THE main concern affecting finance professionals in the public sector is how the pressure on public finances, coupled with rapidly rising inflation globally, is limiting their ability to respond to demand for salary increases.

According to the responses from the 587 finance professionals to a recent ACCA survey, inflation is more of a concern for them than the average across all sectors.

Twenty-five per cent of public sector employees cited that inflation impacting their real wage/salary is their top work-related concern for the future as compared to 15 per cent of employees from other sectors.

Back to the office

Another key trend among public sector finance professionals is the return to the workplace. The public sector had the lowest proportion of workers who are either hybrid working or fully working at home or remotely.

Looking at current working patterns, 71 per cent of public sector workers were fully office based, 4 per cent fully remote and 26 per cent hybrid. This differs for workers from other sectors of whom 57 per cent were fully office based, 8 per cent fully remote and 37 per cent hybrid.

Better mental health

Stress and mental-health concerns across the workforce, in particular among younger respondents, were evident in all sectors but the public sector appeared to be suffering less than others. A total of 58 per cent of respondents agreed that ‘My mental health suffers because of work pressures’, which was lower than the average across all sectors but still of significant concern.

On the move

Among those considering moves in the public sector, 42 per cent anticipate an internal shift and 49 per cent an external one. The proportion of public sector respondents planning internal moves was higher than the average of across all sectors, but lower for external moves.

However, the proportion intending to move sector was higher among public sector respondents than others.

Attractive sector

Interestingly, the public sector polled well compared with other sectors in terms of the key benefits of a career in accountancy.

Thirty-eight per cent of public sector employees cited opportunity to gain a professionally recognised qualification as a benefit in comparison to 33 per cent from other sectors. Twenty-seven per cent saw themselves as having a job that is essential to an organisation and 26 per cent as having a job that makes a difference to wider society and/or the environment.

Source: ACCA Accounting and Business magazine