One in 6 public servants are open to getting a new job in the private sector in order to get higher pay, a government survey showed Wednesday.

In the survey conducted by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration last year, 16.3 percent of 1,053 civil servants said that they were willing to give up their current government posts and go to the private sector.

About 90 percent of respondents cited higher pay as their main reason, saying that they expected an average income rise of about 40 percent. Those surveyed said they were paid about 72 percent of what similarly qualified employees earn in the private sector.

Other motives included career development and work environment.

Public officials said they prefer working at a local top-100 company, with 21.5 percent of respondents willing to move for a senior or executive position.

About 60 percent said they wouldn’t want to change their jobs and the rest would consider either staying or leaving.

Nearly half of those surveyed were satisfied with their public sector job overall while 11.8 percent expressed dissatisfaction.

(rene@heraldcorp.com)