Objectives
In sum, there are theoretical reasons to expect that the dramatic improvement in the American
public’s view of government after 9-11—combined with new tasks and a renewed significance
in the work done by many different government agencies—could have boosted public sector job
satisfaction in the United States, at least temporarily. This theoretical expectation, moreover,
raises a larger and more general question about the potential impacts of important national
events or crises on the morale and performance of the public sector. Thus, this study aims to
answer the following empirical questions: Did the events of 9-11 produce an increase in the
everyday job satisfaction of government workers? And if so, how large was the 9-11 effect on
the aggregate level of government job satisfaction in the United States?