Two labour markets and the great recession: impact on employee attitudes and behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how the economic collapse and recession have affected employee attitudes and job-related behaviors in the labour market in Iceland, and compare the impact in the public sector versus the private sector. The first wave of data collection occurred in late 2007/early 2008 and involved employee surveys from 3,083 individuals in 59 organizations. The second wave of data collection was executed in the spring of 2009 and involved survey data from 772 employees in 18 organizations. The results indicate that overall employee positivity has been affected differently based on sectors. Employees in the private firms have not been affected overall, whereas employees in the public sector have been positively affected.