Even if the rewards were increased, it would have a small impact on state officials' satisfaction, motivation and productivity, said the Hay Group's "Engaged Public Sector Opinion Survey" conducted between March and May on 20,000 civil servants, members of the armed forces and state enterprise officers from 50 departments and ministries nationwide.

Participating state departments and ministries include those of labour, justice, public health, agriculture, energy, transportation, industry and defence. The survey is claimed to be the largest and most in-depth of its kind ever done.

"The results exploded the myth that government officers simply need bigger salaries to work better," said Hay Group Thailand director Sirirat Piriyathanalai. "Instead, they want leadership, a clear career path and fair and transparent criteria for future promotions."

The biggest gap between expectation and reality was concern over the level of transparency regarding promotion and the quality of their bosses' leadership skills and competence, the survey found.

Such concerns outweighed unease over the lack of reward parity with other organisations, such as those in the private sector.

Any improved rewards would have a less-than-anticipated impact, as officers said rewards supplied only 8.9 per cent of their work satisfaction.

The largest source of satisfaction came from career-path development, followed by getting the work-life balance right and the quality of leadership and work culture.

Overall job satisfaction was 67.4 per cent, which was within the normal range, the Hay Group said.

Based on the survey, the Hay Group said the immediate priority should be to create a transparent career-development and planning system that rewards performance. The public sector should also develop better leadership skills that would help bosses serve as better role models for employees.

The next set of priorities should be to make working systems more efficient and flexible, enhance skill levels through training and workshops, and develop a better internal database to support officers' work.

In the long run, the public service should make salaries compatible with the private sector.

The Hay Group said priorities and satisfaction levels varied among departments but these results would not be announced publicly. A detailed breakdown will be given to each department.

Chularat Saengpassa

The Nation