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Serving the Greater Good With Less: Survey Experiment on How Public Service Motivation Shapes Perception of Staff Shortages.

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Title: Serving the Greater Good With Less: Survey Experiment on How Public Service Motivation Shapes Perception of Staff Shortages.
Authors: Kim, Phil1, Cho, Wonhyuk2, Kim, Daewook3 kdw@chonnam.ac.kr
Source: Public Personnel Management. Sep2025, Vol. 54 Issue 3, p361-394. 34p.
Subject Terms: *Corporate culture, *Psychological burnout, *Work-life balance, *Cost benefit analysis, *Leave of absence, *Emotions, *Social norms, *Motivation (Psychology), *Experimental design, *Job satisfaction, *Job descriptions, *Research methodology, *Professional employee training, *Employee recruitment, *Employee selection, *Employee attitudes, *Job performance, *Labor supply, *Vocational guidance, *Employees' workload, Job involvement, Public officers, Resource allocation, Labor productivity, Executives, Personnel management, T-test (Statistics), Public sector, Clinical trials, Interviewing, Work environment, Parental leave, Health insurance, Questionnaires, Statistical sampling, Descriptive statistics, Work experience (Employment), Wages, Population geography, Randomized controlled trials, Chi-squared test, Surveys, Frustration, Depersonalization, Labor demand, Metropolitan areas, Job stress, Marital status, Community services, Budget, Local government, Well-being, Industrial hygiene, Regression analysis
Abstract: Personnel shortages are presenting significant challenges for many municipalities, as well-qualified civil servants in smaller cities and non-urban areas leave their positions. Given this dynamic, understanding how local government employees perceive staff shortages is key to designing effective strategies for promoting staff well-being and productivity. This article analyzes the influence of public service motivation (PSM) on shaping the perceptions of job demand and resources in local governments, through an experimental design (n = 120) and a survey of local government employees (n = 414), and further interprets the findings through semi-structured interviews. The experiment results show evidence of bi-directional effects—activating PSM heightened the perceived severity of staff burnout, while simultaneously lowering the perceived need for increased manpower. These findings suggest that PSM may raise an individual's expectations of their job, which is possibly associated with feelings of frustration with current demands in local government. Conversely, the reduced perception of the need for additional manpower may show an increased sense of responsibility toward the job and willingness to overstretch for the local communities they serve. The employee survey results show that perceptions of the causes and solutions of staff shortages vary depending on their managerial rank, years of experience, and marital status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Public Personnel Management is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Serving the Greater Good With Less: Survey Experiment on How Public Service Motivation Shapes Perception of Staff Shortages.
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– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Personnel shortages are presenting significant challenges for many municipalities, as well-qualified civil servants in smaller cities and non-urban areas leave their positions. Given this dynamic, understanding how local government employees perceive staff shortages is key to designing effective strategies for promoting staff well-being and productivity. This article analyzes the influence of public service motivation (PSM) on shaping the perceptions of job demand and resources in local governments, through an experimental design (n = 120) and a survey of local government employees (n = 414), and further interprets the findings through semi-structured interviews. The experiment results show evidence of bi-directional effects—activating PSM heightened the perceived severity of staff burnout, while simultaneously lowering the perceived need for increased manpower. These findings suggest that PSM may raise an individual's expectations of their job, which is possibly associated with feelings of frustration with current demands in local government. Conversely, the reduced perception of the need for additional manpower may show an increased sense of responsibility toward the job and willingness to overstretch for the local communities they serve. The employee survey results show that perceptions of the causes and solutions of staff shortages vary depending on their managerial rank, years of experience, and marital status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Public Personnel Management is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=186776520
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1177/00910260251314156
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 34
        StartPage: 361
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Corporate culture
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological burnout
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Work-life balance
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      – SubjectFull: Cost benefit analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Leave of absence
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      – SubjectFull: Emotions
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      – SubjectFull: Social norms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Motivation (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Experimental design
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Job satisfaction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Job descriptions
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research methodology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional employee training
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      – SubjectFull: Employee recruitment
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      – SubjectFull: Employee attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Job performance
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      – SubjectFull: Job involvement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public officers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Resource allocation
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      – SubjectFull: Labor productivity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Executives
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      – SubjectFull: Personnel management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: T-test (Statistics)
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      – SubjectFull: Public sector
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Clinical trials
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      – SubjectFull: Interviewing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Work environment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parental leave
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Health insurance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Questionnaires
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistical sampling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Work experience (Employment)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Wages
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Population geography
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Randomized controlled trials
        Type: general
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      – SubjectFull: Frustration
        Type: general
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      – SubjectFull: Labor demand
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      – SubjectFull: Metropolitan areas
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      – SubjectFull: Job stress
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Marital status
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Community services
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Budget
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Local government
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Well-being
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Industrial hygiene
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Regression analysis
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Serving the Greater Good With Less: Survey Experiment on How Public Service Motivation Shapes Perception of Staff Shortages.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Kim, Phil
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            NameFull: Cho, Wonhyuk
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            – D: 01
              M: 09
              Text: Sep2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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            – TitleFull: Public Personnel Management
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