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Toward Understanding Work Motivation

Worker Attitudes and the Perception of Effective Public Service

Ohio State University, Columbus

Eric Sundquist

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Government reformers in the United States have recently focused on running public agencies more like private firms by emphasizing economic rewards, such as merit pay. Meanwhile, a body of literature has grown that indicates that public servants respond to factors that financially based reward initiatives tend to ignore. We introduce a new explanatory variable, perceived public service efficacy (PPSE), which quantifies public servants' perception about the benefit their employing agencies provide the public. We present empirical evidence demonstrating that as PPSE rises—that is, as public servants more strongly perceive their agencies to be benefiting the public—reported levels of role ambiguity decrease, whereas job satisfaction and organizational commitment responses increase.

Key Words: public service motivation • human resources management • organizational effectiveness • worker perceptions • worker expectations

This version was published on September 1, 2009

The American Review of Public Administration, Vol. 39, No. 5, 519-535 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0275074008324567


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