Work-Related Stressors and Health-Related Outcomes in Public Service

Abstract

While business and psychology researchers have strived to identify effective strategies to reduce occupational stress, public administration scholars have paid insufficient attention to this issue. This article examines the role of motivational bases in the stressor-wellbeing relationship, a nascent research area in business and psychology, focusing on a particular type of motivation that is salient in public organizations: public service motivation (PSM). Based on a survey of 412 police officers from a large metropolitan city in eastern China, this study finds that PSM moderates the relationship between work stressors and individual wellbeing. Respondents with higher levels of PSM can better handle the increase of stressors so that their physical and mental wellbeing will decrease more slowly. Overall, respondents with higher levels of PSM tend to experience higher mental wellbeing but lower physical wellbeing than their low-PSM colleagues.

Has the Study of Public Service Motivation Addressed the Issues That Motivated the Study?

“…Houston (2011) x Johnson (2012) x Kim (2012) x Kim et al (2013) x Kjeldsen (2012) x Kjeldsen (2014) x Liu and Tang (2011) x x x x Liu, Tang, and Zhu (2008) x Liu, Tang, and Yang (2013) x Liu, Yang, and Yu (2014) x Moynihan and Pandey (2007) x Pandey , Wright, and Moynihan (2008) x Park and Rainey (2008) x Perry (1996) x Perry (1997) x Petrovsky and Ritz (2013) x x Ritz (2009) x Steijn (2008) x Taylor (2008) x Taylor (2010) x x van Loon, Leisink, and Vandenabeele (2013) x x Vandenabeele (2008b) x Vandenabeele (2009) x Vandenabeele and Van de Walle (2008) x Ward (2014) x Wright, Moynihan, and Pandey (2012) x Wright and Pandey (2008) x Wright and Pandey (2011) x…”

“…Other methods are identified. (2012) 3D 13i Andersen and Serritzlew (2012) 1D 4i Bellé (2013) x Brewer and Selden (1998) 1D 3i Brewer, Selden, and Facer (2000) 6D 40i Q-methodology Bright (2005) x Bright (2007) x Caillier (2013) x Caillier (2014) Christensen and Wright (2011) x Coursey, Yang, and Pandey (2012) x Desmarais and Gamassou (2014) x Giauque, Ritz, Varone, and AnderfuhrenBiget (2012) 4D 11i Houston (2011) 1D 2i Johnson (2012) 2D 7i Kim (2012) 4D 20i Kim et al (2013) x Kjeldsen (2012) 3D Semistructured Interview Kjeldsen (2014) 3D 11i Survey and interview Liu and Tang (2011) 3D 12i Liu, Tang, and Zhu (2008) x Liu, Tang, and Yang (2013) 3D 12i Liu, Yang, and Yu (2014) 4D 18i Moynihan and Pandey (2007) 2D 7i Pandey, Wright, and Moynihan (2008) x Park and Rainey (2008) 1D 6i Perry (1996) x Perry (1997) x Petrovsky and Ritz (2013) 4D 10i Ritz (2009) x 2D 5i Steijn (2008) 1D 1i Taylor (2008) 1D 2i Taylor (2010) 1D 5i van Loon, Leisink, and Vandenabeele (2013) 4D 15i Vandenabeele (2008b) 3D 13i Vandenabeele (2009) 5D 18i Vandenabeele and Van de Walle (2008) 3D 5i Ward (2014) 3D 13i Wright, Moynihan, and Pandey (2012) x Wright and Pandey (2008) x Wright and P...…”

“…For example, Liu et al (2014) said, PSM is a relatively enduring individual predisposition that responds to motives grounded primarily or uniquely in public institutions and organizations . .…”

Testing an International Measure of Public Service Motivation: Is There Really a Bright or Dark Side?

“…Bellé ; Houston ; Liu et al. ; van der Wal ). Such research has been conducted with good reason as PSM has been found to enhance work performance (Grant ; Ritz et al.…”

“…For instance, Liu et al. () found that PSM can moderate the relationship between burnout‐related constructs such as work stressors and well‐being. However, as highlighted previously, PSM may also possess a dark side.…”