The Importance Of Public Service Motivation

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Public sector employees are often criticized for being ‘lazy, ‘overpaid’ and ‘underworked’ but it is undeniable that it is expected of them to render excellent service to the citizens of its nation. They ought to be highly reliable and driven to ensure that the needs and demands of the public are promptly addressed. People in the public organizations are anticipated to be altruistic in nature, and being a public servant is the usual advocacy, but how driven are they in fulfilling this role? This phenomenon in the field of public administration is called the Public Service Motivation (PSM). It refers to the motive of the individual to serve the public interest (Bright, 2016) that relates to one’s sense of service and duty to government and society, or an attraction to serve the public for various reasons, regardless as it is for altruistic or for self-centered purposes.
According to the United Nations Development Programme Global Centre for Public Service Excellence, there is a decline of moral in the public service, as scholars argue that …show more content…

PSM is the individual’s tendency to respond to his/her psychological needs that are uniquely observed in the public organizations, and usually has a strong desire to serve the society (Perry & Wise, 1990). Studies related to PSM usually involves investigating what attracts people to serve in the public sector, or what makes government employees stay in the public service. Job security, stability, and prestige associated with the office are the factors considered by the individuals who were attracted to enter the public sector (Kjeldsen & Jacobsen, 2012 as cited by Quratulain & Khan, 2015). Whereas, lack of management support, excessive workload, lack of incentives and rewards, and internal politics hinders the development of one’s PSM (Quratulain & Khan,

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