that create motivation or job satisfaction describe a person's relationship with the
task being performed and are associated with long-term positive effects on job performance
such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement or promotion
and growth (Nelson and Quick, 2003). Herzberg's research found a positive relationship
between motivating factors and the employee's level of satisfaction. (See Table 1)
Motivation factors are needs that are based on psychological growth. The absence of these
factors does not lead to dissatisfaction; rather it leads to less satisfaction (Nelson and Quick,
2003).
Additional factors, referred to as hygiene factors, must also be taken into consideration as
these can influence job satisfaction as well. As stated by Nelson and Quick (2003), job
dissatisfaction is a result of poor hygiene factors. Hertzberg (1982) adopts the term Hygiene
to describe extrinsic satisfaction factors that are related to a person's relationship to the
context or environment in which they do their job. Hygiene factors offer only short-term
changes in job attitudes. As hygiene factors are only short-term the overall level of
satisfaction can quickly fall back to its previous level even with these factors present.
Hygiene factors include organization policies and administration, supervision, interpersonal
relations, working conditions, salary, status and security. (See Table 1) For example if a
person complains about "poor supervision" then the supervision hygiene factor is poor or
absent (Nelson and Quick, 2003). Hygiene factors are important up to a certain point, but
beyond the threshold there is little value in improving the hygiene factors. Motivation and
Hygiene factors are independent of each other such that even if there is absence of good
hygiene factors, employees may still be motivated to perform their jobs well due to the
presence of motivating factors (Nelson and Quick, 2003).

11
Table 1 -The Motivation-Hygiene Theory of Motivation SOURCE: Adapted from Debra Nelson
and James Campbell Quick, eds., Organizational Behavior: Foundations, Realities, and Challenges. 41h ed.
(United States: South-Western, 2003)

w

.

~

'

~

J;

~

'
-

,z_l;;i

' .•

12

Connecting Job Satisfaction and Turnover
There is a substantial body of literature that supports the proposition that satisfaction is
linked to turnover intention and turnover of employees (Tett and Meyer, 1993: Shikiar and
Freudenberg, 1982; Steel and Ovalle, 1984; Cotton and Tuttle , 1986; Carsten and Spector,
1987; Mathieu and Zajac, 1990; Randall, 1990; Hom et al, 1992). Tett and Meyer's (1993)
meta-analysis study confirms a negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover.
This study substantiates that when job satisfaction decreases the probability that an employee
will leave increases and that the opposite is true that when job satisfaction increases an
employee will more likely remain in the organization.
As I am interested in examining the degree to which motivation and hygiene factors are
present in the Canadian government's workplace as they relate to retention, I will use
Hertzberg's two-factor theory as a framework for this examination. My model of
relationships is shown in Figure 1.

Motivating & Hygiene Factors as they Relate to Job Satisfaction
The two-factor theory was developed in the United States primarily within the context of
western cultural views (Nelson and Quick, 2003). The Federal Public Servant survey, New
Hires survey and Fredrick Herzberg's study all have participant demographics of western
knowledge based workers; therefore the demographics support the use of the two-factor
theory.

13

Motivators and Job Satisfaction

Achievement
Goal attainment and having deadlines that are achieved creates a sense of achievement in
employees. A study by Loriann Robinson (1990), found similar results to previous studies
that goals are an important dimension for performance and job satisfaction. It is recognized
that goal clarity or planning and participation in goal setting are factors linearly and
positively related to job satisfaction (Arvey, Dudley and Boling, 1976). In addition a study
completed by Judge, Bono, Erez and Locke (1990) concluded that there is a positive
relationship between an individual's ability to attain goals and satisfaction.

Recognition ofAchievement
The previous section confirmed the positive correlation between achieving goals and
satisfaction for employees. This was an internal reward. But when an employee is
recognized by others for achieving a goal, there is also an external reward by peers and
managers that creates a feeling of recognition for a job well done. The attitude of employees
is based on employees ' perceptions (negative or positive) of their jobs (Reilly, Chatman and
Caldwell, 1991 ). If an employee feels valued by being acknowledged through the reward of
recognition, this will create a positive perception about his or her job. The reward can simply
be verbal or it can be written but there has been a proven positive connection that when
employees are recognized for achievement then their satisfaction level will increase (Norris,
2004). Empirical evidence by Liorens et al (2003) supports the positive relationship between
recognition and satisfaction.

14
A key management strategy that can be used is to provide rewards by creating a
corporate culture that includes verbal praise, celebration of project milestones or other
accomplishments, a letter of appreciation from the company president, or a framed certificate
recognizing achievement (Messmer, 2004). It can be concluded that to succeed as an
organization, employers need to reward employees for good performance as rewards provide
recognition of achievement which in turn will create satisfaction (Norris, 2004).

Work Itself
Job descriptions vary but levels of satisfaction can be found within the tasks and factors
surrounding the job itself. Job satisfaction was found to be consistent with individual task
properties including time-allocation, importance, autonomy, attention demands, complexity,
and enjoyment of each individual task performed (Taber and Alliger, 1995).
Employees are attracted to work that allows them to make a difference and the more they
are involved in their job the more they are likely to feel an inner satisfaction. Studies
completed by Donahue and Nye (2003) and the Public Service Commission of Canada
(2008) confirm that this desire to make a difference is a key attraction to an employer. The
involvement of people in their jobs, in tum influences the intra psychic reward of sense of
competence that they experience, which then directly influences the employees' job
satisfaction (Sekaran, 1989).
It is important that employees' skills match their jobs and if further training is needed that

they receive the training. Studies have shown that matching employees with the right jobs is
important and it is important that jobs allow employees to do what they are best at as

15
statistically this has a significant positive impact on job satisfaction (Naczk, 2007). Capable
people usually opt for a work environment that allows them the flexibility of learning while
employed (Kaliprasad, 2006) . Employees also prefer work that is more interesting, allows
them to grow and makes better use of their talents. Kaliprasad (2006) stated that a stimulating
and challenging work environment is a key element to providing variety. Workers who
perform tasks that have a greater degree of skill variety are more satisfied than workers who
perform jobs with fewer of these attributes (Public Service Commission of Canada, 2008). It
can therefore be concluded that the ability by an employee to make a difference by using
their talents and the level of involvement that the employee has through the complexity of
their job will influence their inner reward by providing a sense of competence which is
positively related to job satisfaction.

