It may not come as a surprise that government workers are happier about their retirement benefits than those in the private sector — but you might be surprised at how much.
While public and private sector workers are similarly satisfied with most of the 13 job aspects Gallup asks them about, 82% of government employees say they are “completely” or “somewhat” satisfied with their retirement plan, compared with just 57% among nongovernment employees. That happens to be the largest gap in satisfaction between government and nongovernment workers, though the gap in satisfaction is nearly as large with health insurance benefits, with 80% of government workers and 57% of nongovernment workers satisfied with the benefits that their employer offers.
Much as they like those benefits, government workers are even more likely to be satisfied with their vacation time, with 91% saying they are satisfied. While most nongovernment employees, 74%, are also satisfied with their vacation time, there is a 17-percentage-point gap in satisfaction between the two groups.
Government and private sector employees’ views on the various elements of their job make one thing clear: Government employees are much more satisfied than nongovernment employees with the traditional “benefits” of their job — namely, the retirement plan, health insurance benefits and vacation time.
Indeed, overall, private sector workers are least satisfied with their retirement plan and health insurance benefits — but what are government workers least satisfied with? Their on-the-job stress, where just 64% said they were completely or somewhat satisfied with those levels.
On the other hand, that wasn’t much different than in the private sector, where 67% of workers were completely or somewhat satisfied.
These ratings are based on combined data from the last five years of Gallup's annual Work and Education poll, conducted each August since 2001.
