Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231214994
Daniel Tyskbo
While important insights have been provided into the role of HR managers in performing change in the workplace, still little is known about how HR managers themselves are shaped by change, in particular in relation to those changes triggered by radical or disruptive shock events and crisis situations, and in the public sector context. In this study, we aim to address this, using an exploratory qualitative interview study to explore how the serious and profound COVID-19 pandemic triggered boundary work among HR managers in public sector municipalities. Our findings illustrate that COVID-19 triggered HR managers to engage in boundary work in two main ways: either by defending their boundaries (through the two practices of counteracting dumping and counteracting shirking) or by expanding them (through the two practices of facilitating self-fulfillment and facilitating status-enhancement). We discuss how this variation is related to whether the HR managers experienced and made sense of the pandemic mainly as a threat—of being forced into unwanted responsibility—or if they experienced and made sense of it mainly as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. In showing this, the study makes a number of important contributions to both theory and practice.
{"title":"Defending and Expanding Boundaries: Exploring How COVID-19 Triggered Boundary Work Among HR Managers in the Public Sector","authors":"Daniel Tyskbo","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231214994","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231214994","url":null,"abstract":"While important insights have been provided into the role of HR managers in performing change in the workplace, still little is known about how HR managers themselves are shaped by change, in particular in relation to those changes triggered by radical or disruptive shock events and crisis situations, and in the public sector context. In this study, we aim to address this, using an exploratory qualitative interview study to explore how the serious and profound COVID-19 pandemic triggered boundary work among HR managers in public sector municipalities. Our findings illustrate that COVID-19 triggered HR managers to engage in boundary work in two main ways: either by defending their boundaries (through the two practices of counteracting dumping and counteracting shirking) or by expanding them (through the two practices of facilitating self-fulfillment and facilitating status-enhancement). We discuss how this variation is related to whether the HR managers experienced and made sense of the pandemic mainly as a threat—of being forced into unwanted responsibility—or if they experienced and made sense of it mainly as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. In showing this, the study makes a number of important contributions to both theory and practice.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"43 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138946669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231214978
Jesse W. Campbell
Job autonomy allows employees to act upon contextual knowledge to introduce performance-enhancing work process improvements. However, autonomy is not a sufficient condition for change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), as employees may lack the skills, information, or psychological safety necessary to pursue change. I propose a job autonomy-based multi-conditional process model of change-oriented OCB that takes into account the mediating role of job performance and the moderating roles of both role ambiguity and procedural justice. Using a large sample of Korean central and local government workers, I estimate a latent variable moderated mediation model. The results suggest that the effect of job autonomy on change-oriented OCB via job performance is strongest when role ambiguity is low and procedural justice is high. In closing, I argue that public managers need to be cognizant of the subtle factors that shape the impact of job autonomy on employee behavioral outputs.
{"title":"Job Autonomy, Role Ambiguity, and Procedural Justice: A Multi-Conditional Process Model of Change-Oriented Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Public Organizations","authors":"Jesse W. Campbell","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231214978","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231214978","url":null,"abstract":"Job autonomy allows employees to act upon contextual knowledge to introduce performance-enhancing work process improvements. However, autonomy is not a sufficient condition for change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), as employees may lack the skills, information, or psychological safety necessary to pursue change. I propose a job autonomy-based multi-conditional process model of change-oriented OCB that takes into account the mediating role of job performance and the moderating roles of both role ambiguity and procedural justice. Using a large sample of Korean central and local government workers, I estimate a latent variable moderated mediation model. The results suggest that the effect of job autonomy on change-oriented OCB via job performance is strongest when role ambiguity is low and procedural justice is high. In closing, I argue that public managers need to be cognizant of the subtle factors that shape the impact of job autonomy on employee behavioral outputs.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"74 18","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138945378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-18DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231214967
Gustav Egede Hansen
Research on public sector outsourcing primarily focuses on costs and quality, whereas studies investigating the consequences for personnel exposed to outsourcing are scarce. Based on increased competition and private ownership, this study hypothesizes that outsourcing negatively affects employee job engagement and burnout, with more adverse consequences when job demands are high and resources are limited. With unique survey and administrative data, the study compares outcomes for outsourced employees and public employees in similar jobs. The analysis shows that outsourced employees have significantly lower engagement and higher burnout, while further analysis shows that outsourced employees are worse off when job demands are high but equally or less affected when job demands are low. Finally, the analysis shows that outsourcing has significant, adverse consequences for less resourceful employees. The results advance our understanding of how outsourcing influences public personnel and highlights the uneven distribution of consequences across employees.