Responsibility
An effective human resource strategy allows employees to participate in key decisions and
provides them with access to resources and products to be successful and take responsibility
for factors of the organization. (Kalipresad 2006). This work environment allows for
innovation and initiative which increases an employee's level of responsibility. Several
studies confirm a positive correlation between the levels of satisfaction employees feel and
the level of responsibility they have (Pergamit and Venum, 1999 and Industrial Engineer,
2007). These studies indicate that an employee who has the ability to take responsibility
through innovation and initiative will be more satisfied in her or his job.
Understanding the relationship between responsibility and pay must also be considered. A
employer must be cognitive of the fact that expanding job responsibilities can also have a

16
negative effect on employee job satisfaction. This can occur as the employee perceives
inequality with their coworkers when they are doing additional work for the same rate of pay.
Consequently, job duties and wages must be perceived as consistent with each other (Public
Service Commission of Canada 2008).

Advancement or Promotion
Identified best practice organizations are willing to invest in the career development
process for employees, give managers training on how to help employees with career
development and provide employees with the tools and resources that they need to develop
their careers (Duxbury, Dyke, Lam, 1998). Kaliprasad (2006) stated that in-house career
development and promotion opportunities are considered to be highly effective strategies to
attract the key staff to an organization as they are more likely to advance. A study
conducted by Robie et al ( 1998) confirmed that higher level positions are associated with
promotion prospects. Promotion has been determined to have a significant positive (r =.53)
correlation with job satisfaction (Ellickson, 2002; Cranny, Smith and Stone, 1992). As well a
meta-analysis examining the relationship between job level and job satisfaction concluded
that as job levels increased, so did satisfaction (Robie et al, 1998). It can then be concluded
that career development opportunities can lead to advancement and promotion and
advancement and promotion will increase job satisfaction (Pergamit and Venum, 1999).

17

Growth
A study by Duxbury, Dyke and Lame (1998) comparing the fourteen organizations that
have been identified as "best in class", progressive organizations found that these companies
have staff who feel satisfied about their growth. This is because these top business's offer
their employees a number of development options with a emphasis on experiential learning
(e.g. on the job learning, rotations, assignments, projects). The ability to grow through job
shadowing or working on projects allows employees to enhance their skills. When employees
can grow and enhance their skills this will lead to greater satisfaction (Canada at Work,
2000). It can be concluded then that progressive organizations offers staff developmental
opportunities which will lead to employee growth and employee growth will lead to greater
satisfaction with the organization.

Hygiene and Job Dissatisfaction
Organization Policies and Administration
The Public Service is a unionized environment structured by a collective agreement and
organized by rules. According to Donahue and Nye (2003), if organization policies and
administration create a workplace that is highly bureaucratized and rule-bound, it is less
appealing (Donahue and Nye, 2003). Less appeal can be a result of policies that do not
promote a relationship of trust between the employees and the employer. This is supported
by Williams (2005) who found that policies directly related to employees level of trust in an
organization. If policies are written to be evasive or perceived by employees to not be in
their favor then this can lead to distrust. It can be concluded then that trust is directly related

18
to organization policies and policies are less satisfying to employees if they are bureaucratic
and rule bound which in tum will lead to job dissatisfaction.
Supervision
The nature of supervision in the workplace is defined by the relationship between the
individual employee and the immediate supervisor (Hopkins, 1983). This relationship is
made up of distinct factors. Ting (1997) found that employees' satisfaction with supervisors
is assessed by the degree to which employees perceive their supervisor as motivating,
providing clear work expectations, willing to listen, and willing to share authority and
responsibility. Findings by Durst and de Santis (1997) state that organizations can effectively
promote job satisfaction by recruiting well trained experienced executives who are good
communicators and who share information with staff.
In addition Ting ( 1997) reported that government employees who enjoyed a supportive
relationship with their immediate supervisors' experienced higher levels of job satisfaction
than those who did not. A multi-analytical study completed by Ellickson (2002) provided
consistent findings with Ting's (1997) observation that good relations with immediate
supervisors will have a significant effect on employee satisfaction. Supervision had a
significant positive correlation with job satisfaction .46 (Ellickson, 2002). Therefore it can
be concluded that an employee's level of satisfaction in her or his relationship with her or his
manager will have a direct correlations on the employee's level of satisfaction with the
organization.

19

Interpersonal Relations
Employees who have stronger ties to an organization demonstrate more satisfaction as
they feel like they are part of a team. It is important to pay attention to an organization's
social environment with respect to employee's job satisfaction, especially as it relates to
interactions among co-workers (Salancik, Pfeffer, 1978). Durst and de San tis ( 1997) state
that the longer an employee has been associated with an organization, the more opportunity
the employee has had to network with others and build relationships. Employees who relate
well with their fellow employees display greater job satisfaction then those workers who do
not (Public Service Commission of Canada, 2008). A meta-analytical study completed by
Ellickson (2002) confirmed a positive relationship between interpersonal relations and job
satisfaction. The results underscore the importance of paying attention to an organization's
social environment with respect to employee job satisfaction, especially as it relates to
interactions among co-workers (Ellickson, 2002).

Working Conditions
Employees ' perspectives of their working conditions create the framework for their work
experiences. Norris (2004) states that the perception of an employment experience represents
the physical rewards and benefits that people believe that they receive from work. As per
Norris (2004) the initial decision to work for an employer is shaped by motivational values
but employment experiences may modify the level of satisfaction by creating less
satisfaction. For example if a employee chooses to work for a large organization but then is
placed in a cramped working space, she or he may feel less satisfaction with his or her
working conditions which may generate less satisfaction with her or his employer. Lee,

20
Mowday (1987) and Steers, Mowday (1981) both concluded that an employee's working
conditions, including the work environment, is positively related to job satisfaction.
Salary
Salary is the only determinant that appears on both sides of the two-theory determinant
table. It is rated as the smallest determinant for motivation and job satisfaction but it is also
rated fifth as a hygiene job dissatisfaction determinant. (See Table 1) This indicates that
while pay is required for physical satisfaction e.g. to purchase food it also can have an effect
on psychological satisfaction e.g. status. Therefore levels of salary need to be evaluated in
relation to the job duties to attract and retain competent people (United Nations, 2005).
It is difficult however to compare the private sector to the public sector as government

agencies are not subject to the financial discipline of the marketplace for job promotions and
pay raises (Norris, 2004). There is also evidence that performance-related pay can damage
performance and motivation rather than improve them in the government (Marsden and
Richardson, 1994).
Wages are also seen as a challenge as government in general tends to pay less-skilled
workers better wages than they would earn in the private sector so these individuals will stay
with an organization. These employees may block the entry level positions that skilled
workers tend to use to enter the Federal Public Service (Donahue and Nye, 2003).
A multi-analytical study by Ellickson (2002) confirmed that pay has a significant positive
correlation with job satisfaction at r =.43. An abundance of literature also links rewards such
as pay to increased job satisfaction (Barber, Dunham and Formisano, 1992; Liou, Sylvia and

21
Brunk, 1990; Ting, 1997; Blau, 1999). It can therefore be stated that pay has a direct relation
to satisfaction of an employee in relation to their job.

