Third-sector job quality: evidence from Finland

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the perceived job quality and job satisfaction among third-sector employees and compare job quality in the third, public and private sector. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on the quality of work life (QWL) survey data gathered by Statistics Finland. The QWL data are complemented with data set collected among third-sector employees. In the sector comparisons percentage shares were used to compare different dimensions of job quality between the sectors. Regression analysis was used to control the structural labour market differences between the sectors. Findings – The results show that job quality in the third sector differs substantially from that in both the public and private sectors. Employees in the third sector are less satisfied with their jobs than others. They perceive their work more autonomous than others. Compared to private-sector employees, third-sector employees perceive their jobs as less insecure. They also report more intensity and qualitative insecurity than employees in other sectors. Research limitations/implications – The sample consist only trade union members. The generalisability of results to non-unionized employees may be limited. Originality/value – Previously it has been stated that third-sector employees enjoy greater job satisfaction due to intrinsic work benefits related to non-profit work. There is, however, small number of empirical studies trying to compare systematically job quality between the sectors. The present analysis contradicts the previous findings of higher job satisfaction in the third sector.

Why do Third Sector Employees Intend to Remain or Leave their Workplace?

“…Work climate, work intensity, advancement opportunities, and skills proved to be important antecedents of turnover intentions. These are also variables in which previous studies detected problems in the third sector (McMullen and Schellenberg 2003;Mirvis and Hackett 1983;Ruuskanen et al 2016). This partly explains why third sector employees in Finland report higher turnover intentions than employees in the public or private sector.…”

“…Thus informal working practices and flexibility can also result in problems in the work climate since the work is not clearly structured. Also, the intensity of work has been observed as a major problem in the third sector working environment (McMullen and Schellenberg 2003;Ruuskanen et al 2016). Thus, four hypotheses follow from this discussion:…”

“…Acting as a contractor in the public sector supply chain may lead to squeezing costs and demanding more results with fewer permanent resources, which may lead to intensification of work in the third sector. This probably undermines job quality and job satisfaction in the sector (Cunningham and James 2009;Ruuskanen et al 2016;Shragge et al 2001).…”

“…For example, work has been found to offer employees more variety, better opportunities to express themselves freely in the job, and better job autonomy than private or public sector organizations (Becchetti et al 2014;Borzaga and Tortia 2006;McMullen and Schellenberg 2003;Mirvis and Hackett 1983;Ruuskanen et al 2016). A downside, however, seems to be that TSOs give less direct feedback on how employees are performing in their work than public or private sector organizations (Mirvis and Hackett 1983).…”

“…The importance of civil society in the field of welfare services has increased as public deficits compelled public sector authorities to seek more efficient means to provide welfare services. As a consequence of this, the Nordic TSOs have increasingly shifted from social movement organizations to welfare service providers, and the number of paid employees has increased substantially (Ruuskanen et al 2016;Sivesind and Selle 2010;Wijkström 2011).…”