Determinants of Job Satisfaction in Public Administration Workers: The Value of Interpersonal Relations in Workplace

There is extensive research literature about the variables that explain job satisfaction, but the same workplace dimensions are not systematically related to satisfaction in the different work settings. This relation may differ depending on the group under study (health workers, employees of public sector, municipal government employees, etc.). However, there is some evidence supporting the role of interpersonal relationships in promoting employees well-being (Noblet, 2003). The present study focused on a specific job context—the Public Administration—and examines the relationships between work characteristics, perceived social support (including two sources: coworkers and supervisor), perceived reciprocity and job satisfaction in 294 justice government employees. The results revealed that the work characteristics related to interpersonal relationships, particularly social support, reciprocity and absence of interpersonal conflicts, as well as professional development, accounted for optimal proportions of explained variance in job satisfaction.