Job satisfaction in the public sector: A case study of the national planning office of Thailand

The main objective of this study was to identify some characteristics of and factors related to job satisfaction of Thai government staff. A questionnaire was employed to gather the data. Two hundred respondents were selected by stratified random sampling: 156 were returned. The sample population was weighted to get the closest distribution to the population as possible. Data analysis was based on the weighted sample. To analyze the data cross tabulation, chi-square, lambda and gamma were used to test the relationship between personal factors and job satisfaction. Standardized coefficients obtained from regression analysis were used to test the relationship between personal factors and motivation factors. In addition, multiple regression analysis was utilized to test the relationship between work motivation factors and level of job satisfaction. The results of the study are summarized as follows: (1) Only two personal factors, gender and position, have significant association with job satisfaction. (2) High-grade level staff place more value on intrinsic work motivation factors. Advancement is the most important motivation factor for this group. (3) Low-grade level staff puts more value on extrinsic work motivation factors. Job security is the most important motivation factor for this group. (4) Professional position employees place more value on extrinsic work motivation factors with the most important factor being the relationship with their supervisor. (5) Non-Professional position staff place more value on extrinsic work motivation factors with job security indicated as the most important factor. (6) Males value intrinsic work motivation factors more with work autonomy being the most important factor. (7) Females place more value on extrinsic work motivation factors with job security being the most important factor. (8) Intrinsic work motivation factors have greater impact on job satisfaction than extrinsic work motivation factors for every group of employees. (9) Low-grade staff were found to be more satisfied than the high-grade levels, non-professionals more satisfied than professionals, males more satisfied than females, male professionals more satisfied than female professionals, and female non-professionals more satisfied than male non-professionals. Study findings suggested that intrinsic factors create more job satisfaction than extrinsic factors, however, to ensure overall satisfaction of the employees, both intrinsic and extrinsic factors have to be present.