Security
Employees will report higher intentions to leave if they experience high levels of job
insecurity. A study conducted by Laine (2009) concluded that the qualitative aspects of job
insecurity correlated positively with intent to leave.
The decision to select one career pathway over another involves trade-offs, or ranked
priorities, such as the importance to job security (Norris, 2004). The job security or the
confirmation that employees job tenure will continue with an organization, is a perception
that can affect an employee's level of satisfaction (Public Service Commission of Canada
2008).
If the Public Service is going to retain current employees and attract new employees the
motivating factors of achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement
or promotion and growth must be satisfied. In addition the more short-term hygiene factors
of company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal relations, working
conditions, salary, status and security must be satisfied. A secondary analysis of two studies
will be conducted as they are relevant to understanding the current levels of satisfaction of
the Public Servant.

22

Data

Methodology

The data for this study comes from two surveys conducted for the Federal Government.
The first survey is the 2005 Public Service Employee Survey (Statistics Canada, 2006) with
106,495 employees from across Canada. The study was conducted by Statistics Canada via
email invites but participants also had the opportunity to pre-order paper copies. The survey
had a 58.9% participation rate. The Public Service Employee Survey is an important tool as it
provides information to management on the current satisfaction levels of employees with a
variety of different aspects of their jobs.
The second survey was the 2001 New Hires Survey (NHS) completed by 990 recently
hired post-secondary new hires across all occupational categories from across Canada
selected at random. The study compared recruitment experiences, job satisfaction and career
plans between participants who were recruited through the Post-Secondary Recruitment
(PSR) campaigns and those who were not. The NHS was administered via email and the
Internet by IPSOS-Reid under contract to the Public Service Commission. This study
provided key insight into issues regarding effective recruitment for Public Servant
employees.
These two surveys were chosen as they are most relevant to how the Public Servants
currently perceive their satisfaction with the organization for retention purposes and the
perspective ofNew Hires to the organization as their satisfaction levels will effect
recruitment. The 2005 Public Service Survey and New Hires survey also provided a much
larger data base than doing an independent survey thereby providing a more rounded
perspective due to the large size of the organization. As well, an additional Public Service

23
Survey was conducted in 2008 with results to be released in 2009, so the 2005 study can be
used as a benchmark to see if improvements have been made.
The questions from the surveys that were used to operationalize the antecedents to job
satisfaction are listed under each antecedent category. The questions selected are the most
relevant questions to the antecedents that could be found in these surveys.
Unless otherwise stated in the following questions, employees completing the Public
Service Employee survey were asked to respond using a 4 point Likert-type scale that ranged
from 1=strongly agree to 4 = strongly disagree. There were also other options available to
participants being 5= not applicable, ?=don't know and 9=not stated. New Hires survey
participants used a variety of answer methods that are generally stated with the question.

Motivating Factor Questions
Achievement
Public Service Employee Survey:
"My immediate supervisor assesses my work against identified goals and objectives".
New Hires Survey:
"What type of information was provided to them when they were first hired?" Please list the
information.
"Did you receive a job description?" Yes or No
"Did you receive a description of the work unit's activities and responsibilities" Yes or No

Recognition ofAchievement
Public Service Employee Survey:
"I get adequate recognition from my immediate supervisor when I do a good job".

24

Work Itself
Public Service Employee Survey:
"I get the training I need to do my job".
"I am able to get on-the-job coaching to help me improve the way I do my work".
New Hires Survey:
"Does the job make full use of your education?" Agree or Disagree
"Does the job offer the opportunity for interesting work?" Agree or Disagree
They were also asked to rate by importance, from eleven choices, why they accepted the job
offer with the Federal Public Service. Choices related to the work itself included:
"The opportunity to work in my field of study"
"To make full use of my knowledge, skills and abilities."

Responsibility
Public Service Employee Survey:
"I am encouraged to be innovative or to take initiative in my work".

Advancement or Promotion
Public Service Employee Survey:
"My immediate supervisor does a good job of helping me develop my career"
"My department (agency) does a good job of supporting employee's career development"
"I believe I have opportunities for promotion within my department or agency, given my
education, skills and experience"
"I believe I have opportunities for promotion within the Public Service, given my education,
skills and experience",

25
Public Service Employees were asked to choose either not at all, minimally, moderately and
significantly to the following questions:
"To what extent, if at all, has the lack of access to developmental assignments affected your
career progress in the Public Service over the last three years?"
"To what extent, if at all, has the lack of access lack of access of information about job
opportunities affected your career progress in the Public service over the last three years"
"To what extent, if at all, has the restriction in the area of competitions affected your career
progress in the Public service over the last three years".
New Hires Survey:
"Do you agree that you have a good opportunity for promotion" Agree or Disagree
"Do you feel that your agency or department supports career development?" Agree or
Disagree
"Does the Federal Public Service offer a variety of jobs? Agree or Disagree
New Hires were also asked to rate by importance, from eleven choices, why they accepted
the job offer with the Federal Public Service. The choice related to advancement or
promotion included:
"Increased opportunities for advancement."
Growth
Public Service Employee Survey:
"I have opportunities to develop and apply the skills I need to enhance my career".
New Hires Survey:
New Hires were also asked to identify why they accepted the job offer with the Federal
Public Service and they were given eleven reasons to choose from and they were asked to

26
rate them in order of importance. The choice related to growth was the opportunity to gain
experience in this type of work. Please see table 4 for a complete list of choices.

Hygiene Factor Questions

Organization Policies and Administration
Public Service Employee Survey:
"My immediate supervisor understands and respects the provisions of my collective
agreement".
"Senior Managers respect the provisions of my collective agreement".
"The relationship between my union and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is highly
productive".
New Hires Survey:
"Do you feel that the Federal Public Service is rule bound and bureaucratic?"
Agree or Disagree.
"Does the Federal Public Service make hiring decisions in a reasonable amount of time?"
Agree or Disagree

Supervision
Public Service Employee Survey:
"I receive useful feedback from my immediate supervisor on my job performance"
"I feel that senior management does a good job of sharing information"
New Hires Survey:
"What type of information was provided to you about your hiring manager?"

