Job Satisfaction in the Canadian Public Service: Mitigating Toxicity With Interests

Abstract

During the 2015 Canadian federal election, political parties were polarized over the issue of job satisfaction in the public service. Critics and public service unions argued that there was a toxic environment under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau promised, if elected, to remedy this toxicity. Therefore, the job satisfaction of federal employees was a campaign promise of the now elected Liberals. Improving job satisfaction is not simple, as there are many competing factors impacting it. This study measures job satisfaction of Canadian public servants in 2014 and concludes that job satisfaction remained fairly high across the board, even under Stephen Harper, and that by far the strongest predictor of job satisfaction is how well employees’ interests match their job, followed by the relationship with their immediate supervisor, relationships with colleagues, and skills. Thus, human resource management policies are essential in improving job satisfaction.