{"title":"Why Is Outsourcing Good for Some Employees and Bad for Others? How Demands and Resources Moderate the Outcome","authors":"Gustav Egede Hansen","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231214967","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231214967","url":null,"abstract":"Research on public sector outsourcing primarily focuses on costs and quality, whereas studies investigating the consequences for personnel exposed to outsourcing are scarce. Based on increased competition and private ownership, this study hypothesizes that outsourcing negatively affects employee job engagement and burnout, with more adverse consequences when job demands are high and resources are limited. With unique survey and administrative data, the study compares outcomes for outsourced employees and public employees in similar jobs. The analysis shows that outsourced employees have significantly lower engagement and higher burnout, while further analysis shows that outsourced employees are worse off when job demands are high but equally or less affected when job demands are low. Finally, the analysis shows that outsourcing has significant, adverse consequences for less resourceful employees. The results advance our understanding of how outsourcing influences public personnel and highlights the uneven distribution of consequences across employees.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"30 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139176223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-09DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231214973
J. Kellough
A professional civil service resting on principles of merit is widely considered an essential and well-established feature of modern government. Nevertheless, the foundation of merit upon which the U.S. federal service is erected is not secure. Indeed, the system is quite fragile. It presumes the presence of a President who understands and is committed to the concept of merit and who has the political will to secure its preservation. This fact was made abundantly clear during the Presidency of Donald J. Trump from January of 2017 to January of 2021. This article describes events during the Trump Presidency that illustrate the fragility of the merit system in the U.S. federal government.
{"title":"The Fragility of Merit: Erosion of the Foundation of Public Service Under Trump","authors":"J. Kellough","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231214973","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231214973","url":null,"abstract":"A professional civil service resting on principles of merit is widely considered an essential and well-established feature of modern government. Nevertheless, the foundation of merit upon which the U.S. federal service is erected is not secure. Indeed, the system is quite fragile. It presumes the presence of a President who understands and is committed to the concept of merit and who has the political will to secure its preservation. This fact was made abundantly clear during the Presidency of Donald J. Trump from January of 2017 to January of 2021. This article describes events during the Trump Presidency that illustrate the fragility of the merit system in the U.S. federal government.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"12 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138585846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-29DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231198165
Samantha Metselaar, E. Klijn, Laura den Dulk, B. Vermeeren
In this article we raise the question whether servant leadership became more important for performance and work-life balance satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two alternative hypotheses are formulated stating that on the one hand the impact of servant leadership may have increased during COVID-19 as servant leadership can help in dealing with a crisis. On the other hand, it may have become more difficult to express leadership behaviors when leaders and employees are physically distanced from one another. A longitudinal approach was taken to examine the role of servant leadership in relation to the performance and work-life balance satisfaction, comparing the situation before and during the pandemic. Panel data was collected in a Dutch government organization ( N = 293). Results indicate that there was a decrease in the amount of servant leadership experienced by employees, however its impact remained in times where leaders and employees were confined to their homes.