27
Interpersonal Relations
Public Service Employee Survey:
"In my work unit, we work cooperatively as a team".
New Hires Survey:
"The Federal Public Service is committed to diversity in the workplace?" Agree or Disagree
"Does the Federal Public Service have good employee morale?" Agree or Disagree

Working Conditions
The Public Service Employee Survey:
"My organization is a good place to work".
New Hires Survey:
"Does the job offer sufficient flexibility to balance work and personal life?" Agree or
Disagree
"Please indicate what type of information was provided about working conditions when you
where first hired?"
New Hires were also asked to identify why they accepted the job offer with the Federal
Public Service and they were given eleven reasons to choose from and they were asked to
rate them in order of importance. One of the choices included:
"The location of the job."

Salary
Public Servant Survey:
"I am classified fairly (my current group and level) compared by others doing similar work
in my organization or elsewhere in the Public Service".
New Hires Survey:

28
"Does the job have excellent benefits?" Agree or Disagree
"The Federal Public Service offers competitive salaries compared to the private sector?"
Agree or Disagree
New Hires were asked to indicate what type of information was provided to them regarding
salary scales when they were first hired and to identify why they accepted the job offer with
the Federal Public Service two of the choices included:
"Salary"
"Benefits:
Security

New Hires Survey:
New Hires were asked to identify why they accepted the job offer with the Federal Public
Service. Two of the choices included:
"The opportunity to get into the Federal Public service"
"Job security".

29
Results
For ease of discussion only the top three choices made by employees in the Public Service
Survey have been listed in this section so the percentages will not add up to 100%.
Table 2 - Percentage of respondents in each category from the Public Service Employee
Survey questions (2006)
1= strongly agree, 2=mostly agree, 3= mostly disagree,
4=strongly disagree, 5= n/a, 7=don't know, 9=not stated
1

2

3

Work is assessed against goal

22

42

17

Receive adequate recognition

28

44

16

Receive training to do the job

21

53

17

Receive on the job coaching

18

42

23

Supervisor supports career development

15

36

26

Department supports career development

38

24

16

4

5

Have opportunities for promotion within department

33

26

22

Have opportunities for promotion within the Public Service

40

23

15

Have opportunities to develop and apply my skills

45

22

17

44

34

Immediate Supervisor respects collective agreement
Senior managers respect collective agreement

26

Relationship between Union and Treasury Board is productive

8

46

11

18

16

51

12

I receive feedback from my supervisor

21

In my work unit, we work cooperatively as a team

34

My job offers flexibility for work life balance

32

so
so

I am classified fairly compared to others doing similar work

18

34

7

12
12
25

19

42

9

30

Motivators and Job Satisfaction

Achievement
In response to the Public Servant Survey question "My immediate supervisor assesses my
work against identified goals and objectives", 22% strongly agreed, 42% of respondents
mostly agreed, and 17% mostly disagreed.
A large number ofNew Hires to the public service (71 %) indicated that the they received
information regarding their salary scales, 62 %received their job description, 62% received
the general description of the activities of the department or agency, 61% received the
statement of qualifications and 40% of new hires received the general description of the work
unit's activities and responsibilities.

Recognition of Achievement
The perception of recognition of achievement for the Federal Public Servant survey in
response to the question "I get adequate recognition from my immediate supervisor when I
do a good job" was 28% strongly agreed, 44% mostly agreed and 16% mostly disagreed.

Work Itself
Public Servant survey participants responded to the question "I get the training I need to do
my job" 21% strongly agreed, 53% mostly agreed, and 17% mostly disagreed and "I am able
to get on-the-job coaching to help me improve the way I do my work" 18% strongly agreed,
42% mostly agreed, and 23% mostly disagreed.
The New Hires survey results confirmed that 32% of new hires to the public service
received information regarding their information about opportunities for training. New hires
accepted job offers with the Federal Public Service because ofthe opportunity to work in

31
their field of study (51%) and to make full use of their knowledge, skills and abilities (37%).
The majority of new hires agreed that the FPS offers the opportunity for interesting work
(83% ). Yet less than half of the new hires felt that the FPS makes full use of their education
(PSR 33% others 44%).
Responsibility
The Public Servant survey respondents stated that "I am encouraged to be innovative or to
take initiative in my work" 32% often, 26% sometimes, 24% always, 17% rarely or never, I
%don't know, I% not applicable and 0% not stated.
Advancement or Promotion
Public Servant Survey results for questions regarding career advancement were as follows:
•

"My immediate supervisor does a good job of helping me develop my career"
15% strongly agreed, 36% mostly agreed, and 26% mostly disagreed.

•

"My department (agency) does a good job of supporting employee's career
development" 38% mostly agreed, 24% mostly disagreed and 16% strongly
disagreed.

•

"I believe I have opportunities for promotion within my department or agency,
given my education, skills and experience" 33% mostly agreed, 26% mostly
disagreed and 22% strongly disagreed.

•

"I believe I have opportunities for promotion within the Public service, given my
education, skills and experience" 40% mostly agreed, 23% mostly disagreed and
15% disagreed.

•

To what extent, if at all, have any of the following adversely affected your career
progress in the Public service over the last three years?

32

a. Lack of access to developmental assignments 27% not at all, 22%
minimally, 21% moderately and 20% significantly.
b. Lack of access of information about job opportunities 31% not at all, 27%
minimally, 21% moderately and 15% significantly.
c. Restriction in the area of competitions 24% not at all, 18% minimally,
19% moderately and 31% significantly,
The majority of new hires agreed that the Federal Public Service offers a variety of jobs
(89%) and that they have a good opportunity for promotion (PSR75% other 62%) with their
agency or department supporting career development. New hires to the public service
indicated that they received information regarding their information about the opportunities
for career advancement in that job (33%) and the reasons for accepting a job offers with the
Federal Public Service were to increase opportunities for advancement (19%).

Growth
The New Hires survey confirmed that 32% of respondent's reason for accepting a job
offers with the Federal Public Service were, to gain experience in this type of work. In, the
Public Servant Survey, current employees responded to the question "I have opportunities to
develop and apply the skills I need to enhance my career" with 45% mostly agreed, 22%
mostly disagreed and 17% strongly agreed.

