Employment Sector and Work Motivations: Can Legal Status Alone Explain the Difference?

Abstract

This study examines whether the legal status of an organization alone can explain the differences in work motivations, by comparing different types of childcare centers in the U.S. The findings reveal both sectoral differences and within-sector variations based on centers’ sponsorship status and funding structure. Childcare staff in sponsored nonprofit and public centers have stronger altruistic motivations to help children and families while those working in independent nonprofit and public centers are not different from for-profit center staff. Receiving a mix of government and private funding is also positively associated with childcare staff’s altruistic motivations.