Public-Sector Work Motivation: A Review of the Current Literature and a Revised Conceptual Model

Abstract

This article reviews the literature on work motivation in the public sector, with careful attention to the underlying theoretical assumptions of this body of work and the empirical evidence it has generated. The topic of work motivation has received relatively little attention in the public sector; the research that does exist has been largely data driven, guided at best by theories that have not incorporated more contemporary research. In this article I will draw on current psychological research on work motivation, as well as the theory and empirical evidence regarding the unique characteristics of public organizations and employees, and develop a revised public-sector model of work motivation that emphasizes variables such as procedural constraints, goal content, and goal commitment. In a recent article, Behn (1995) urged scholars to focus their research on the big questions in public management. One of the most important of these questions, according to Behn, concerns motivation. Specifically, the field needs to learn how "public managers [can] motivate public employees (and citizens too) to pursue important public purposes with intelligence and energy" (p. 319). This observation, however, is not new. Perry and Porter (1982, 97) noted nearly two decades ago that "the literature on motivation tends to concentrate too heavily on employees within industrial and business organizations." Perry and Porter proposed, as did Behn, a research agenda to improve the understanding of the motivational context in public-sector organizations. Unfortunately, very little research has fulfilled this agenda. While work motivation has been a prominent area of interest in organizational behavior (Cooper and Robertson 1986) and continues to be one of the most frequently discussed topics in psychology (Rousseau 1997), it has been (Balk 1974) and continues

The Big Question for Performance Management: Why Do Managers Use Performance Information?

“…Job attributes represent the interplay between the individual and organizational level (Wright 2001). In contrast to the intrinsic approach represented by PSM, other approaches assume self-interest.…”

Antecedentes da satisfação no setor público: um estudo de caso na prefeitura de Santa Maria (RS)

“…Muitos estudos têm mostrado que os servidores públicos são mais satisfeitos (Desantis e Durst, 1996;Maidani, 1991;Steel e Warner, 1990) ou tão satisfeitos quanto (Emmert e Taher, 1992;Gabris, 1995;Lewis, 1991) os trabalhadores do setor privado; outros têm encontrado o oposto, com relação a aspectos específicos de seu trabalho, incluindo o cumprimento de suas responsabilidades, autonomia e atualização (Paine, Carroll e Leete, 1966;Porter e Mitchell, 1967;Solomon, 1986). Mesmo tendo grande quantidade de evidências empíricas das diferenças entre os setores públicos e privados com relação especificamente à satisfação no trabalho, os motivos são variados (Wright, 2001;Babakus et al, 1996). A coerente interpretação desses resultados será o foco dessa pesquisa, preocupando-se mais com a existência do que com as origens dessas diferenças.…”

“…As características do trabalho são os aspectos do trabalho de uma pessoa ou responsabilidades do cargo que contribuem para o seu estado psicológico (Desantis e Durst, 1996;Wright, 2001;Barnett e Bradley, 2007), como a significância do trabalho, que afeta o desenvolvimento, crescimento e disposição dos servidores para o trabalho (Perry e Porter, 1982;Baldwin e Farley, 1991).…”

“…Isso se reflete no comprometimento dos trabalhadores, de suas atitudes e crenças em relação ao trabalho. A especificidade das metas organizacionais representa o grau de compreensão dos objetivos organizacionais por parte dos funcionários (Wright, 2001;Jamali, 2007;Wright e Davis, 2003). Semelhantemente às restrições processuais, as especificidades das metas organizacionais podem ser consideradas um antecedente que leva à satisfação.…”

“…Desse modo, não se observaram algumas relações condizentes com os trabalhos de Kuvaas (2009), Andreassen (1994, Addae e Parboteeah (2008), Barnett e Bradley (2007), Wright (2001) e Jamali (2007.…”