SUMMARY Public sector employees are often said to have excessive rates of absence from work. Using representative survey data for Germany, we indeed find absenteeism of employees to be higher in the public than the private sector. The differences in the incidence and days of absence showing up in descriptive statistics are substantially reduced and partly disappear in our estimates of hurdle regression models controlling for individuals’ socio‐demographic characteristics, health status, professional activities, and for many workplace‐related factors. Nevertheless, the probability of staying home sick at least once a year is still 5.6 percentage points higher in the public sector, ceteris paribus. This finding refutes popular assertions that differences in absence rates between the sectors are mainly due to structural factors like different compositions of the workforce. We show that the same observable factors play a role for absenteeism in the public and private sector, but we cannot rule out that shirking may play a more important role in the public sector. Nevertheless, we conclude that the stereotype of the “malingering bureaucrat” seems to be an exaggeration, at least for Germany.

Zusammenfassung Die Sicherung und Verbesserung der Arbeitsqualität gehört zu den Zielen der EU und der Bundesregierung. Die politischen Bemühungen werfen die Frage auf, ob der Staat als Arbeitgeber im Hinblick auf die Arbeitsqualität mit gutem Beispiel vorangeht. Mithilfe von repräsentativen Befragungsdaten vergleiche ich anhand einer Reihe wichtiger Kenngrößen die Arbeitsqualität im Öffentlichen und Privaten Sektor in Deutschland. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Arbeitszeitregelungen im Öffentlichen Sektor beschäftigungsfreundlicher sind als im Privaten Sektor. Auch arbeiten Beschäftigte im Öffentlichen Sektor seltener unter Druck. Mit Blick auf physische Belastungen und emotionale Belastung werden jedoch Qualitätsnachteile im Öffentlichen Sektor identifiziert. Aufgrund dieser uneinheitlichen Ergebnisse scheint eine Vorreiterrolle des Staates mit Blick auf die Arbeitsqualität nicht gegeben. Abstract: The State – a Better Employer? Job Quality in the Public and Private Sector in Germany The EU and the German government aim to secure and enhance job quality. These political efforts raise the question whether the state as an employer serves as a role model concerning job quality. Using representative survey data for Germany I compare job quality in the public and private sector. My results indicate that job quality in the public sector is higher in terms of working time regulations. Moreover, employees in the public sector work less often under pressure. Considering physical strains and emotional strain there are drawbacks in the job quality in the public sector. Due to these inconsistent results, the state seems not to be a role model when it comes to job quality.

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