Are public sector workers happier ? ::A comparative analysis of public and private sector workers

This article proposes to examine whether the workin g conditions of employees are influenced by the sector, public or private, in which they work. More precisely, does the nature of the sector lead to special working conditions? Are working conditions in the public sector really better than in the private sector? This question is studied using a national represent ative data base of French employees developed by the French Ministry of Labor which holds informatio n on 48,000 individuals. It is analyzed using Test Value percent (TV100) and data mining techniques. The results show that the sector, public or private , is not a leading variable structuring working conditions, although differences in working conditi ons are perceptible at the sector level. These results then are discussed in the light of di fference, convergence and hybridization hypotheses before returning to the description of how interact ions at work are regulated