{"title":"Did Leadership Become More Important During COVID-19? A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Servant Leadership on Performance and Work-Life Balance Satisfaction in a Public Organization","authors":"Samantha Metselaar, E. Klijn, Laura den Dulk, B. Vermeeren","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231198165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231198165","url":null,"abstract":"In this article we raise the question whether servant leadership became more important for performance and work-life balance satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two alternative hypotheses are formulated stating that on the one hand the impact of servant leadership may have increased during COVID-19 as servant leadership can help in dealing with a crisis. On the other hand, it may have become more difficult to express leadership behaviors when leaders and employees are physically distanced from one another. A longitudinal approach was taken to examine the role of servant leadership in relation to the performance and work-life balance satisfaction, comparing the situation before and during the pandemic. Panel data was collected in a Dutch government organization ( N = 293). Results indicate that there was a decrease in the amount of servant leadership experienced by employees, however its impact remained in times where leaders and employees were confined to their homes.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139212155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Civil service organizations around the world are confronted with a constant need to change to meet the needs of the public in a more efficient manner. The success of resultant change initiatives depends on the members of the civil service and, in particular, their affective commitment to change. In this case study of the Irish civil service, we examine factors that may foster affective commitment to change, with a focus on the roles of prosocial impact and organizational identification. We also consider the perceived involvement climate. Based on extensive survey data ( N = 16,050) collected in the Irish Civil Service, we find that organizational identification acts as a mediator between prosocial impact and affective commitment to change and that this mediated relationship is strengthened when there is a strong involvement climate. Theoretical contributions are discussed along with practical implications.
{"title":"Understanding Affective Commitment to Change in a Civil Service Context: The Roles of Prosocial Job Design, Organizational Identification, and Involvement Climate","authors":"Edel Conway, Yseult Freeney, Kathy Monks, Natasha McDowell","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231211153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231211153","url":null,"abstract":"Civil service organizations around the world are confronted with a constant need to change to meet the needs of the public in a more efficient manner. The success of resultant change initiatives depends on the members of the civil service and, in particular, their affective commitment to change. In this case study of the Irish civil service, we examine factors that may foster affective commitment to change, with a focus on the roles of prosocial impact and organizational identification. We also consider the perceived involvement climate. Based on extensive survey data ( N = 16,050) collected in the Irish Civil Service, we find that organizational identification acts as a mediator between prosocial impact and affective commitment to change and that this mediated relationship is strengthened when there is a strong involvement climate. Theoretical contributions are discussed along with practical implications.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139233174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-21DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231213900
Jessica E. Sowa
{"title":"Thank you to the Review of Public Personnel Administration Community","authors":"Jessica E. Sowa","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231213900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231213900","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"39 1","pages":"619 - 622"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139253113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-12DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231201963
Roberto Vivona, Jenny M. Lewis
Can public sector employees act as entrepreneurs and help solve some of the world’s most pressing problems? Amid crises such as COVID-19, rising inflation, and climate disasters, governments worldwide are facing credibility and legitimacy crises, and the need for innovation and entrepreneurship in the public sector has never been more critical. To understand how to make public servants more entrepreneurial, this study explores the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices, person-environment fit theory, and attitudes toward public sector entrepreneurship. Based on data from the 2019 Australian Public Service census survey ( n = 92,128), this study finds the practices of promoting employee recognition and inclusion exhibit the strongest effects on entrepreneurial attitudes of public servants, via person-job and person-organization fit respectively. However, practices such as performance appraisal and trainings show irrelevant effects. Overall, this article suggests that public managers should instill a culture of inclusion, innovation, and participation within their organizations to unleash the entrepreneurial public servant, while they need to rethink their performance appraisal systems to serve better the purpose of improving employees fit with their tasks.
