Pay Dissatisfaction among Municipal Employees: Empirical Evidence from Russia’s Stavropol Region

Abstract

Dissatisfied public employees put at risk the quality of service delivery. Th is study investigates pay dissatisfaction among a sample (N=501) of municipal employees in Russia’s Stavropol region. We find that pay dissatisfaction results from negative perceptions of public employment compensation, low levels of risk aversion, unethical professional attitudes, and more than 4 years of working experience. Our findings suggest that municipal employees are sensitive to multiple wage gaps within the public sector, and that upward pay comparisons are a relevant predictor of dissatisfaction with pay. We conclude that widespread pay dissatisfaction poses a serious threat to the implementation of federal programs and sustainable rural development in Russia.

Understanding the micro‐foundations of administrative corruption in the public sector: Findings from a systematic literature review

“…As a consequence, the salary‐corruption relationship is characterized by a U‐shape (Chen & Liu, 2018) and it relates not necessarily to the actual salary level but rather to salary satisfaction. While Figueroa (2021) shows that the motive of personal enrichment is not a necessary condition for corrupt behavior, Jäkel (2019) finds that salary dissatisfaction may indeed function as such a condition because it leads to a shift toward unethical professional attitudes, setting the ground for corrupt behavior. This explains why a direct relationship between remuneration and corruption does not generalize across all administrative contexts and cultures (Vveinhardt & Sroka, 2020).…”

“…While low salaries create external pressure to seek additional sources of income as a means of sustenance, comparatively low remuneration schemes signal a lack of appreciation for civil servants' work, which increases individuals' capacity to rationalize their corrupt behavior. A lack of perceived fairness in compensation allows for moral disengagement and moral licensing (Jäkel, 2019; Pertiwi, 2022; Ripoll & Breaugh, 2019). Furthermore, underpayment does not only affect low‐ranking civil servants' corruptibility but also decreases leaders' willingness to persecute corrupt behavior by followers (Feng & Johansson, 2018).…”

Understanding the Micro-Foundations of Administrative Corruption in the Public Sector: Findings from a Systematic Literature Review

“…One nexus of studies focusing on the relationship between financial motivation (i.e., greed) and corruption provides robust evidence that individuals will, indeed, As a consequence, the salary-corruption relationship is characterized by a U-shape (Y. Chen and Q. Liu 2018) and relates not to the actual salary level but rather to salary satisfaction. While Figueroa (2021) shows that the motive of personal enrichment is not a necessary condition for corrupt behavior, Jäkel (2019) finds that salary dissatisfaction may indeed function as such a condition because it leads to a shift toward unethical professional attitudes, setting the ground for corrupt behavior. This explains why a direct relationship between remuneration and corruption does not generalize across all administrative contexts and cultures (Vveinhardt and Sroka 2020).…”

“…While low salaries create external pressure to seek for additional sources of income as a means of sustenance, comparatively low remuneration schemes signal a lack of appreciation for civil servants' work, which increases individuals' capacity to rationalize their corrupt behavior. A lack of perceived fairness of compensation allows for moral disengagement and moral licensing (Pertiwi 2020;Ripoll and Breaugh 2019;Jäkel 2019). Furthermore, underpayment does not only affect low-ranking civil servants' corruptibility but also decreases leaders' willingness to persecute corrupt behavior by followers (X.…”

Human Resource Practices and Innovativeness: A Conceptual Paper

“…(Hanaysha et al, 2021). Assuming they feel that their endeavors and commitments surpass the compensations from the association and work, particularly in pay, disappointment might happen (Gürlek, 2020;Jäkel, 2019;Queiri et al, 2015;Treuren and Frankish, 2014).…”