Hygiene and Job Dissatisfaction
Organization Policies and Administration

33
Results from the Public Servant survey regarding employees perspectives of the
organizations policies and administration included "My immediate supervisor understands
and respects the provisions of my collective agreement" 34% strongly agreed, 44% mostly
agreed, and 8% don't know. "Senior Managers respect the provisions of my collective
agreement" 26% strongly agreed, 46% mostly agreed, and 11% don't know. "The
relationship between my union and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is highly
productive" 18% mostly agreed, 42% did not know, 13% strongly disagreed.
16% mostly disagreed.
The New Hires survey indicated low levels of satisfaction with company policy and
administration related to Human Resource practices as only 23% agreed that the FPS makes
hiring decisions in a reasonable amount of time.
Supervision
A small number of New Hires to the public service (13%) indicated that they received
information regarding their hiring manager. With communication being a key factor in the
employee and manager relationship respondents to the Public Servant survey responded to
the question "I receive useful feedback from my immediate supervisor on my job
performance" 21% strongly agreed, 51% mostly agreed, and 18% mostly disagreed. The
sharing of information results were similar to the question "I feel that senior management
does a good job of sharing information" 43% mostly agreed, and 28% mostly disagreed.
16% strongly disagreed.
Interpersonal Relations
The majority of new hires agreed that the Federal Public Service is committed to diversity
in the workplace (91 %). Yet only half of the new hires felt that the Federal Public Service

34
had good employee morale (PSR 56% other 44%). Permanent employees who completed the
Public Servant survey had similar results to the questions "In my work unit, we work
cooperatively as a team" 34% strongly agreed, 47% mostly agreed, and 12% mostly
disagreed.
Working Conditions

New hires to the public service indicated that they received information regarding
working conditions (30%) when they started with the organization. The reasons that New
Hires reasons accepted a job offers with the Federal Public Service were flexibility to balance
work with family and other personal needs (13%) and the location of the job (10%). It was
interesting that once the New Hires began working for the organization 89% stated that
The job offer sufficient flexibility to balance work and personal life. Current employees had
a similar perspective that the organization is a good place to work: 32% strongly agreed,
50% mostly agreed, and only 12% mostly disagreed.
Salary

New Hires reasons for accepting a job offers with the Federal Public Service were salary
(13%) and benefits (12%). The majority of new hires agreed that the Federal Public Service
jobs have excellent benefits (85%). However only 29% felt that the Federal Public Service
offered competitive salaries compared to the private sector.
Federal Public Servant participants responded to the questions "I am classified fairly (my
current group and level) compared with others doing similar work in my organization or
elsewhere in the Public Service: 18% strongly agreed, 34% mostly agreed, 25% strongly
disagreed and 19% mostly disagreed.

35

Security
New Hires reasons for accepting a job offers with the Federal Public Service was job
security offered by the organization (33 %) and the opportunity to get into the Federal Public
service (31 %) which they felt would result in a more secure job then the private sector.

36

Discussion
There were limited questions regarding achievement in the Federal Public Servant survey
and New Hires survey. Personal achievement was not adequately measured as the most
relevant question asked was "My immediate supervisor assesses my work against identified
goals and objectives" . As noted in the literature review, goal clarity and participation in goal
setting are positively related to job satisfaction. The majority of public servants agreed or
strongly agreed that their manager assessed them against identified goals and objectives but
the survey question is limited in scope because it is not clear if employees participated in
setting these goals or if the goals were mandated on their behal£

Recommendations: Further queries need to be made to confirm if employees fee/like they
receive personal achievement through their employment as a Public Servant by setting
their own goals. Employees could also be asked if they feel they can achieve meaningful
goals in their work.
When an employee is recognized by their peers or supervisors this creates a positive
perception about the organization and increases the employees level of satisfaction.
According to the results of the Public Servant survey just over half of the participants mostly
agreed or strongly agreed (64%) that they received adequate recognition from their
supervisor so they Public Service is doing a adequate job of recognizing its employees but
there is room for improvement.

Recommendation: The Public Service needs to strengthen its recognition of employees
through promoting recognition programs and informal instant recognition awards from
colleagues and managers.

37
As the literature stated, it is important that an employee's skills and abilities match their
job. Further training needs to be given to ensure this alignment as this will create a positive
impact on the employee's satisfaction of the work itself. The survey results found that the
majority of Public Servants mostly agreed or strongly agreed that they got the training they
needed to do their job (74%) but only sixty percent indicated that they were able to get onthe-job coaching to help improve the way that they work.

Recommendation: An on the job coaching program for employees needs to be created and
supported to further increase the opportunity for on the job coaching for employees.
The New Hires survey provided direct questions to participants regarding the opportunity
to make full use of their skills and abilities and if the participants found the job interesting.
The majority ofNew Hires (83%) indicated that the Public Service offers interesting work
but only 37% felt that they were able to make full use of their skills and abilities and even
less (33%) felt that their job made full use of their education.

Recommendation: The Public Service needs to provide more opportunities for employees to
use their skills and abilities e.g. special projects to increase the levels of employee
satisfaction with the work itself.
Neither survey provided significant data to determine if employees felt that they were
satisfied with their level of responsibility within the organization. Employees (58%)
indicated that they were given the opportunity to be innovative and show initiative, which as
the literature indicated increases responsibility, but it is difficult with this indirect question to
determine the level of responsibility that employees received with these opportunities. For
example finding a better way to record meeting minutes does not carry the same
responsibility as reorganizing a national mail distribution system.

38

Recommendation: Further data needs to be gathered to determine if employees feel they
receive significant responsibility opportunities in their work as this would lead to greater
satisfaction.
Several direct questions were asked in the surveys that provided significant data regarding
advancement and promotion within the public service. Only 54% of Public Servant survey
participants agreed or strongly agreed that the public service does a good job supporting their
career and even less agreed that their supervisor helps develop their career (51 %). Levels of
satisfaction with promotion activities were also low with only 40% of participants agreeing
that they had opportunities for advancement and promotion. Participants agreed that the lack
of opportunities were due to the lack of access to developmental assignments (63 % ), lack of
information about job opportunities (63%) and restrictions to applying for job opportunities
(68%). New Hires to the Public Service demonstrated a higher level of satisfaction with the
opportunity for promotion (75%) yet only 33% agreed that they had received information
regarding opportunities for job advancement.