{"title":"The Entrepreneurial Public Servant: Unlocking Employee Potential Through Recognition and Inclusion","authors":"Roberto Vivona, Jenny M. Lewis","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231201963","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231201963","url":null,"abstract":"Can public sector employees act as entrepreneurs and help solve some of the world’s most pressing problems? Amid crises such as COVID-19, rising inflation, and climate disasters, governments worldwide are facing credibility and legitimacy crises, and the need for innovation and entrepreneurship in the public sector has never been more critical. To understand how to make public servants more entrepreneurial, this study explores the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices, person-environment fit theory, and attitudes toward public sector entrepreneurship. Based on data from the 2019 Australian Public Service census survey ( n = 92,128), this study finds the practices of promoting employee recognition and inclusion exhibit the strongest effects on entrepreneurial attitudes of public servants, via person-job and person-organization fit respectively. However, practices such as performance appraisal and trainings show irrelevant effects. Overall, this article suggests that public managers should instill a culture of inclusion, innovation, and participation within their organizations to unleash the entrepreneurial public servant, while they need to rethink their performance appraisal systems to serve better the purpose of improving employees fit with their tasks.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135970147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-27DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231198163
Peter M. Kruyen, Rick T. Borst, Beatrice I. J. M. Van der Heijden, Stéfanie C. H. André, Marjolein Missler, Pim Scheerder
During the COVID-19 pandemic, public servants in many countries were required to work from home. In this study, we explore Dutch public servants’ experiences of mandatory homeworking by conducting a template analysis. Based on an in-depth examination of 985 written accounts, we inductively expand an a priori template derived from the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework, to understand and analyze public servants’ experiences of this new situation. We found homeworking in general had positive effects on public servants’ individual performance and health-related well-being but a predominantly negative impact on happiness well-being. Furthermore, we found that the impact of homeworking on the job demands and job resources seems to depend on the specific clusters of these job demands and resources. Our findings are translated into propositions that extend the JD-R framework.
{"title":"Homeworking Heaven or Hell During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Lessons for the Job Demands-Resources Model in the Context of Homeworking","authors":"Peter M. Kruyen, Rick T. Borst, Beatrice I. J. M. Van der Heijden, Stéfanie C. H. André, Marjolein Missler, Pim Scheerder","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231198163","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231198163","url":null,"abstract":"During the COVID-19 pandemic, public servants in many countries were required to work from home. In this study, we explore Dutch public servants’ experiences of mandatory homeworking by conducting a template analysis. Based on an in-depth examination of 985 written accounts, we inductively expand an a priori template derived from the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework, to understand and analyze public servants’ experiences of this new situation. We found homeworking in general had positive effects on public servants’ individual performance and health-related well-being but a predominantly negative impact on happiness well-being. Furthermore, we found that the impact of homeworking on the job demands and job resources seems to depend on the specific clusters of these job demands and resources. Our findings are translated into propositions that extend the JD-R framework.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135536945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-12DOI: 10.1177/0734371x231190327
Taeyeon Kim, Wonhyuk Cho
Public personnel management should strive to balance the needs of employees, employers, and society, but there is insufficient empirical research to conclude whether such goals conflict or coincide. Using longitudinal data from multiple independent sources, this study analyzes the relationship between employee voice opportunity in personnel management (employee rights), organizational performance (employer interest), and competing demands from citizens (societal objectives). The results showed that public agencies encouraging employees to voice their rights outperformed their counterparts when faced with high or very high levels of competing demands from citizens after controlling for various factors. However, this appreciation for employee voice does not always yield positive-sum organizational outcomes when the competing demands on work are lower. These findings suggest that treating employees fairly and empowering them may lead to better long-term organizational performance in the face of high levels of competing demands from stakeholders, but the benefits of this approach may not always outweigh the costs, potentially due to the substantial expenses or risks associated with the promised payoffs.
{"title":"Employee Voice Opportunities Enhance Organizational Performance When Faced With Competing Demands","authors":"Taeyeon Kim, Wonhyuk Cho","doi":"10.1177/0734371x231190327","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x231190327","url":null,"abstract":"Public personnel management should strive to balance the needs of employees, employers, and society, but there is insufficient empirical research to conclude whether such goals conflict or coincide. Using longitudinal data from multiple independent sources, this study analyzes the relationship between employee voice opportunity in personnel management (employee rights), organizational performance (employer interest), and competing demands from citizens (societal objectives). The results showed that public agencies encouraging employees to voice their rights outperformed their counterparts when faced with high or very high levels of competing demands from citizens after controlling for various factors. However, this appreciation for employee voice does not always yield positive-sum organizational outcomes when the competing demands on work are lower. These findings suggest that treating employees fairly and empowering them may lead to better long-term organizational performance in the face of high levels of competing demands from stakeholders, but the benefits of this approach may not always outweigh the costs, potentially due to the substantial expenses or risks associated with the promised payoffs.","PeriodicalId":47609,"journal":{"name":"Review of Public Personnel Administration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2023-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41748690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}