AM I A PUBLIC SERVANT OR AM I A PATHOGEN? Public Managers’ Sector Perceptions of Worker Abilities and Attitudinal Consequences
Researchers from a variety of disciplines argue, some buttressed by empirical evidence, that public sector workers are less creative, talented, or autonomous than those working in business. This body of research echoes trends in public opinion. Likewise, political rhetoric is rife with condemnations of public sector workers, namely bureaucratic bashing. However, there is little research on the effects of this negativity on public managers. own perceptions of the public sector and their work peers. Does the pervasive negativity color public managers. own views about the public sector and their work peers? There are surprisingly few empirical studies on public managers. perceptions of the public and private sectors respectively, an important deficit if such perceptions color work-related attitudes and career choices. The present study employs social comparison theory to explore this underdeveloped issue. Based on state government-level public managers. responses to a questionnaire, the results indicate that a clear majority of public managers perceive public sector inferiority with respect to worker creativity, talent, and autonomy. The findings also show that perceived negativity undermines their job satisfaction, job involvement, and pride working for the current organization. While some public managers perceive superiority of public sector worker abilities, this perception, surprisingly, does not improve their work attitudes. The fact that negative perceptions have strong impacts and positive ones virtually no impact seems relevant to public civil servants. burnout, public service motivation, and self-esteem.
国际会议
上海
英文
1-31
2012-05-25（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）