Public v. Private Perceptions of Formalization, Outcomes, and Justice

In this study we used responses from 174 public-sector and private-sector employees to assess differences in perceived job and communication formalization, emphasis on objective-oriented results, perceptions of distributive and procedural justice, and employees' satisfaction with their immediate supervisors. Overall, public employees perceived similar job and communication formalization and emphasis on results, but they held weaker distributive and procedural justice perceptions and were less satisfied with their supervisors. We also discuss other results, implications, and limitations.