Staff Reporter
A NEW survey seems to confirm what some might long have suspected: Spaniards prefer cushty government jobs-for-life over high-risk high-reward entrepreneurship.
The polling, conducted by Funcas, found that only a small minority of the Spanish public (13%) would advise a young person to become an entrepreneur and go into the private sector.
Instead, over half would recommend young people to put their feet up in the public sector as civil servants.
The survey also reveals that 20% would advise young individuals to work as employees for others, 7% would suggest self-employment, and the remaining 13% were uncertain or opted for an alternative option.
The results surprised the researchers behind the study, Elisa Chuliá and Juan Carlos Rodríguez.
“It is striking that the proportion of respondents revealing a professional preference for the public sector exceeds the combined responses related to occupations in the private sector,” they said.
They went on to speculate that preference for government jobs may be rooted in a perception of increasing uncertainty across various aspects of life, particularly in the last decade.
The public sector offers stability and shorter working hours – often clocking off at 2pm – in a time of economic insecurity.
It is also more compatible with other responsibilities and appealing to the rising value of leisure time.
However, the researchers voiced concern about the findings.
“Is a society that overwhelmingly encourages its young people to work in the public sector forgetting that the income to pay these civil servants depends decisively on private sector businesses and workers generating sufficient wealth?”
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