Abstract:
This research will discuss the moderating and mitigating effects on employee job satisfaction and employee engagement for employees with public service motivation (PSM) characteristics from the impact of the perceived distance from policy developers and policy implementers. Specifically, the employees of federal agencies in Australia and the United States are assessed for this research. Data for this research will be obtained from the results of existing longitudinal employee surveys. The use of data sets, both from a Westminster parliamentary based systems and the U.S. representative democracy system, will help to increase the level of validation and model applicability.
Aspects of the organizational structure, including fit and culture, are assessed as a combined independent variable. Agency structure is being studied through a lens of employee perception, which provides the framework for job satisfaction and engagement. PSM is evaluated through certain human resource management (HRM) practices which, in turn, act as antecedents.
The outcome of this research is important, as it will provide governments with a better understanding of how their organizational structure affects employee job satisfaction and employee engagement for employees that demonstrate PSM characteristics. Further, the use of HRM actions as PSM antecedents will allow for a more efficient analysis of PSM congruence. In turn, this will allow for a more insightful design of the organizational structure, better hiring protocols, and employee retention.
Keywords: PSM, Public Service Motivation, Decision making, Employee engagement, Job satisfaction, Motivation