BAME Staff and Public Service Motivation: The Mediating Role of Perceived Fairness in English Local Government

Abstract

This is the submitted version, for the final version please go to https://rdcu.be/25UA BAME staff and public service motivation: the mediating role of perceived fairness in English local government AbstractThis study aims to examine the perceptions of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff in English local government on the ethical nature of their treatment at work, and its mediating effect on their Public Service Motivation (PSM). This is a particular imperative in a sector which itself delivers social justice within a strong regulatory system designed to ensure workplace equality and therefore is expected to be a model employer for other organisations. Employees place great importance on their fair treatment by their employers and, in particular, the endeavour of managerial authority to implement equality at work based on their discretionary powers. 2,580 valid responses were collected from 15,000 questionnaires sent to staff in five local councils in England. Our analyses show that BAME employees have a significantly stronger PSM than their white colleagues, however, this has been eroded by their perception of unfair treatment: being underpaid allied with a lack of effort from management to ensure an equal work environment, to be specific, to prevent discrimination, bullying, and racism at workplace. Most importantly, the perceived exertion made by management to ensure an equal work environment has a significantly strong mediating effect on PSM and a compensational effect on perceived lower pay. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Employment Inequalities Among British Minority Ethnic Workers in Health and Social Care at the Time of Covid-19: A Rapid Review of the Literature

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Bribery and the Role of Public Service Motivation and Social Value Orientation: A Multi-Site Experimental Study in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands

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The End of Meaningful Work in the Not-for-Profit Sector? A Case Study of Ethics in Employee Relations Under the New Business-Like Operation Regime

“…Perceived pay fairness relates to staff awareness of their own worth in terms of effort, skill and responsibility in relation to their comparable benchmark, such as colleagues internally and counterparts externally. Perceived pay fairness meets the human needs for justice and thus leads to desirable employee outcomes and behaviour (Van Buren, 2008;Wang & Seifert, 2020). However, those who seek meaningful work by accepting employment in a charity may be prepared for the 'compensation effect' and accept relatively low pay as being fair (Allahyari, 2001;Gardner, 1987;Taylor, 2004).…”

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