Recommendation: The Federal Public Service needs to increase awareness ofjob
opportunities within the organization and better support career advancement of employees.
The surveys were limited in their questions regarding satisfaction and growth for Public
Servants. New Hires survey participants (32%) did indicate that the reason that they
accepted a job with the Public Service was to gain experience which could be assumed to be
growth but this is a weak connection. Participants of the Public Servant survey (62%) agreed
or strongly agreed that they did have opportunities to develop and apply their skills but it is
difficult to determine from the question the significance of the growth.

39

Recommendation: Further data needs to be gathered to determine if Federal Public
Servants feel they have the opportunity for growth in their jobs as this will lead to greater
satisfaction.
Questions regarding the satisfaction of employees with the Federal Public Service policy
and administration were limited but there were questions to understand the employee's
perception surrounding their Union contract which is a foundation for policy within the
organization. The majority of employees agreed or strongly agreed that their immediate
supervisor (78%) and senior managers (72%) understood and respected their collective
agreement. However, only 12% of employees agreed that the relationship between the
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and their Union was productive. A large majority of
participants (42%) did not know if the relationship was productive and 29% disagreed or
strongly disagreed that the relationship was productive.

Recommendations: Further research should be conducted to understand why employees
do not know if the relationship between their Union and employer is productive as this
situation could lead to less trust which in turn would lead to less satisfaction with the
organization. Employees need to be asked if they think policies and administration of
policies are fair and reputable.
The data from the New Hires survey also identified a concern regarding the hiring
practices and administration polices of the Public Service. Only 23% ofNew Hires agreed
that the Federal Public service makes hiring decisions in a reasonable amount of time. This
perception of new hires will affect the organizations ability to attract new employees as they
may apply elsewhere due to delay in hiring.

40

Recommendation: The Federal Public Service needs to decrease the length of time for
hiring processes through more efficient screening tools.
The studies were limited in the questions regarding the direct perception of how
employees viewed their Supervisor. There were questions regarding communication with
supervisors and if employees received information about their supervisors but the data was
inconclusive of how employees perceived their supervisors.

Recommendations: The Public Service needs to gather specific information regarding
employee's perceptions of their manager to determine the levels of satisfaction of
employees with the supervision they receive with the organization.
Public Servants study participants (81 %) strongly agreed and mostly agreed that in their
work units they work cooperatively as a team and 91 % ofNew Hires felt that the Federal
Public Service is committed to diversity. This data appears to provide a strong indication that
the employees have a high level of satisfaction with their interpersonal relations yet only
56% of New Hires felt that the organization had good employee morale. It should be noted
that the New Hires had been with the organization for less than two years so they would not
have developed the interpersonal relationships that the longer term employees of the Public
Servant Survey would have.

Recommendations: The New Hires participants should be surveyed intermittently over the
next five years to investigate if their perception of morale increases or decreases with the
length of time they spend in the organization. Current Public Servants could also be asked
questions regarding their interpersonal relations with co-workers and their supervisors.
While working conditions were not directly surveyed in the studies, it was interesting that
even with the lower satisfaction levels in other areas, 82% of employees strongly agreed or

41
mostly agreed that the organization was a good place to work. As identified in the literature
review, working conditions can take away from or add to the other factors of satisfaction of
employees. The findings may be due to the Public Service having several committees that
oversee the working environment of the Public Servants to ensure safe and comfortable work
environments.

Recommendation: A separate survey should be conducted to confirm if in fact the working
environment is a strong indicator of satisfaction for Federal Public Servants and ifthe
findings support this then Federal Public Service should utilize working conditions as
strength for recruitment and retention of employees.
A large number of New Hires agree that the Federal Public Service offers excellent
benefits (85%) but only 29% feel that the Federal Public Service offers competitive salaries
compared to the private sector. As discussed in the literature the Federal Government cannot
participate in the wage scales of the private sector due to the differences between the
accountability of the organizations.

Recommendation: The Federal government benefits are a strength for promoting the
organization as an employer of choice so they need to promote this strength for recruiting
and retention of employees.
The Public Servant survey findings also indicated that 52% of Public Servants strongly
agreed or agreed that they are classified fairly for the work that they do within the
organization and 44% mostly disagree and strongly disagree.

Recommendation: Additional questions need to he asked regarding the division of work
and wages as there appears to be two strong perspectives regarding equity ofjob duties
related to pay.

42
The New Hires survey data indicates that only 33% of New Hires accepted a job with the
organization because of job security and 31% felt that the job with the Federal Public Service
would offer more job security than the private sector. These findings indicate that while job
security is important to the organization there is a perception that the government jobs are not
necessarily more secure than the private sector jobs.

Recommendation: The Federal Public Service should connect and promote mentoring of
long-term employees with new hires so that they get the sense of security that the
government jobs have provided for other public servants.
One concern that I had with the New Hires study was that it was not equally distributed
with its selection of participants. Disproportionally the study had 3,761 participants from the
National Capital Region and 1,095 from Ontario with the whole country participant total of
10,610. This number was further explained in the study, that even though two-thirds of the
federal employees work outside of the National Capital Region, the majority (79 %) ofPSR
new hires where working in this location. I question if the results would be different if
smaller province would have had a more equal percentage of input as the report showed a
difference in attitude between the larger and smaller communities. For example recruits from
smaller provinces would be more willing to move and that once candidates are established in
a community through relationships and children they are less likely to leave their employer.

43

Implications for Management
Organizations can support their employee career development by increasing its focus on
people; communicating trends/directions; giving employees the opportunity to acquire
breadth and to become more visible; helping employees understand their strengths and
weaknesses; and by developing mentoring programs (Duxbury, Dyke, Lam 1998).
Retaining employees by strengthening the factors of job satisfaction will continue to be a
challenge as there continues to be change to the culture of the organization. By continuing to
invest in the talent within the organization and promoting employees, the organization will
demonstrate the opportunity for growth and strengthen the organizations ability to retain
talent. Identifying future leaders and developing them through promotions from within are
important so that staff can see the potential for career advancement.
Monitoring succession planning is also key to retention. The weakness the organization
will need to be aware of is assuming that the leaders that they select for development will
stay. Management candidates should be screened for the intent to remain with the
organization. There is a danger of not looking beyond the middle manager level. It is not
enough to simply identify these individuals but you must also create a long term connection
to the local office and local community.
There is a common view in the Human Resource world that employees leave their
managers not their organization. Therefore it is imperative that interpersonal skills also be a
screening tool for the employees that the organization appoints to management positions as
managers set the tone for the work environment. These managers must also be leaders that
can lead in any situation to address the changing workplace of the federal government.

