Working 9 to 5? A cross-national analysis of public sector worker stereotypes

Sheeling Neo, Isa Bertram, Gabriela Szydlowski, Robin Bouwman, Noortje de Boer, Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen, Étienne Charbonneau, M. Jae Moon, Lars Tummers

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present an inductive, citizen-driven approach to identify stereotypes of public sector workers across the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and South Korea (Study 1: n=918; Study 2: n=3,042). Contrary to common negative portrayals, we idetify two positive stereotypes across countries — having job security and serving society; and one neutral/negative stereotype — going home on time. Notably, Americans and Canadians have a more favorable view of public sector workers than the Dutch and South Koreans. This study opens avenues for exploring positive public sector stereotypes and the impact of context on these perceptions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2064-2093
Number of pages30
JournalPublic Management Review
Volume26
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Public Administration

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