Do non-profit organisations offer better places to work? A longitudinal analysis of cross-sectoral staff mobility

It is a widely held view that nonprofit organizations, due to their mission and value orientation, provide working conditions that are particularly motivating. Representative empirical evidence based on direct comparisons is rare to date. Longitudinal data on worker mobility from Switzerland is analysed to close the gap. In the framework of self-determination theory and the concept of public service motivation, the study examines how working for non-profit employers differs from working for for-profit and public employers. The analysis of employee data from the Swiss Household Panel shows that non-profit work prevails over for-profit and public work in aspects of self-determined motivation. Non-profit workers seem to be more interested in their tasks and report a higher job satisfaction level than their counterparts in the for-profit and public sectors. Most of the sectoral effects are also observed among the same individuals over time after having switched between sectors. However, while most turnovers result in benefits of workplace quality, a comparison of different types of sector turnover reveals that between-sector changes are more effective than within-sector changes.