44
As discussed it is important that employees be educated about their benefits and have
proper job matching. This could be done through internal job fairs and implemented into the
new employee orientation sessions. It is important to ensure that new employee orientations
include a discussion with clear outlines of job expectations. Senior managers or retirees
stories should be captured and/or presented to new employees to develop a sense of
connection, pride in accomplishments and also so employees can see the variety of
opportunities that are possible. The organization needs to focus on transferring this
knowledge through shared stories and experiences for all levels through informal arm chair
discussions. Enhancing employee involvement (e.g., through participation in self-directed
work teams, gain sharing, quality of life programs, quality circles, or job enrichment) may
contribute to greater employee job satisfaction. In tum, the combination of employee
involvement and greater job satisfaction may contribute to higher productivity and greater
efficiency in the workplace.
There needs to be greater awareness of the importance of working conditions because, as
discussed, better working conditions lead to greater satisfaction. Modification of
employees' surroundings may be easier to implement than enhanced financial rewards as the
Federal government has a set pay scale. Changes such as lighting for example can have a
long lasting effect on employees because of health issues such as seasonal affective disorder.
(When people can suffer depression if they do not have sufficient lighting)
To ease the loss of knowledge the federal government may also want to look at offering a
shortened work week with regular pay for the first 3 days and pension paid for the last two

45
days as an incentive for individuals to work past retirement thereby reducing the large loss of
knowledge all at once.
An additional problem with recruitment of employees is that there are not enough high
level jobs to offer junior staff until the baby boomers retire. Therefore, the Federal
government should focus on offering internships to show the benefits of working for the
organization and to connect students with the public service. The Federal government should
further research the feasibility to offering to pay a portion of student loans plus minimum
wage as an incentive to students to work for the organization. The program could be called
CanFed. Application for the internship would be a screening based on a written proposal
from the student on "How do you want to make a difference in the public service?" Youth
committees, websites, school counselors could funnel this challenge to the target market.
Successful candidates for the internship could be selected to create a team to operate a project
to completion. The project would be chosen from the CanFed proposals or business cases
with an assigned mentor to oversee. The group would have to brainstorm the idea like the
think tanks of many of the top corporations. Participants will benefit from networking and
developing leadership skills. The organization will benefit from new perspectives, new
solutions and the opportunity to identify future talent within the groups for future placement.
Focus could be placed on the sectors or areas showing the greatest loss in workers.
A similar program could be developed internally called "Project Leadership". Public
Servant employees could participate in voluntary brainstorming sessions that would allow
them to utilize their talents by offering solutions to problems in the organization. This would
address the employee's needs to make a difference which will help retain talent. It could be
made into a competition with the group with the best idea implementing their ideas.

46

Conclusion

The Federal Public Service is moving in the right direction to recruit and retain a
knowledge based workforce that will withstand the "war on talent" demographic shift but it
has several areas of concern with identified low levels of satisfaction. The Federal Public
Service needs to ensure that existing employees and new recruits are well informed about the
opportunities in the Federal Public Service. Many talented employees will turn to the
government in this economic downturn because of the stability the jobs offer, it is a golden
opportunity for the Federal Public Service to engage and retain employees.

47

References
Agho, A., C. Mueller, and 1. Price. 1993. Determinates of employees job satisfaction: An
Empirical test of a casual model. Human Relations 46, 1007-1027
Arvey, Richard D. , H. Dudley Dewhirst, and John C. Boling. 1976. "Relationships Between
Goal Clarity, Participation in Goal Setting, and Personality Characteristics on Job
Satisfaction in a Scientific Organization." Journal ofApplied Psychology 61, no. 1: 103-105 .
Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April21, 2009)
Brown, David. 2001. Federal public service threatened by poor recruitment. Canadian HR
Reporter Journal14: 5-6.
"Canada @ Work 2000: Re-Inventing the Canadian Commitment Contract." Benefits
Quarterly 16, no. 4: 106-106. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April21 ,
2009).
Carsten 1M and PE Spector 1987. Unemployment, job satisfaction, and employment
turnover: A meta-analytic test ofthe Muchinsky model. Journal of applied Psychology, 72,
348-381
Cotton JL and 1M Tuttle 1986. Employee Turnover: A meta-analysis and review with
implications for research. Academy ofManagement Review, 11 , 55-70
Cowan, Allison P. , Carolyn R. Farquhar and Judith L. MacBride-King. Eds. 2002: Building
Tomorrow' s Public Service Today. Challenges and Solutions in Recruitment and Retention.
Canada: The Conference Board of Canada
Cranny, C. , E, Smith, and E. Stone. 1992. Job Satisfaction: How people feel about their jobs
and how it affects their performance. Lexington, MA:Lexington Books, pp. 45-52
Demming, W. 1986. Out ofthe crisis. Cambridge:MIT Center for Advancement Engineering
Study.
Dobbins, G. , R. Cardy, and S. Platz-Vieno. 1990. A contingency approach to appraisal
satisfaction: An initial investigation of the joint effects of organizational and appraisal
characteristics. Journal of Management 16, 619-632.
Donahue, Jonathon D. and JosephS. Nye, eds. 2003.: For the People: Can We Fix Public
Service? United States: Brookings Institution Press
Durst, Samantha L. and VictorS. deSantis. 1997. The Determinates of Job Satisfaction
among Federal, State, and Local Government Employees. State and Local Government
Review Journal29 (1):7-16

