Ria Janvier

New pay in European civil services:is the psychological contract changing?

Purpose – This research paper analyses the extent to which national systems are following “new pay” trends, or whether there are still traditional features, which reflect the specificity of employment in the public sector and the psychological contracts of public servants.Design/methodology/approach – The data used in this paper was based on an online survey of six countries and was completed by pay experts in each case.Findings – Previous comparative research on civil service pay systems has focused mostly on specific aspects of pay but this paper looks at a wide range of pay characteristics. It finds that although there have been changes in pay systems in the six countries studied, the “new pay” model has not been fully adopted and traditional reward systems are still strong, with the exception of Sweden and to a lesser extent the UK and Denmark. This is related to the importance that civil servants attach to their psychological contract in which equity and collectivism remain central valuesOriginality/...

Mind-Sets of Boundaryless Careers in the Public Sector: The Vanguard of a More Mobile Workforce?

Public management reforms have promoted a new type of public career: boundaryless employees following lateral career trajectories in different organizations. The literature opposes boundaryless careers to the traditional career for life, based on vertical trajectories of promotion and tenure. The implicit image of the boundaryless careerist is one of fast-moving, intrinsically motivated professionals who self-direct their career across “old” organizational barriers. In this article, we study whether boundaryless career mind-sets are the vanguard of a more flexible and mobile workforce. We describe how many public employees experience boundaryless career mind-sets, and we analyze what drives them. Our research shows that boundaryless mind-sets are still rather exceptional. The traditional career mind-set within the organization prevails and many employees are very satisfied with it. Only public employees who are highly educated, invest in their own career and networks, and were successful in previous mobility experiences report a boundaryless career mind-set. Nevertheless, our research also points to a higher potential for boundaryless career mind-sets.