48
Duxbury, Linda, Lorraine Dyke and Natalie Lam. 1998. Career Development in the Federal
Public Service- Building a World-Class Workforce. Canada: The Treasury Board of Canada
Government of Canada Privy Council Office. 2007. Fourteenth Annual Report to the Prime
Minister on the Public Service of Canada. http://www.pcobcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=publications&doc=arra/ 14report2007I 14threport-eng.html (accessed February 15, 2009)
Government of Canada Privy Council Office. 2009. Sixteenth Annual Report to the Prime
Minister on the Public Service of Canada. http://www.pcobcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&Page=information&Sub=publications&Doc=ar-ra/ 162009/table-eng.htm (accessed March 21, 2009)
Herzberg, Frederick. 1982. The Managerial Choice: To Be Effective or to Be Human. Salt
Lake City: Olympus
Hom, PW, GE Prussia and RW Griffeth 1992. A meta-analytical structural equations analysis
of model employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 890-909.
Industrial Engineer. 2007. Simplification effects not so simple. Vol. 39 Issue 11, p12
Judge, Timothy, Joyce Bono, Amir Erez and Edwin A. Locke. 2005."Core Self-Evaluations
and Job and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Self-Concordance and Goal Attainment. Journal
of Applied Psychology; Vol. 90 Issue2, p 257-268
Kaliprasad, Minnesh. 2006. "The Human Factor I: Attracting, Retaining, and Motivating
Capable People." Cost Engineering 48, no. 6: 20-26. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost
(accessed April21, 2009).
Kallebero, Arne L. 1977. "WORK VALUES AND JOB REWARDS: A THEORY OF JOB
SATISFACTION." American Sociological Review 42, no. 1: 124-143. Business Source
Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April21, 2009).
Laine,Marjukka, Beatrice I. J. M. van der Heijden, Gustav Wickstrom, Hans-Martin
Hasselhorn, and Peter Tackenberg. 2009. "Job insecurity and intent to leave the nursing
profession in Europe." International Journal of Human Resource Management 20, no. 2:
420-438. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 20, 2009).
Liou, K, R. Sylvia, and G. Brunk. 1990. Non-work factors and job satisfaction revisited.
Human Relations 43, 77-86.
Lee, K and Mowday R. 1987. "Voluntarily leaving an organization: a empirical investigation
of Steers and Mowday's model ofturnover. Academy ofManagement Journal.
1987:30(4):721-743

49
Locke, E. 1976. The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M.D. Dunette (Ed.), Hanbook
of industrial and organizational psychology, Chicago: Rand McNally, Chapter 30, pp. 12971349
Marsden, David and Ray Richardson. 1994. Performing for pay? The effects of "merit pay"
on motivation in a public service. British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 32 issue 2, pp.
243-261.
Mathieu, J.E. and DM Zajac 1990. A review of meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates,
and consequences of organizational commitment. Psychological Bulletin, 108,171-194
Messmer, Max. 2004. "Creating an Effective Recognition Program." Strategic Finance 85,
no. 7: 13-14. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April21 , 2009).
Minas, Christine. 2002. Technical Paper# 1. Post-secondary recruitees' work experiences
and career plans. Canada: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. (Page 3-5)
Naczk, Katarzyna. 2007. Analytical Paper. Employment Trends in the Federal Public
Service. Canada: Statistics Canada
Nelson, Debra and James Campbell Quick, eds. 2003 . : Organizational Behavior:
Foundations, Realities, and Challenges. 41h ed. United States: South-Western pp 159-171
Norris, Pippa. 2004.: Still a Public Service Ethos? Work values, experience, and job
satisfaction among government workers. Massachusetts: John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University
Pergamit, Michael R. , and Jonathan R. Veum. 1999. "WHAT IS A PROMOTION?"
Industrial & Labor Relations Review 52, no. 4: 581-601. Business Source Complete,
EBSCOhost (accessed April21 , 2009).
Peters, 1., E. O'Connor, and J, Eulberg. 1985. Situational constraints: Sources, consequences,
and future consideration. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Public Service Commission of Canada. 2008. Public Service Commission 2007-2008 Annual
Report- Highlights. http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/arp-rpa/2008/hl-ps-eng.htm (accessed March 1,
2009)
Randall, DM 1990. The Consequences of organizational commitment: Methodological
investigation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11 , 361-378
Reilly., C. , J. Chatman, and D. Caldwell, 1991. People and organizational culture: A profile
comparison approach to assessing person-organizational fit. Academy of Management
Journal34, 487-516
Robbie, C. ,A. Ryan, R. Schmieder, L. Parra, and P. Smith. 1998. The relation between job
level and job satisfaction. Group & Organizational Management 23,470-495.

50
Roberson, Loriann. 1990. Prediction of job satisfaction from characteristics of personal work
goals. Journal of Organizational Behavior; Vol. 11 Issue 1, p29-41
Salancik, G., and J. Pfeffer. 1978. A social information processing approach to job attitudes
and task design. Administrative Science Quarterly 23, 224-253
Sekaran, Uma. 1989. "Paths to the job satisfaction of bank employees." Journal of
Organizational Behavior 10, no. 4: 347-359. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost
(accessed April 21, 2009).
Shikiar R. and R Freudenburg 1982. Unemployment rates as a moderator of the job
dissatisfaction-turnover relation. Human Relations, 35,845-856
Statistics Canada. 2006. Public Service Employee Survey Results 2005. Record No 4438.
http://www. statcan. gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/document/44 3 8 D LI D 1 T22 V3 -eng. pdf (accessed
March 1, 2009)
Steel , R.P. and N.K. Ovalle 1984. A review and meta-analysis of research on the relationship
between behavioral intentions and employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology,
69,673-686
Steers, R. and R. Mowday. 1981. Employee turnover and post-decision accommodation
processes. In: Cumming L, Staw B, eds. Research in Organizational Behavior. 3, Greenwich
Conn.:JAI Press
Taber, Tom D., and George M. Alliger. 1995. "A task-level assessment of job satisfaction."
Journal of Organizational Behavior 16, no. 2: 101-121. Business Source Complete,
EBSCOhost (accessed April21 , 2009).
Tett, Robert P. and John Meyer. 1993. Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment,
Turnover Intention, and Turnover: Path Analyses Based on Metanalytic Findings. Personal
Psychology, 46 pp 259-294
Ting, Y, 1997. Determinants of job satisfaction of federal government employees. Public
Persona1Management26,313-334
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Carleton University. 2002. Career Development in
the Federal Public Service- Building a World Class Workforce. http://www.tbssct.gc.ca/pubs poVpartners/workreport-eng.asp (accessed February 15, 2009)
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 2002. Technical Paper# 2. Early Work Experiences.
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.calres/nem2-eng.asp (accessed February 15, 2009)
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 2002. Technical Paper# 4. Newly Hired Computer
Systems Personal. http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/res/nem4-eng.asp (accessed February 15, 2009)

51
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 2002. Technical Paper# 5. Mid-career New Recruits.
http ://www.tbs-sct.gc.calres/nem5-eng.asp#38 (accessed February 15, 2009)
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 2002. Technical Paper# 6. Recently Hired Visible
Minorities. http://www.tbs-sct.gc.calres/nem6-eng.asp# Toc8452524 (accessed February 15,
2009)
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2005. Unlocking the Human
Potential for Public Sector Performance: World Public Sector Report 2005. (New York:
United Nations Publication) pp 91-101